Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s been a parade of PhDs, a cavalcade of scholars, an array of academics. Call it what you will, but the number of researchers who have gone through an innovative mentorship program started as a one-year pilot eight years ago is well into the double digits. The tally is now up to three dozen on […] Read more
Beef mentorship program a quiet success
Eight years on, a unique program connecting ranches and research labs proves its worth
The door is open and young women should walk through it
That’s the message of Feed Your Future, an initiative aimed at showcasing ag career opportunities
Reading Time: 3 minutes What Kassi Rinas does for a living is commonplace, but the agronomist also represents the changing face of a sector where men once had all the leading roles. “My favourite part of the job is being a part of the farmer’s operation from crop planning all winter to putting seed in the ground, spraying it […] Read more
Rural food banks see huge jump in visits
Inflation is hitting thousands of Albertans very hard
Reading Time: 6 minutes Food banks across the province, including those in rural communities, are seeing soaring demand. “Food bank use in Alberta has gone up 73 per cent since 2019,” said Arianna Scott, CEO of Food Banks Alberta. That’s more than double the 35 per cent rise seen nationally over the same period, but it is no surprise […] Read more
All in all, it wasn’t a bad crop year – and that’s welcome news
Keep an eye out for flea beetles, grasshoppers and bacterial leaf streak in the coming year
Reading Time: 4 minutes A lot of flea beetles, few diseases and pretty good yields are highlights of this growing season for three crop specialists. “In general, we’re at or above average for the five-year (yield) average and some of the 10-year averages,” said Jeremy Boychyn, agronomy research extension manager with Alberta Wheat and Alberta Barley. “All of Alberta […] Read more
Cereal producers back merger but it won’t happen overnight, say officials
Amalgamating Alberta Wheat and Alberta Barley is complicated but should be done by summer
Reading Time: 3 minutes A merged wheat and barley commission will be up and running by August after Alberta growers overwhelmingly voted to amalgamate the two groups. “August 1 would be the ideal launch date (as) July 31 is the end of our fiscal year,” said Tom Steve, general manager for both groups, which merged their leadership and administrative […] Read more
Feed situation is much improved this year but far from perfect
The supply levels are good but feed isn’t cheap, and most pastures need some serious moisture
Reading Time: 4 minutes Craig Lehr has been able to source the forage and feed he needs this year for Short Grass Ranches, a backgrounding feedlot he co-owns near Medicine Hat. Still, finding feed and forage for the 7,000-head feedlot, plus its 1,100-head cattle herd, was not an easy task. “The ground situation is still pretty bleak,” said Lehr, […] Read more
Christmas came in June this year on most farms
On most farms, taps were only turned on for a short while — but the timing was perfect
Reading Time: 4 minutes If you were to tell the story of the 2022 growing season in Alberta, it would be impossible not to mention that rainfall. “The story of the year is June rainfall,” said Stuart Chutter, senior analyst with the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation. [RELATED] Rain sprouts hope among southern Alberta farmers The growing season started out […] Read more
The quest for drought-tolerant wheat heats up
A hotter, drier future looms but breeding for drought tolerance is a complicated business
Reading Time: 5 minutes The push to breed drought-resistant wheat has taken on new urgency as dry times become more common and more severe. “Drought is big on everybody’s minds these days,” said Harpinder Randhawa, a wheat breeder with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Lethbridge research centre. “Especially in Western Canada, we rely heavily on the natural water availability of […] Read more
Small islands could deliver a big payoff in feedlot holding ponds
Native, riparian plants can filter out organic matter, nutrients and heavy metals
Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta researchers are using the power of native plants to turn manure-fouled water into something so clean it could perhaps be used to water crops or livestock. “We’re using plants to clean water of contaminants. In this case, we’re using them to clean contaminants that exist in feedlot holding ponds,” said principal investigator Daniel Karran, […] Read more
Rollercoaster doesn’t begin to describe today’s markets
Don’t expect a return to normal anytime soon, says panel of market watchers
Reading Time: 4 minutes Supply-chain lions and interest-rate tigers and market bears, oh my! That could have been the theme for a recent webinar featuring a host of market analysts, all of whom highlighted just what a volatile time this is. “You have to figure out what is going on in this world, because so much of what is […] Read more