Reading Time: 4 minutes It was a cold and rainy day — a gloomy but an apt setting for producers and grain industry officials touring the Port of Vancouver and witnessing the backlog of ships anchored in Burrard Inlet. The ships were barely visible in the fog for tour attendees, delegates to the Canadian Crops Convention held here earlier […] Read more
Rail delays have everyone ‘ripping their hair out’
Every West Coast anchorage spot is filled as ships wait for rail traffic to get back to normal
Confusing canola council tweet ‘bugs’ farmers
Tweet suggested council and Ducks Unlimited were partnering in agronomy project on beneficial insects
Reading Time: 3 minutes A tweet that suggested the Canola Council of Canada and Ducks Unlimited Canada were working together on an agronomy project prompted a firestorm of angry comments. The tweet, posted on Feb. 1, was about a project on beneficial insects in wetlands, shelterbelts, and other insect habitats. The idea of the canola council and Ducks Unlimited […] Read more
The complicated calculus of climate change
While Canadian farmers may see a longer growing season, there may be more pests and less rain
Reading Time: 3 minutes Farming and food production will be changed as a result of climate change — but the how is a complicated question. “Agriculture is a unique sector,” University of B.C. Professor Navin Ramankutty said earlier this month during this year’s edition of the Bentley Lecture in Sustainable Agriculture at the University of Alberta. “Agriculture is a […] Read more
Wheat and barley groups eye merger
Committee to investigate pros and cons, with full membership of both groups to vote on the merger bid
Reading Time: 3 minutes After first amalgamating their administrative teams and then their senior management, Alberta Wheat and Alberta Barley are now considering a full merger. But the notion of scrapping their individual boards and creating a single cereal crop board is still in its early stages, say the chairs of the two farm groups. “The resolution came up […] Read more
New insect expert introduces himself and advises on key pests for 2020
Cabbage seed pod weevils, bertha army worms and pea leaf weevils the insects to watch for in 2020
Reading Time: 3 minutes The province has gained one new entomologist but has lost its best-known bug specialist. Boyd Mori, a new assistant professor in the University of Alberta’s agriculture department, paid tribute to provincial insect management specialist Scott Meers in his presentation at FarmTech — and urged his audience to lobby the government for a replacement. “Scott Meers […] Read more
Consumers want proof that crop farming is sustainable
Code of practice expected to be released for feedback this summer, says industry veteran Ted Menzies
Reading Time: 2 minutes Crop producers are practising sustainable farming, but consumers want proof — and that’s why a code of practice is needed, says a veteran industry leader. Consumers don’t understand that crop practices in Canada are sustainable, Ted Menzies said at the recent AGM of the Alberta Federation of Agriculture. “Maybe they don’t need to understand that,” […] Read more
Supply can’t meet demand for thistle-munching weevils
Stem-mining weevils love Canada thistle but getting enough of the bugs has been a challenge for forage association
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada thistle is a huge problem in ranchers’ fields — but unfortunately, demand for one of the solutions has outstripped supply. West Central Forage Association has been selling stem-mining weevils since about 2014 but recently its supplier in Montana has had production problems and been unable to fill its orders. “The last couple of years, […] Read more
Sheep industry starts new organization to tackle challenges
Alberta lamb producer chairs the newly formed National Sheep Network
Reading Time: 3 minutes Demand for lamb continues to grow — and the sheep sector continues to struggle to meet it. In fact, if more fresh Canadian lamb was available, demand would be growing even faster, says the managing director of the North American Lamb Company, the biggest player in the sector. “With a bit of marketing and new […] Read more
Don’t expect a quick fix for China’s ban on Canadian canola
China expert says Beijing’s retaliation against Canada has ‘the personal imprint of the Chinese president’
Reading Time: 3 minutes An easy or fast solution to the Chinese defacto ban on canola is unlikely, says a China expert. “China doesn’t yield to simple analysis,” Gordon Houlden, a political science professor and director of the China Institute at the University of Alberta, told FarmTech attendees. The detention of Huawei executive Meng Wangzhou on an extradition warrant […] Read more
New Alberta book aims to connect kids with their dinner
Reading Time: 2 minutes When Conny Kappler decided to write a children’s book about how food is produced, she didn’t have to look far for subject material. In fact, 90 per cent of the photos in her new book — Dirt to Dinner — come from the market garden she operates near Rolling Hills, south of Brooks. “I want […] Read more