Reading Time: 5 minutes It’s not every day you see a group of politicians from France’s Assemblée nationale trooping around an Alberta ranch in plastic booties. But that was the case earlier this month at Shoestring Ranch near Acme as Ian and Carman Murray played host to three députés (France’s version of MPs), a pair of officials from Canada’s […] Read more
C’est bon: French politicians check out Alberta cattle ranch
Bringing European officials to cattle country is part of a multi-pronged effort to sell beef to the EU
Crop sector eyes code of practice to showcase stewardship credentials
The initiative has widespread support among farm groups and industry
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s early days, but work has begun on developing a code of practice for field crops — a move aimed at reassuring consumers that producers are using sustainable methods to grow food. “It’s basically on the idea level — we’ve done a little bit of work on what it could potentially look like, but it’s […] Read more
Beef sector redoubles its efforts to reach out to consumers
The goal is to use solid data and offer to the public in easy-to-digest ‘packages’
Reading Time: 3 minutes A new Beef Cattle Research Council article making the case that beef production uses water efficiently is the latest example of a renewed effort to reach out to consumers. The industry has recognized there is “a gap on the consumer communication side and somebody needed to do something,” said Reynold Bergen, the council’s science director. […] Read more
What should we do now? Don’t panic, say canola analysts
‘Some opportunity ahead,’ says market watcher
Reading Time: 3 minutes China’s decision to stop buying Canadian canola has prompted some farmers to push the panic button — trying to sell what they have in their bins before things get any worse. But those calling FarmLink Marketing Solutions are being told to hold off on making any hasty moves. “This is a premium oilseed,” said Neil […] Read more
Could a wheat sample test put money in your pocket?
Buyers are increasingly using falling number to determine wheat’s value — but farmers don’t get paid for that
Reading Time: 4 minutes Alberta Wheat is hailing a move by the Canadian Grain Commission to consider making tests for falling number and deoxynivalenol official grain-grading factors. “We want the grain commission to make a whole bunch of changes,” said chair Gary Stanford. “We think the grain should be sold by falling numbers… Everybody wants to sell at Grade […] Read more
Growers fear a China crisis over canola
Farmers are worried but quiet diplomacy is the best option, says Alberta Canola official
Reading Time: 3 minutes Wait and hope. And test. That’s about all Alberta canola growers can do as what appears to be political gamesmanship by China plays out. News that Canada’s biggest buyer of the oilseed had cancelled Richardson International’s registration to ship canola prompted worried producers to call the Alberta Canola Producers Commission. “At first it was kind of […] Read more
Alberta producers create a buzz on their farms with pollinator program
Program encourages farmers to seed an acre or two with plants that attract pollinators and build biodiversity
Reading Time: 3 minutes Vance Graham’s land is now more attractive to bees, and all he had to do was plant a few seed packets. Graham is one of 38 Alberta farmers who signed up for Operation Pollinator, a project run by Syngenta and the Soil Conservation Council of Canada. “They wanted it on an area of ground that […] Read more
In denial? Farmers ‘failing’ in battle against clubroot
Scott Keller has crunched acreage numbers and found tight rotations and susceptible varieties are commonplace
Reading Time: 6 minutes For the last three years, Scott Keller has been crunching acreage numbers from the provincial crop insurer — and he’s not liking what he sees. “To me, everything the researchers and the Canola Council (of Canada) is saying that farmers should do; they’re not even doing anything outside of just adopting the resistant varieties,” said […] Read more
The mystery deepens as third case of PED found in Alberta
It’s not known how the devastating virus arrived or how it showed up in one isolated room on a second farm
Reading Time: 5 minutes Alberta hog producers are no closer to answers about how a devastating virus found its way into the province after a third case of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) was confirmed at the start of March. “There are several possibilities about how it’s spreading that involve transportation, and we’re still looking into that at this […] Read more
Seeking options for wireworm control
Crop rotation and biological methods are being studied for managing the persistent pest
Reading Time: 4 minutes No available insecticides can kill them and the one that can at least slow them down may be phased out. But biological control may have promise for managing wireworms, says an Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada scientist who has been researching the pest species. “They especially love cereal crops and food crops like carrots and potatoes […] Read more