Reading Time: 3 minutes The glyphosate you use on the farm hasn’t changed — but public attitudes, at least in some quarters, have radically shifted. That’s part of the warning in this year’s edition of The Keep it Clean! Program. The site has information on maximum residue levels and regulatory updates but also reflects developments at the national and […] Read more
Glyphosate increasingly under the gun
This year’s Keep it Clean! campaign is warning producers not to use glyphosate as a desiccant
Long-running BSE class-action lawsuit grinds on
It’s now hoped the suit against the federal government will go to trial in September 2019
Reading Time: 2 minutes A class-action lawsuit seeking compensation for losses cattle producers suffered during the BSE crisis is now expected to go to trial in September 2019. The lawsuit is seeking $8 billion in damages from the federal government for losses incurred when the U.S. border was closed to Canadian cattle from 2003 to 2005. It has been […] Read more
Bud the Spud would feel at home in Alberta’s growing potato sector
Alberta is third in potato production after P.E.I. and Manitoba, and more growth is around the corner
Reading Time: 4 minutes Most people don’t know it, but Alberta is the third-largest producer of potatoes in the country, after Prince Edward Island and Manitoba. “Currently we grow about 53,500 acres,” said Terence Hochstein, executive director of the Potato Growers of Alberta. The association’s 150 members have a big economic impact. The farm gate value of their potatoes […] Read more
Municipalities on the front lines in clubroot war
Persuasion preferred, but no-grow orders are also being used
Reading Time: 4 minutes Municipal officials across the province are increasingly on guard in the ongoing war to slow the relentless spread of clubroot. It’s been 15 years since the pernicious soil-borne disease was first found in a canola field near Edmonton. The confirmed tally last year was 2,744 fields — but the true number is almost certainly higher. […] Read more
End of refundable checkoff may be near
If successful, most of the $2 million refunded each year would go towards the creation of an industry development fund
Reading Time: 2 minutes The province has given the nod to a long-sought request for a plebiscite to make the cattle checkoff non-refundable. It’s hoped a province-wide vote on the contentious issue will be held this autumn, said Rich Smith, executive director of Alberta Beef Producers. “It’s a very positive step towards us being able to have a plebiscite […] Read more
Trip to Ethiopia eye opening for Fort Saskatchewan siblings
Reading Time: 4 minutes Many farmers and Albertans support the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, but few have seen the impact that their donations make. Keith and Jacilyn Goutbeck have — and won’t soon forget what they encountered on a learning tour to Ethiopia at the end of January. The siblings visited individual families in communities that had received Foodgrains Bank […] Read more
A new day dawns and hope blossoms for Prairie grain farmers
The proof will be in the pudding, but farm leaders and grain companies agree the ‘building blocks’ are there
Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s a battle that took more than a decade to wage — but producers should see the benefits of the new grain transportation law this fall, says a pair of Alberta farm leaders. “I expect we’ll see advantages right away,” said Alberta Wheat chair Kevin Bender. “When the previous government brought in previous legislation after […] Read more
Is your farm prepared for a disease emergency?
New booklets lay out the threats to dairy, hog, and cattle operations and offer a blueprint for being ready
Reading Time: 3 minutes The first thing the Canadian Animal Health Coalition did after receiving a grant to better prepare for animal disease emergencies was to see if producer organizations had a crisis plan. The results weren’t encouraging. “We surveyed 130 organizations, all industry associations at different national and provincial levels across the country,” said Matt Taylor, one of […] Read more
Safeguard wheat midge tolerance or lose it, growers warned
A single gene that protects wheat from this costly pest could quickly be lost if there’s no refuge in fields
Reading Time: 2 minutes Planting saved soft white spring wheat that’s tolerant to wheat midge comes with a multimillion-dollar risk. If tolerance is lost, it could cost growers $60 million annually and up to $36 per acre, said Mike Espeseth, co-chair of the communications committee of the Midge Tolerant Wheat Stewardship Team. A single gene, called Sm1, provides midge […] Read more
More than bragging rights at stake in Alberta Wheat’s yield contest
The goal isn’t just getting growers to go big on a few acres, but to share their agronomic practices
Reading Time: 2 minutes Interested in growing a nice big crop of bragging rights? Alberta Wheat is making it easier for the second edition of its Wheat Yield Challenge. “We have tweaked the rules a bit this year, said Brian Kennedy, the crop commission’s grower relations and extension manager. “This year, we are going to compare what the grower […] Read more
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