Reading Time: 3 minutes The latest hot trend in fast food is boosting the fortunes of egg farmers in Alberta and across the country. “Egg sales have gone up all across Canada because of the all-day breakfast,” said Egg Farmers of Alberta chair Beatrice Visser. “We have increased the consumption.” That’s putting it mildly. Egg sales have been rising […] Read more
Get Cracking: It’s boom time for egg farmers
All-day breakfast has the egg sector scrambling to keep up with demand
Japan still trusts Canadian wheat system, say officials
Country is a top wheat customer and will continue to be despite GM wheat incident, they say
Reading Time: 5 minutes Relationships still matter when it comes to trade, and Alberta officials say those will be key in re-establishing wheat sales with one of the country’s biggest buyers. No sooner had news broken that a small number of genetically modified wheat plants had been found in Alberta than industry reps were arranging to meet with officials […] Read more
Farming every acre doesn’t pay when the wind is howling
Producers are being urged to ‘rethink’ shelterbelts and how they preserve moisture and protect soil
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta farmers are being urged to “rethink” shelterbelts — and soil conservation experts agree. Zero till hasn’t made shelterbelts obsolete and this year’s dry conditions have shown the value of having something to disrupt the flow of hot winds blowing over fields, said Toso Bozic, Alberta Agriculture’s agro-forestry specialist. “Planting new windbreaks needs to be […] Read more
Growing projects putting down roots around elevators
Reading Time: 2 minutes Volunteers at a trio of Canadian Foodgrains Bank growing projects in Alberta won’t have to go far to deliver their harvests this fall. Viterra is providing 400 acres around three of its Alberta grain terminals (and another three in Saskatchewan) for growing projects this year. “We’ve had a long-standing partnership with Viterra,” said John Longhurst, […] Read more
Alberta Milk offers program to entice new organic producers
There are just six organic milk producers in the province but a new program aims to up that by a third
Reading Time: 3 minutes [UPDATED: July 23, 2018] Growing demand for organic milk not only has the provincial dairy association seeking more production but also more producers — just to make sure it never runs short. “We need more organic and we need to make sure that we don’t only have a few farms taking some of the supply […] Read more
Glyphosate increasingly under the gun
This year’s Keep it Clean! campaign is warning producers not to use glyphosate as a desiccant
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
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