Reading Time: 2 minutes Four Albertan agencies are merging into one large entity in order to become more cost efficient and competitive. On Nov. 1, Alberta Innovates became a legal entity, absorbing Alberta Innovates Tech Futures; Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions; Alberta Innovates Energy and Environment Solutions; and Alberta Innovates Health Solutions. “There’s a lot of stake in this because […] Read more
New super agency aims to help diversify economy
Alberta Innovates merges four agencies, including two that had been involved in agricultural projects
Horrible fall harvest goes on and on
Many producers may have to delay seeding because they need to combine first
Reading Time: 3 minutes Keith Degenhardt thought last year’s harvest was bad. But then 2016 came along. The pedigreed seed grower from Hughenden estimated only about 60 per cent of the acres in east-central Alberta had been harvested by the end of October. “People have ordered dryers and some are putting crops in bags in hopes that they will […] Read more
Canadian beef industry gets high marks in sustainability assessment
Industry needs to reduce meat waste and improve labour practices, but does well on greenhouse gas emissions
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s finally complete. The Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef has crunched the numbers and can detail the full impact of what it takes to produce beef in Canada. The National Beef Sustainability Assessment — a first-of-its-kind study — took a comprehensive look at the environmental, social, and economic aspects of beef production. “Throughout the sustainability […] Read more
Price isn’t everything at the meat counter — being Canadian counts, too
About half of consumers say they check labels to ensure they’re buying meat of Canadian origin
Reading Time: 2 minutes Good news, Canadian livestock producers — your fellow citizens are willing to pay more for your meat. “Canadians buy Canadian to support local and Canadian farmers, support the local economy, and for freshness,” Barry Davis of Leger Marketing said at the recent FutureFare conference. His firm surveyed 1,609 meat shoppers and two-thirds said they had […] Read more
Where’s the beef? Increasingly, it’s in the premium product section
Leave the lower-end market to other meats and ‘come to terms’ with the global push to reduce meat consumption, says ‘Dr. Food’
Reading Time: 3 minutes The beef sector needs to position its meat as a premium product and forget about trying to duke it out with farmed fish and commercial chicken production, says one of the world’s best-known food-marketing experts. Fish and chicken are “the two big meats” because they have the best feed conversion ratios, David Hughes said at […] Read more
ALMA reaches the end of the road
The agency’s eight-year legacy was celebrated, and future plans outlined at its last FutureFare conference
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency held a final meeting cum celebration before its dissolution at the end of October. “It’s been a heck of a ride. This is emotional,” ALMA board chair Dave Chalack said to an audience of about 260 industry partners, board directors, and staff at the agency’s last FutureFare conference. The […] Read more
Controlling winter weeds now will pay off later
It’s cheaper to control winter weeds in the fall, and they won’t compete with your spring crop
Reading Time: 2 minutes You’ve been busting your butt during harvest and you’ve scouted your field many times during the growing season. But if you’re direct seeding, it’s worth scouting just one more time for winter weeds after you harvest. “It depends on what kind of production system a producer has,” said Mark Cutts, crop specialist with Alberta Agriculture’s […] Read more
U of A researcher first Canadian to win major international award
Lorne Babiuk, vice-president of research at University of Alberta, has helped develop six vaccines and made major contributions to animal health
Reading Time: 2 minutes He’s helped pioneer the development of vaccines used by livestock producers worldwide, and now he’s the first Canadian to be named a World Agriculture Prize Laureate. Lorne Babiuk, world-renowned virologist and vice-president of research at the University of Alberta, was awarded the prestigious prize in recognition of his lifetime achievement. “Vaccines, whether for producers or […] Read more
Hog producers taking a hit as prices plunge once again
The low dollar is taking away some of the pain caused by a big increase in the American pig herd
Reading Time: 3 minutes The roller-coaster ride for hog producers has once again taken a steep downward plunge. “Prices really started to slide a couple of months ago,” said Marcel Rupert, who has an 800-sow farrow-to-finish operation north of Drumheller. And they may have a ways to go. The price of feeder pigs is a leading indicator in the […] Read more
Canada hosts Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef
Sustainable beef leaders from all over the world will be meeting in Banff from October 4-7
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta will be the meeting ground for the world’s sustainable beef leaders when the Global Conference on Sustainable Beef is held in Banff in October. The inaugural version of the conference, held in Denver six years ago, gave birth to the “sustainable beef” movement through the creation of the Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef. That, […] Read more
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