Reading Time: 2 minutes Why would you try pursuing someone who doesn’t like you? That’s the key to romance — and to marketing beef. “As an industry, we have been starting with the logic perspective for a very long time,” James Bradbury, Canada Beef’s brand officer, said at the Alberta Beef Industry Conference. “We need to start coming across […] Read more
Market to the people who already love your beef, says expert
Beef hedonists, ranching romantics, and true patriots are the biggest fans of Canadian beef
The Big Wreck: One million unharvested acres
The financial hit will be huge and getting rid of those damaged crops could delay seeding and put this year’s crop at risk
Reading Time: 4 minutes [Updated: March 20, 2017] Ed Tollefson is worried he won’t be able to get 700 acres of snow-buried crop off his field before seeding this year. And the Valleyview-area farmer is not alone. Alberta producers have reported 967,569 unharvested acres to Agricultural Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) — a massive area that would have cost those […] Read more
Uncertainty is the name of the game in a Trump regime
As America heads down a protectionist path, Canada could be left grappling with a border adjustment tax and the return of COOL
Reading Time: 2 minutes In Chuck Penner’s mind, there’s no doubt that Trump’s presidency adds complexity to markets. “The difficulty is the unpredictability of it — it’s gonna be big,” said the market analyst and founder of LeftField Commodity Research. “We just don’t know how things are going to shake out. “The media has no shortage of stories to […] Read more
There’s solid global demand for canola and good-quality wheat
Lock in canola basis at seeding and keep an eye on the American wheat harvest, advises market analyst
Reading Time: 2 minutes Increasing demand for canola means opportunities for growers, says market analyst Chuck Penner. “Even if canola supply is flat — consumption, crush and exports are up,” Penner said. “That’s a bullish situation.” Japan was the biggest importer of Canadian canola this year, even though China has been the dominant market the past few years, he […] Read more
Fusarium is tough, but you can fight back, says crop scientist
Planting winter wheat and bumping seeding rates can help, but fungicides aren’t a silver bullet
Reading Time: 3 minutes The forecast is for more fusarium — and possibly a lot more if it’s another wet year. “As you know, the severity and incidence of fusarium is actually on the rise — if we continue to get the weather that we’re getting, we can expect the same,” Agriculture Canada research scientist Brian Beres said during […] Read more
‘Change’ is the watchword in a warming world, says researcher
Longer summers and milder winters sound nice, but even the pluses come with some negatives
Reading Time: 3 minutes How will the Canadian cattle industry fare if global temperatures continue to rise? Count a reduced feed demand, a longer grazing season, and higher forage production among the benefits — but also expect more extreme weather, pests, and transport headaches, according to University of Manitoba research scientist Kim Ominski. “We know the future of our […] Read more
Herbicide resistance is everywhere you look
This year it’s Alberta’s turn to be surveyed by Ag Canada — but researchers already know the news won’t be good
Reading Time: 3 minutes If you’ve found herbicide-tolerant weeds in your field, you’re not in the minority. Weed resistance is increasing worldwide, so it’s really important that Prairie growers understand growing herbicide tolerance, says one of the country’s top resistance experts. “Group 2 really overshadows all the other groups in terms of weed resistance,” said Hugh Beckie, a research […] Read more
Celebrity advice could have a negative impact on your health
We have more good science and information than ever — and more people believing in ‘ridiculous bunk’
Reading Time: 3 minutes Words of advice from celebrities like Gwyneth Paltrow, Katy Perry, and Tom Brady could be ruining your health or the health of the people around you. This was the message from Tim Caulfield, author, law professor and research director of the University of Alberta’s Health Law Institute during a seminar at FarmTech. “I really do […] Read more
Producers could score big in pulse industry
Murad Al-Katib says Alberta has it all — good growing conditions, port access, and containers
Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta has a huge opportunity in the pulse sector — and that’s just to meet demand already out there. That was only part of the good-news message that Murad Al-Katib brought to this year’s FarmTech. The future looks even brighter, said the president and CEO of AGT Foods in Regina. “Meeting the demand and supply […] Read more
Fifteen years later, conservation program is an overnight sensation
Almost no one wanted to sign up for the wildlife habitat restoration project when it started, but now there’s a waiting list
Reading Time: 4 minutes John Ross was the first rancher to sign on to the MULTISAR (Multiple Species At Risk) program 15 years ago, when no one else wanted to sign up to the conservation initiative. Now, there’s a waiting list of ranchers signed up to make their grazing land more suitable for wildlife and native species. “We worked […] Read more