Reading Time: 2 minutes This may be a year to consider chickpeas and fababeans, according to Hugh Campbell of Terramax and Scott Preston of Saskcan, a subsidiary of Alliance Grain Traders. The two were in Lethbridge recently to promote those crops to southern Alberta farmers. “Chickpeas are a staple in North Africa, and fababeans are very popular in Arab […] Read more
Problems In Other Growing Areas Create Demand For Canadian Pulses
Board Involvement Provides New Perspectives And Experiences
Reading Time: 2 minutes Farmer-led groups are increasingly replacing government organizations in selecting research, development, and extension activities. That means more board members are needed, but calls for volunteers to serve on organization boards aren’t always answered with enthusiasm. Farmers and ranchers who have stepped forward have found valuable experiences on these boards and figure the time spent on […] Read more
Separate Business Of Farming From Land And Way Of Life
Reading Time: 3 minutes Merle Good has been advising farmers about business arrangements and succession planning for over 30 years, helping farmers develop strategies to cope with all sorts of challenges. His advice, especially for parents and children farming together, is to separate land from the business of farming. “Seventy years ago, almost every farmer owned the land they […] Read more
Joint Ventures Easier Without Land Ownership
Reading Time: < 1 minute Separating land ownership from your farming business is also good for managing your farm business and also makes it easier to develop joint ventures with other farmers or businesses, says Merle Good, a farm business specialist with Alberta Agriculture. Good himself has been part of a joint venture with two fellow timothy producers in his […] Read more
Sometimes Maternal Bonding Needs A Bit Of Help
Reading Time: 2 minutes There are ways to bond a mother to her calf, even when she wants nothing to do with it. Animal behaviour specialist Joe Stookey has some old tricks and one relying on brain chemistry. Normal maternal behaviour is both learned and stimulated by the hormone oxytocin, which is released by the brain in a part […] Read more
Bottle-Fed Animals Don’t Stay Gentle Pets
Reading Time: 2 minutes Hand raising an orphan or unwanted male of any species is a dangerous business. Bottle feeding a lamb, calf, or wild creature can be a great introduction to caring for livestock and create wonderful pets which are tame, affectionate, and a lot of fun. But as those loving babies grow up they can become downright […] Read more
Southern Alberta Seed Growers Decide To Join Forces
Reading Time: 2 minutes If you can’t beat ’em, join ’em. For much of their careers so far, a group of southern Alberta seed growers has competed to supply commercial seed to farmers in their area. Now they have formed Seed- Net, an umbrella company so they can work together to provide better service. The 14 seed growers farm […] Read more
All The Weather Info You Need — In One Place
Reading Time: 3 minutes Yes, everyone talks about the weather, but maybe you can do something about it if you make use of a treasure trove of weather data collected by Alberta Agriculture. “Before 2002, we had just a few weather stations scattered across the province,” says Ralph Wright, head of the province’s Soil Moisture Unit. “Now we have […] Read more
Big Players Are Investing In Farmland
Reading Time: < 1 minute Could farmland be the next stock market darling? In the U.S., companies are raising money through the stock market to buy and lease farmland. Virginia-based Gladstone Land Corp. recently announced plans to sell up to $222 million in common stock and become the first publicly traded farmland leasing real estate investment trust. Other privately held […] Read more
Farmers Could Do Much Better On The PR Front, Says Manning
Reading Time: 2 minutes Don’t muddy your message, know your audience, and address their priorities. That, in a nutshell, was Preston Manning’s advice for farmers attending the recent 2010 Southern Alberta Conservation Association conference. The environment should be one of agriculture’s main communications themes, said the former Reform Party and Canadian Alliance leader. “Harness your wagon to a front-running […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
