Reading Time: 3 minutes All across Alberta it’s getting harder to find farmland that meets your needs, and what is available is getting more costly. Real estate people everywhere in the province tell the same story: “There just isn’t much land for sale.” Irrigated land in southern Alberta is fetching the highest prices. One quarter section in the county […] Read more
Good Land Is Hard To Find
Crop Advisers: Only You Know If You Need One
Reading Time: 3 minutes More complex decisions, more chemicals with tighter scheduling requirements, and more paperwork are driving many farmers to work with crop advisers, but at least one researcher isn’t convinced farmers are getting good value for their investment. “I think many farmers don’t really need an agronomist,” says Alberta Agriculture agronomy research scientist, Ross McKenzie. “You need […] Read more
New Farmer-Payment System For Reducing N Emissions
Reading Time: 4 minutes The Alberta government has a new system to cut greenhouse gas emissions from farming. Farmers can earn carbon offsets if they provide documentation that since 2002 they have changed nitrogen management on cropped land in ways that lower the risk of nitrous oxide (N20). But the returns won’t be huge at present prices. A team […] Read more
There’s Never Been A Better Time To Soil Test
Reading Time: 3 minutes This year’s wet weather was not only hard on farmers, but also their soil – and that’s why it’s especially important to soil test this year, according to the dean of Alberta’s soil scientists. “This has been such an oddball year, it’s incredibly challenging to figure what’s left in the soil for next year’s crop, […] Read more
Public Outcry Kills Plan To Buy Crown Grazing Land
Reading Time: 2 minutes A plan to buy 16,000 acres of Crown grazing land and convert some of it to irrigated farmland has been abandoned by the prospective buyer after environmental groups and cattle producers took their objections to the media. “We never expected the proposal to receive the negative attention it has,” Keith Ypma of SLM Spud Farms […] Read more
Unwanted Horses With No Place To Go Become A Hazard
Reading Time: 3 minutes A newly released survey says the U.S. ban on horse meat production has failed to protect unwanted horses, and an Alberta horse industry export predicts the growing problem of abandoned horses will see the ban reversed. In some parts of the U.S., abandoned horses are becoming a road hazard, and the joke at auction barns […] Read more
Pulse Marketer Has Come A Long Way Since Starting As A Grower
Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta farmers grow lots of pulses and most Albertans eat beans, peas, lentils or chickpeas at least occasionally, but stores in Alberta have not been able to offer shoppers Alberta-grown product. Joerg and Petra Klempnauer aim to change that. As a farmer, Klempnauer grew a variety of pulses at Grassy Lake, near Bow Island. He […] Read more
Farmers Glad 2010 Is In The Rear-View Mirror
Reading Time: 3 minutes This is one year that almost every farmer says they’re glad to see finally at an end. Just about the only good part of the year has been in September and October, and it shows in the quality and quantities of most crops. Now that most are off, you can see the weedy patches in […] Read more
Proposed Potato Farm For Native Range Draws Fierce Fire – for Oct. 25, 2010
Reading Time: 4 minutes Ranchers and environmentalists are both crying foul over an Alberta government plan to sell 16,000 acres of native prairie without public tender to a potato-farming company. While the environmental community is upset over the looming loss of the native prairie, the threat to endangered species, and the water draw required for potato farming, cattlemen are […] Read more
Knowing The Enemy The Battle Against Crop Pests – for Sep. 13, 2010
Reading Time: 3 minutes Know your enemy” is good advice for anyone fighting a battle and that includes the battle against crop pests and diseases. That’s why Alberta Agriculture has established a survey through its new Pest Surveillance Branch, and it’s getting good response from others who want to identify and quantify the threats to crops. “We’ve been inundated […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
