Reading Time: 2 minutes August in Alberta usually means it’s time for Taber corn. The roadside stands pop up on parking lots in local towns and big cities alike as soon as the first cobs are ripe and ready for long summer-evening barbecues and family reunions. But this year and last, cool, wet summer weather has hit heat-loving corn […] Read more
First Of The Season, And Tasty Too – for Sep. 13, 2010
Scourge from the east has arrived in Alberta – for Aug. 30, 2010
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta may still be winning the battle of keeping rats outside its borders, but it’s lost the battle against another scourge from the east. Until last spring, the province could claim to be fusarium free, but last fall, the Canadian Grain Commission found fusarium in 18 per cent of durum and 11 per cent of […] Read more
Legendary Fruit Genetic Bank Could Be Lost Forever – for Aug. 30, 2010
Reading Time: 2 minutes A “tweet” from Russia’s President Dmitry Medvedev has raised hope than one of the world’s most important seed banks for fruit trees can be saved from the bulldozer. Residential real estate developers plan to build houses on the 91-hectare Pavlovsk Experiment Station near St. Petersburg, Russia, which has a field collection of thousands of fruit […] Read more
Beyond Condiments — New Uses For A “Hot” Crop – for Aug. 16, 2010
Reading Time: 3 minutes AF CONTRIBUTOR |LETHBRIDGE Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz took advantage of the centennial celebrations of the Scott Research Farm in mid-July to announce up to $4 million in funding for efforts to develop new uses and new markets for mustard. The funds will be funnelled through Mustard 21, a nonprofit organization formed by the Canadian […] Read more
Researchers Find Gender-Bending Chemicals In Two Alberta Rivers – for Aug. 16, 2010
Reading Time: 3 minutes AF CONTRIBUTOR |LETHBRIDGE Scientists have found several chemicals in the Oldman and Red Deer rivers that alter the sexual development of fish and may affect the brains of human infants and fetuses – and some of the substances originate on farms. The University of Calgary researchers collected water samples and long-nosed dace (minnows that generally […] Read more
Is Your Farm GHG-Plus Or GHG-Minus? – for Aug. 2, 2010
Reading Time: 3 minutes af contributor |lethbridge You know the size of you farm in acres, but how big is its carbon footprint – the amount of greenhouse gas it consumes to produce crops and livestock every year? Scientists at Agriculture Canada’s research centre in Lethbridge and other stations across the country have developed a computer program which can […] Read more
User Groups Want More Input In Water Rights – for Aug. 2, 2010
Reading Time: 2 minutes af contributor |lethbridge Farmers, environmental groups and others are calling for open consultations among Albertans and their government on proposals to change water rights. Most Albertans have no idea of the government’s plans, Lynn Jacobson, an irrigation farmer from Enchant and first vice-president of Wild Rose Agricultural Producers said at a news conference on the […] Read more
Farmers Markets Can Be A Test For Bigger Ventures
Reading Time: 2 minutes “They’re also place for growers to learn more about marketing that can form a basis for more specialized marketing efforts, test-market a specialty product or find out whether direct marketing is for you.” EILEEN KOTOWICH If you want to polish your marketing skills, there may be no better place than the local farmers market, says […] Read more
Southern farmers not singing normal tune on moisture
Reading Time: 2 minutes Wet soils are a problem we don’t usually deal with in this area. “It’s a really different year for us.” DON PITTMAN WARNER FARMER Southern Alberta farmers never say they have too much moisture, but this year, quite a few are biting their tongues. At time of writing last Monday, most farmers had all of […] Read more
Albertans warned to be on the lookout for Lyme disease
Reading Time: 2 minutes “We think the ticks hitchhiked here with migrating waterfowl and dropped off the birds here. But, once an adult has fed and mated it can produce thousands of eggs.” RON CLARKE Lyme disease is on the move, and the ticks that can carry the disease are being found in Alberta. “We’ve found a few of […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
