Reading Time: 3 minutes A biodiesel plant under construction just outside Lethbridge will start production in a couple of months. Kyoto Fuels Corp. expects to produce 66 million litres of canola-based biodiesel annually beginning in February or March, and will consume about 650,000 acres’ worth of production. It will be the country’s largest biodiesel plant and the only plant […] Read more
Lethbridge biodiesel plant nearing completion
Dry Summer Reduced Some — But Not All — Crop Disease
Reading Time: 2 minutes Last summer s dry weather stopped a lot of crop diseases, but not all of them. The cold, late spring with many saturated soils was followed by dry weather in most of the province (save in the Peace where the end of a long drought was followed by almost constant rains). The dry weather meant […] Read more
Premier Cancels “Potatogate” Sale
Reading Time: 3 minutes The Alberta government has cancelled the request for proposals that would have seen 16,000 acres of native rangeland sold for irrigation development. The cancellation fulfilled a promise Premier Alison Redford made during her campaign for the leadership of the Progressive Conservative Party. According to a press release from Alberta Sustainable Resource Development (SRD), People raised […] Read more
Check Winter Wheat Before The Snow Flies
Reading Time: 2 minutes Stripe rust hit winter wheat hard last year, after it overwintered here for the first time. It can be a devastating disease so it might pay off to check for it on your winter wheat so you can be ready for it in spring. Plant pathologists blame the insulating effect of the deep, persistent snow […] Read more
Pivot Maintenance Best Done Outside Irrigation Season
Reading Time: 3 minutes Before and after irrigating season is the best time to maintain pivots and their control boxes, whether you do it or have a specialized technician make a preventive maintenance service call. The servicing that s done when you don t need the pivot is much less stressful than calling for an emergency service or searching […] Read more
Slow Start, Better Finish For Southern Special Crops
Reading Time: 3 minutes After a shaky start, southern Alberta s special crops are finishing the year on a high note. We haven t seen this kind of quality in a while, said Owen Cleland, manager of the Viterra bean plant in Taber. There s good colour and size and no weather damage. The cold, wet spring delayed some […] Read more
This Wasp Is One You’re Happy To Have Around
Reading Time: 3 minutes You may never have seen it, it doesn t have a common name, it didn t cost you a cent, but it may be saving you thousands in lost yield and pesticide cost. Tetrastichus julis (T. julis) is a tiny wasp that feeds on the cereal leaf beetle, a Eurasian pest first found in North […] Read more
Provincial Crops Not Bad Despite A Shaky Start
Reading Time: 2 minutes The warm, dry weather that all of Alberta enjoyed through August and September helped crops mature and has given farmers time to harvest them in good shape. AsAlberta Farmerwent to press last week, harvest across the province was around three-quarters done. Areas west of Highway 2 are later and the Peace also lagged because of […] Read more
Grazing Land To Potato Land Proposal Returns
Reading Time: 3 minutes A controversial plan to convert a block of publicly owned grassland north of Bow Island to potato irrigation is back on the table, and Alberta Sustainable Resource Development is being criticized for ignoring the advice of its regional land use planning group. A private deal to buy this land from the government fell apart last […] Read more
Graze Alfalfa Safely With New Sainfoin Lines
Reading Time: 3 minutes The high gains from alfalfa come with the risk of bloat but new lines of sainfoin look set to change that. Sainfoin is a little-used pasture legume with high levels of condensed tannins that bind to proteins and protect them from breakdown in the rumen, preventing bloat and possibly allowing for better use of protein. […] Read more
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