Grain prices have been strong in recent years but input costs have also risen, resulting in lower realized income for farms, StatCan says.

Alberta farmers agree prices up, costs up faster

StatCan figures suggest farmers once again caught in cost-price squeeze

Reading Time: 4 minutes Alberta farm groups say they’ve seen a recently reported drop in realized farm income play out in real time. Recent figures from Statistics Canada show that producers across the country earned more money in 2022 compared to the previous year, but rising expenses more than ate up that increase. The net result was a 7.6 […] Read more



“I think that indoor ag provides that kind of efficiency for land and space and just even opportunity.” – Jay Steeves.

Olds College to pioneer cutting-edge indoor ag training

New controlled agriculture program caters to a burgeoning sector

Reading Time: 3 minutes If you only had two or three seconds to describe controlled environment agriculture, “high tech greenhouses” would probably suffice. But it’s much more than that, said a developer of a new program at Olds College, and the college hopes to be a pioneer in training the workforce needed to increase food production efficiency. “We put […] Read more


The latest repair challenges are a far cry from replacing a broken belt — they centre around proprietary high-tech systems that farmers and independent repair shops say they’re being shut out of.

Ottawa, equipment industry clash over right to repair

Industry representative says federal action is no longer required

Reading Time: 3 minutes A recent federal call to formalize producers’ right to repair their own equipment ignores what manufacturers are already doing to boost farmers’ capacity to do so, according to a leader in the North American equipment arena. On Nov. 21, the federal government argued for an adjustment to the Competition Act that would prevent manufacturers from […] Read more

“There’s a lot of fractional ownership in wells. There’s lots of... sites that are out there that aren’t orphaned and the responsible party is somebody else.” – Lars DePauw, Orphan Well Association president.

A bird’s eyeview of orphan wells

Process can be long and complex for farmers and other landowners

Reading Time: 5 minutes Alberta’s beautiful landscape is dotted with a lot of oil and gas wells. A current list of them from the Alberta Energy Regulator (AER) runs to more than 16,000 pages, and there’s an estimated 620,000 of them in total. They’re collectively a major contributor to Alberta’s economy, and the energy needs of North America and […] Read more


Producers using a new moisture insurance program are getting payouts, AFSC says.

Locked out of drought help? Give moisture insurance a try

Moisture deficit insurance may help drought-stricken livestock producers in the future

Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta livestock producers frozen out of the new Canada-Alberta Drought Livestock Assistance program may want to consider an under-utilized insurance program in the future, said a representative from the program administrators. The AgriRecovery-based program was recently introduced to help livestock producers who faced extraordinary costs accessing feed in 2023. However, it doesn’t cover all of […] Read more

Rachael Wheeler of Australia said her Canadian cattle genetics have resulted in cattle that can thrive in a rang e of environments.

International buyers take Canadian cattle genetics worldwide

Farmfair and its inbound buyer program made these two international operations boosters of Canadian cattle

Reading Time: 4 minutes Farmfair International has driven major changes in the way two international beef producers grow cattle. And it all comes down to Canadian genetics. Just ask Colette Masterson of South Africa. She and her husband, Andrew, first visited the Edmonton event five years ago. They’ve never looked back. “When we visited Farmfair for the first time […] Read more


(Romaset/iStock/Getty Images)

Ottawa lines up with farmers on right-to-repair

Feds to call for owners to be able to repair their own equipment

The federal government says it’s siding with Canadian farmers on the right-to-repair debate. An announcement this week from the federal government called for an adjustment to the Competition Act that would prevent manufacturers from refusing to provide the means of device and product repair in an “anti-competitive manner.” That declaration came in the government’s 2023 […] Read more

Although new Alberta Grains executive director Mike Flynn admits his knowledge of farming is limited, he believes his previous experience makes up for it. He’s pictured here with wife Joanie, daughter Shae (7) and son Maxwell (3).

New executive director brings city thinking to rural commission

Alberta Grains executive lacks farm knowledge but offsets it with core skills

Reading Time: 4 minutes He’s experienced. He’s motivated. And he’s the first to admit he doesn’t know a lick about farming. His name is Mike Flynn and he’s the first executive director of the new Alberta Grains. A non-aggie might seem like an odd choice for commission leadership, but he sports a unique CV: a professional executive director good […] Read more