Reading Time: 5 minutes The rapid spread of clubroot in the last decade will continue in the coming one if canola growers don’t start to get ahead of the disease. “The resistance is being overcome already, and some of those cases are pretty significant and serious infestations,” said Dan Orchard, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada. “In […] Read more
The Year That Was: Clubroot continued its deadly march in 2019
The disease didn't make the headlines in 2019 but its assault on Alberta continued
Alberta pair gets twice-in-a-lifetime opportunity to start farming
Two families are creating a new legacy on a family farm — just not the one they grew up on
Reading Time: 6 minutes For most farm kids, taking over the family farm is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that’s too good to pass up. But for Jay Bruggencate and Mike Sulzle, it was a second chance that drew them back into farming — just not on their own family farms. Both men had “missed the window” to go back to […] Read more
Buckle up — grain markets are in for a bumpy ride
Politics, protectionism and the increasing odds of a global recession make for a ‘tough market’
Reading Time: 5 minutes Trade wars around the globe have created a turbulent marketplace for Canadian farmers — and the wild ride isn’t likely to end any time soon. “Over the past two years, the markets really stand apart from what I’ve seen in the 30 years that I’ve been following the grain markets,” said Mike Jubinville, senior market […] Read more
Another 10 bushels an acre of canola? It’s doable, says expert
It’s ‘a big challenge’ but achieving an average of 52 bushels an acre can be done, says Clint Jurke
Reading Time: 5 minutes Six down and 10 to go. If producers are going to hit the Canola Council of Canada’s goal of achieving 52 bushels per acre, they’re going to have to change their management approach, says the organization’s agronomy director. But it can be done, said Clint Jurke. “When we launched this 52-bushel plan four years ago, […] Read more
Like it or not, climate change will change your farm, say two experts
The growing season is already longer and extremes more common, say climatologist and crop specialist
Reading Time: 6 minutes Canada’s best-known climatologist always knows when he’s lost a crowd of producers he’s presenting to. It’s usually right around the time he starts talking about climate change. But he gets it. “Farmers have been beat up a lot — they’ve been accused of causing climate change,” said David Phillips, Environment and Climate Change Canada’s senior […] Read more
Feed testing is a luxury you can’t afford to miss out on this winter
The first step is to get representative samples — and that can be trickier than it sounds
Reading Time: 4 minutes Just like you can’t always tell if your cattle are healthy by looking at them, you can’t see the quality of your feed at first glance. Luckily, feed testing can help you manage both. “The nutrition program is almost always the culprit when things just aren’t quite right,” said Karin Schmid, research and production manager […] Read more
Canada’s farm labour crisis keeps getting worse
The worker shortage has doubled in the last 15 years and will double again in the next decade
Reading Time: 5 minutes Agricultural labour shortages across Canada have doubled over the past 10 years and could double again by 2029. In its most recent labour market forecast, the Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council found there were 63,000 unfilled positions in the sector last year — up from 30,000 unfilled positions in 2004. And that number is expected […] Read more
Farm leaders say they understand the need for spending restraint
Province’s Ag Ministry will see deep cuts but Devin Dreeshen says the money can be found by finding efficiencies
Reading Time: 5 minutes It is the biggest cut in government spending since the days of Ralph Klein — but Alberta’s agriculture minister calls it ‘trimming’ and farm groups are not raising a hue and cry. “We’ve trimmed our spending this year by nine per cent by going through every program that we’ve had within the ministry to find […] Read more
Are you prepared to do more with less agricultural research?
That’s the question farm and research groups are facing as government and industry funding falls
Reading Time: 4 minutes There will be less government money and a renewed focus on boosting productivity on the farm, but the details of the province’s new plan for ag research are still up in the air. “We’d like to get to a point where we have a long-term vision for agricultural research — one that’s designed to be […] Read more
Alberta family shares life on the farm in national web series
Reading Time: 3 minutes The Sawyer family has invited the whole internet to their dinner table. But before you show up in your Sunday finest, this invitation is a virtual one — a chance to get a glimpse of “a real family on their farm” on the national web series “Real Farm Lives.” “Farming is part of our dinner […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
