Reading Time: 5 minutes A new pilot project will give Canada’s cattle industry some long-overdue and much-needed data about antimicrobial use and resistance on Canadian beef farms. “Antibiotic resistance is a really, really big deal, both for human and animal health,” said Reynold Bergen, science director for the Beef Cattle Research Council. “If bugs get resistant to antibiotics, the […] Read more
Feedlots to be put to the test — and that’s what they want
Thwarting resistance and reassuring consumers behind antimicrobial monitoring
Canada forgotten as U.S. president strikes trade deal with Beijing
Canola and pork producers suffer another blow as politics and president’s deal making rule the day
Reading Time: 4 minutes A new trade agreement with China that President Donald Trump is touting as “the biggest deal ever made” for the American ag sector is another blow for Canadian farmers. And it’s a hard one to take since China slammed the door on Canadian canola seed and pork after Canada detained Huawei executive Meng Wanzhou on […] Read more
First UCP provincial budget cuts agriculture spending
Government forecasts $34-million drop in ag research funding over four years
Reading Time: 3 minutes Government-led agricultural research will face cuts under the United Conservatives’ new provincial budget. The budget, released Oct. 24, will slash spending in the Agriculture and Forestry Ministry by $88 million, dropping the department’s budget from $987 million in 2018-19 to $879 million in 2019-20. Within the department, the primary agriculture division — which manages research […] Read more
Proper hay storage can be the difference between a win and a wreck
Pyramid-style stacks are a no-no for your bales
Reading Time: 5 minutes How your hay looks heading into winter depends on two things — where you farm, and how badly you were hit by the never-ending rains this summer. If you’re on the Eastern Slopes in southern Alberta where the weather was good, you’re probably in luck. But heading farther east, conditions this summer were dry and […] Read more
Is the weed seed ‘destructor’ ready for prime time in Alberta?
Invention is now cheaper and easier to use, but it's still ‘a hard sell’ for farmers
Reading Time: 5 minutes In the battle against herbicide-resistant weeds here in Alberta, the Harrington Seed Destructor might just win us the war — if farmers can justify the $100,000 price tag. “If herbicides are still working, it can be hard to convince producers to spend that kind of money to purchase this kind of equipment,” said federal research […] Read more
Interest in irrigation in Alberta heads north
While the lion’s share of irrigation is in the south, some expect a major expansion as far north as the Peace
Reading Time: 7 minutes From the highway, the sign seems out of place. “Now open, Southern Irrigation,” it declares. Down Lethbridge way, it might not be unusual to see a yard full of irrigation pipes and reels of tubing. But Red Deer isn’t exactly the epicentre of irrigation in the province. But that may slowly be starting to change, […] Read more
Foodgrains Bank feels effects of up-and-down summer
Reading Time: 3 minutes Poor growing conditions here at home could have far-reaching impacts around the world, as Canadian Foodgrains Bank growing projects struggle to get their crops off. “Most of the southern projects are done, but farther north, there’s almost nothing done,” said Terence Barg, northern Alberta regional representative for the Foodgrains Bank. “If the yields aren’t good […] Read more
African swine fever: It’s not the ‘lazy’ virus — it’s unthinking people
African swine fever is spreading like wildfire in Asia, but it’s because people are bringing contaminated pork home
Reading Time: 6 minutes African swine fever continues to cut a devastating swath across Asia as North American pork industry officials work to keep the deadly disease off our shores. “The African swine fever virus is spreading very quickly throughout the Southeast Asia region,” Dr. Egan Brockhoff, veterinary counsellor for the Canadian Pork Council said in a Sept. 20 […] Read more
National small business contest gives boost to enterprising Alberta producer
Tool aggregates offers and shows real-time prices from multiple grain buyers
Reading Time: 2 minutes A fledgling Alberta ag enterprise has been named the most promising startup in a nationwide contest for small business owners. “I was so excited,” said Farmbucks founder Lynn Dargis, who took home the award for her grain-pricing app from TELUS Pitch in July. “It just solidifies that we’re onto something really good here. It’s given […] Read more
Malt driving demand for soft white spring wheat
Soft white spring acres in Alberta have rebounded thanks to the craft beer movement
Reading Time: 5 minutes Soft white wheat acres are starting to creep up in Alberta, thanks to the burgeoning craft beer movement. “There’s been a growing market for malting soft white wheat,” said Geoff Backman, markets manager with Alberta Wheat and Barley. “It’s been driven by demand from the craft brewing industry, and that’s a nice value-added market on […] Read more
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