Reading Time: 4 minutes If you had asked Richard Gray last month whether global grain supply would outstrip demand coming into this growing season, his answer would have been a resounding yes. But now? It’s anyone’s guess. “A few weeks ago, it would have been very clear that global production was going to exceed demand,” said Gray, a veteran […] Read more
Fears of a global grain glut on the rise
China’s pig herd has been decimated — and that’s bad news for feed grains and oilseeds, says economist
Innisfail-area teen gives new meaning to ‘horsepower’
4-H Science Fair project generates renewable energy
Reading Time: 2 minutes One Innisfail-area teen has turned horse manure into horsepower, thanks to an innovative 4-H Science Fair project of his own design. “I wanted to see if the average daily manure produced by one horse would be enough to power electric horse fencing using a biodigester,” said 13-year-old Liam Christian. “I found out that, yes, actually, […] Read more
Do crops really grow better in the north?
Study aims to show processors and investors that northern vigour produces superior crops
Reading Time: 3 minutes Some call it northern vigour. Others call it the northern advantage. And now, one group of Alberta researchers are setting out to prove what some farmers have been saying all along — that crops really do grow better up north. “In this part of Alberta, we have 19 hours of daily sunlight in the summer, […] Read more
In the weeds: Canadian farmers can’t stay ahead of herbicide resistance
The problem is huge, rapidly getting worse, and non-chemical weed control is becoming a necessity
Reading Time: 4 minutes Farmers won’t be able to spray their way out of this — Canada is now third in the world when it comes to weeds able to survive pesticides that used to kill them. “We’re quickly being overrun by herbicide-resistant weeds,” said federal research scientist Charles Geddes. “There have been difficult herbicide-resistant weeds in the past, […] Read more
Dry grain while the sun shines — harnessing solar power for drying grain
Robert Baerg has gained some peace of mind with novel grain dryer
Reading Time: 6 minutes Robert Baerg was having coffee with a neighbour one rainy harvest about 15 years ago when they got to talking about their old grain dryer. It was a real headache, that dryer — chewing through horsepower to dry tough grain far too slowly, and then they still had to cool it. It took both neighbours […] Read more
Decimation of China’s hog herd has a silver lining for Canada
African swine fever outbreak fuelling price surge but if the disease comes here, it would be a nightmare
African swine fever outbreak fuelling price surge but if the disease comes here, it would be a nightmare
Reading Time: 5 minutes African swine fever could be a boon for the pork sector — if North American producers can keep the devastating disease at bay. “You always hate to make money at the expense of disease in other countries, but nonetheless, the opportunity is there,” said Brent Bushell, general manager of the Western Hog Exchange. The virulent […] Read more
Prairie pulse processing still in next-year country
But that could change as ‘supercluster’ hands out first $40 million to spur processing on the Prairies
Reading Time: 4 minutes Chris Chivilo was nearly ready to break ground on a brand new pulse fractioning plant in Bowden when the bottom fell out of the market. “Two and a half years ago, we got very close, and then the pulse market went to hell,” said Chivilo, president of W.A. Grain and Pulse Solutions. “So we put […] Read more
PED mystery unsolved, but outbreak may have ended
Officials hopeful there will be no new cases of deadly hog virus
Reading Time: 5 minutes Alberta’s lead veterinarians are cautiously optimistic the spread of a deadly hog virus has slowed — or maybe even stopped entirely. “It’s now been eight weeks since our last case of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv), and we’re ever hopeful that we will not be getting any more cases for the next while,” said Dr. […] Read more
Farmers in three provinces tapped to help reduce flood risk
A $250,000 investment will see 46 farmers establish and maintain 365 acres of wetland projects
Reading Time: 3 minutes New funding for an innovative conservation program could help reduce flood risk in Alberta’s largest city. The charitable arm of Intact Financial Corporation — the country’s largest provider of property and casualty insurance — is giving nearly $250,000 in funding for ALUS Canada to develop natural infrastructure projects in four communities across Canada, including two […] Read more
Red-hot land market shows signs of cooling
Prices have soared for nearly a decade but that trend may be coming to an end
Reading Time: 4 minutes The price of Alberta farmland took another big jump last year — but there are strong signs the red-hot bull market is finally cooling off. Overall, Canadian acres saw their smallest price increase in nearly a decade, and the amount of land changing hands dropped as many would-be buyers either stayed on the sidelines or […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
