Reading Time: 5 minutes New buzzwords are old news at Hebert Grain Ventures, where ‘climate-positive practices’ have been just another part of doing business for decades. That makes the Saskatchewan grain operation a model for how farmers here can improve sustainability without hurting their profits. “The hashtags that are now used are climate positive and sustainable, but we implemented […] Read more
You can leverage sustainability to boost profitability, says producer
‘Climate positive’ is the new buzzword but prioritizing stewardship is good business, says Kristjan Hebert
Hybrid rye brings flexibility and vigour for cattle feeders
Still a relatively new crop here, hybrid rye deserves a good look as a feed grain, say proponents
Reading Time: 4 minutes Hybrid rye might just be the closest a producer can come to a one-size-fits-all solution for feeding cattle, attendees at a recent webinar were told. “There’s a lot of flexibility to it,” said Nathan Penner, commercialization manager at FP Genetics. “The thing I like about it is there’s options to use it in multiple different […] Read more
Grain code: After push-back comes a reset
Group behind sustainability initiative is taking a different approach
Reading Time: 4 minutes The pause button has been pushed on a code of practice for grain producers after push-back from farmers across the Prairies. And the group behind the Responsible Grain Code of Practice is pledging to do a better job of consulting farmers before taking any further steps. “We considered all of the feedback we got out […] Read more
How early can you go? Ultra-early seeding is pushing the boundaries
Some farmers are convinced seeding at the start of April or even weeks earlier is a winning strategy
Reading Time: 7 minutes While other farmers are still counting down the days until they can start seeding, Matthew and Farley Gould will already be out on their fields, getting it done. Last year, the brothers started seeding spring wheat nearly a month before their neighbours — and they plan to be “even more aggressive this year.” “We were […] Read more
A small silver lining in 2021: Drought pushes down fusarium levels
And planting fusarium-free seed gives growers a chance to push them down a bit further
Reading Time: 3 minutes Last summer’s drought drove down fusarium head blight levels across the province. But it’s still lurking, and increasingly that’s happening in parts of the province that have been spared in the past. “This year, just over five per cent of samples that we’re testing from Alberta have been positive for fusarium graminearum,” said Trevor Blois, […] Read more
Calgary protein ingredient maker already set to expand
Lovingly Made Ingredients expansion means more sales for Alberta farmers growing peas and other crops
Reading Time: 4 minutes The plant-protein boom is starting to pay dividends for Alberta growers. Less than a year after opening its doors, the province’s biggest plant-protein processor is already eyeing an expansion of its Calgary facility. “We have a piece of technology in Europe that we’re looking to bring to Alberta this year, and that would give us […] Read more
Using the stuff of stars to make food safer and boost germination
Cold plasma can reduce micro-organisms on seed surfaces while improving germination
Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s the stuff of stars, lightning bolts, and the aurora borealis — and now, Alberta researchers are finding uses for plasma a little closer to home. “There are so many applications for plasma in agriculture,” said M.S. Roopesh, assistant professor of food safety and sustainability engineering at the University of Alberta. “We have been doing a […] Read more
New initiative aims to increase Prairie wheat yields
Filling the gap: Yields are only 40 to 70 per cent of their theoretical max, and new study aims to close that gap
Reading Time: 4 minutes Brian Buckman really only has Mother Nature to thank — or blame — for the gap between the yield he’s getting and what’s possible on his wheat fields. “A perfect example was 2020 — we hit it out of the ballpark with the best yield we ever had, and then in 2021, we saw the […] Read more
Impossible dream? Program opens the door to young would-be farmers
There’s no shortage of people who yearn to farm, and mentors and networks offer the hopeful a chance
Reading Time: 8 minutes Jason Stuka didn’t grow up with a dream of farming. Unlike his parents, he wasn’t raised on a farm nor was he immersed in the culture of farming. When he got a bachelor of arts degree, a job in ag wasn’t even on his radar. But that all changed in his late 20s. He delved […] Read more
Canadian researchers crack the case of high-cadmium durum
The recent mapping of durum wheat genome has solved a mystery 30 years in the making — why some varieties are high in cadmium while others are low
Reading Time: 4 minutes Cadmium accumulation in Canadian durum has been a “solved problem” since 2005 — but now genomics have allowed researchers to finally understand why it was a problem in the first place. “It’s a really elegant story about how both breeding and the fundamental science of why cadmium moves in the durum plant actually came together […] Read more
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