Reading Time: 4 minutes Elaine Bellamy suspected she had her work cut out for her when the provincial government announced its plans to improve farm safety in the fall of 2015. So in January 2016, just as the Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act was coming into effect, Bellamy attended a workshop on creating a farm safety […] Read more
Safety is the new norm at Will Farms
Elaine Bellamy says not having a farm safety plan is a risk you simply can’t afford
Alberta producer creates an ‘Expedia for grain prices’
Farmbucks compares grain prices on offer from buyers in Western Canada
Reading Time: 2 minutes Lynn Dargis was fed up trying to compare grain prices last winter. A busy farmer with a 4,400-acre grain operation, 2,000-head feedlot, and three small children, Dargis didn’t always have time to log into each grain buyer’s website to find the best prices. But she also knew she couldn’t afford to leave money on the […] Read more
Expect a full blast of kochia this spring
The tumbleweed already has the south in its grip and two years of dry conditions have made it stronger
Reading Time: 4 minutes [UPDATED: Mar. 26, 2019] Alberta kochia populations have exploded following back-to-back years of dry growing conditions. “Kochia was one of the worst weed problems across the southern Prairies last year,” said federal research scientist Charles Geddes. “If we have another dry year this year, there will certainly be issues with kochia management.” The past two […] Read more
Hunt for deadly porcine virus thwarted at every turn
Officials have gone to extraordinary lengths to find out how porcine epidemic diarrhea arrived here
Reading Time: 6 minutes The porcine epidemic diarrhea continues to spread while officials conduct a relentless, but exasperating, search for how the deadly virus is breaching biosecurity defences. Just two days before the fourth case was confirmed on March 15, officials outlined their exhaustive detective work to track down how the virus came to Alberta and how it is […] Read more
Cannabis legalization opens the doors to new hemp markets
Hemp seed has driven most of Alberta production, but CBD offers rich promise for the future
Reading Time: 4 minutes Jan Slaski was one of many Canadians who celebrated last fall’s passage of the act legalizing cannabis — but not for the reasons you might think. After 17 years of researching industrial hemp, Slaski was simply excited what he views as the next Cinderella crop might finally make it to the ball. “It’s a game […] Read more
High-quality seed may be tough to find heading into spring
Like everyone else, seed growers were hit hard last year
Reading Time: 4 minutes Seeding this spring is going to be a little like the Indianapolis 500. No matter which seed you plant, you’ll probably cross the finish line — but you’re going to get there a whole lot faster in a Lamborghini than a LeBaron. Seed with both high germination and high vigour will help you win the […] Read more
The mystery deepens as third case of PED found in Alberta
It’s not known how the devastating virus arrived or how it showed up in one isolated room on a second farm
Reading Time: 5 minutes Alberta hog producers are no closer to answers about how a devastating virus found its way into the province after a third case of porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv) was confirmed at the start of March. “There are several possibilities about how it’s spreading that involve transportation, and we’re still looking into that at this […] Read more
Producers value farm data, but fear how it’s being used
An FCC survey found that one in four farmers has become less comfortable sharing data
Reading Time: 4 minutes The topic of data management tends to draw a lot of yawns from farmers. But in an increasingly digitized world, it shouldn’t. “This is one of the hottest topics in agriculture,” said Fred Wall, Farm Credit Canada’s vice-president of marketing. “It’s something that I think the industry needs to take very seriously.” And that shift […] Read more
East-central Alberta couple named Outstanding Young Farmers
Reading Time: 3 minutes This year’s Outstanding Young Farmers weren’t expecting a win when they were nominated alongside three other Alberta farm families at the Outstanding Young Farmers’ regional event in early February. “In the beginning, we didn’t think we were anything too special. We just do what we do,” said Natasha Pospisil, who owns and operates three agricultural […] Read more
Wetland conservation a ‘win-win’ in dry ranching country
Wetland conservation has changed a lot since TK Ranch began partnering with Ducks Unlimited in 1957
Reading Time: 4 minutes Making a living off the land in Special Areas No. 2 has never been an easy prospect. During the Dirty ’30s, farmers in this little pocket of southeast Alberta were among the hardest hit in the province. And in a dry year, the area isn’t much better off today. There’s very little topsoil, very little […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
