Reading Time: 3 minutes For much of this year’s hot, dry summer, Alberta wheat growers could look forward to higher prices to offset lower production. But now they can’t even count on that — at least not for the foreseeable future. “We have seen prices pulling back a little bit over the last few weeks,” FarmLink’s senior market analyst […] Read more
Wheat rally stalls at just the wrong time
Prices are off summer highs but a drop in global production sets the stage for another rally this winter
The milk in the middle of the high-stakes NAFTA drama
A new milk category thrust dairy farmers into a political firestorm — so what is Class 7 all about?
Reading Time: 3 minutes It seemed like a win-win — until a new milk category caught the attention of U.S. President Donald Trump and unexpectedly became one of the key sticking points in NAFTA negotiations. It’s called Class 7, which is milk protein isolates (dried milk powders high in protein). It was introduced in 2016 in response to diafiltered […] Read more
Rain, rain don’t go away: How to capture more moisture on your land
When it comes to retaining rainfall, seeing is believing — and new infiltration tool does just that
Reading Time: 3 minutes Drought is a four-letter word in Alberta right now — but also proof that it’s critical to make the most of any moisture we get. “If we’re getting the types of rain we normally get, water infiltration probably isn’t that big of a deal,” said Ken Lewis, conservation co-ordinator with Red Deer County. “But in […] Read more
Don’t worry — drones aren’t built for spying
Despite what you may have heard, drones are too noisy, too tricky to manoeuvre, and too low resolution for spying
Reading Time: 3 minutes Markus Weber was out in the countryside taking aerial shots of some wind turbines when a gun-toting farmer drove up and accused him of spying with his drone. “It had occurred to me before the people might have privacy concerns, but that really drove home how little understanding there is of the capabilities of these […] Read more
Feed skyrockets in many areas — but there are options out there
Hay is uneconomical in some areas, forcing producers to either cull or find alternative feed sources
Reading Time: 5 minutes Record-setting temperatures in mid-August have added pressure to an already desperate situation for cattle producers across Alberta. “There are some people who are going to be really short on feed and pasture,” Alberta Beef Producers executive director Rich Smith said in mid-August. “Some people are in a really tough situation. The heat last week was […] Read more
Organic doesn’t need to be ‘so expensive,’ says Dutch farmer
Farmer alliance’s relentless focus on efficiency aims to take organics to the next level
Reading Time: 4 minutes In Canada, we might call them hippies or tree huggers but in Holland, organic farmers are called “grey woolly goat socks.” Gerjan Snippe, managing director of Bio Brass, doesn’t wear his grey woolly goat socks anymore, but he carries them in his back pocket. They’re a reminder of why he got into organics in the […] Read more
Sail-through auction a unique experience
Reporter's Notebook: Journo traders bid on produce as boats float by
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian farmers are no strangers to the auction mart — but they do things a little differently at the sail-through auction in the Realm of a Thousand Islands. Like a quarter of the Netherlands, this area in North Holland lies below sea level, but that didn’t stop farmers from settling on its marshy lands centuries […] Read more
Ponoka microbrewery eyes world domination
Reading Time: 5 minutes Kari and Brent Tarasoff had no intention of opening a brewery when they began growing hops in Penticton, B.C. four years ago. But their five-year plan got thrown out the window last year when they opened Siding 14 Brewing Company in Ponoka with two partners. And pretty soon, they’ll need to toss out their new […] Read more
You can direct market grain, too — but it’s more complicated
Mark Gibeau sells flour to bakers and chefs while selling direct helped Steven Snider get started
Reading Time: 4 minutes Mark Gibeau wouldn’t be a farmer today if he couldn’t direct market his grains. “Having small acres in the big-boy system doesn’t work,” said the owner of Heritage Harvest near Strathmore. “We had to find something different right from the get-go.” Gibeau, who farms with his wife, began growing certified organic heritage grains on his […] Read more
Better together: Innisfail Growers is a testament to teamwork
The five farm families in the group have been successfully selling direct for more than 25 years
Reading Time: 4 minutes Beck Farms took an unorthodox approach to getting into the wholesale market when it was starting out in the mid-1980s — by selling directly to consumers. “We actually went to a few small farmers’ markets and had people try our carrots,” said Shelley Bradshaw, who owns Beck Farms with husband Rod. “We would say, ‘If […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
