Reading Time: 4 minutes Feeding corn silage to cattle comes with some risks in Alberta — but there are ways you can manage that. “There are a lot of different factors that will affect yield and quality in corn silage,” said federal research scientist Karen Beauchemin. “You have some control over some of these factors, but not all. So […] Read more
You can’t make heat, but you can pick the right variety for corn silage
Harvesting at the right time to maximize digestibility is also key
Still just taking pretty pictures? Drones could be making you money
It’s taken a while but more and more producers are discovering ways to boost their profits with drones
Reading Time: 7 minutes Mike Barrett was trying to find a practical use for a pricey toy when he decided to fly his drone over his feedlot to count his cattle. That was when his purchase paid off. “With the average gain of the cattle, we easily paid for the drone in the first year that we counted that […] Read more
Farmland prices double in last five years
Many farmers thought prices were out of whack in 2013, but time has proven they were wrong
Reading Time: 5 minutes How expensive is Alberta farmland? Try double what it was just five years ago. “Over the last five years, we’ve seen cash farm receipts going up across the country and especially in Alberta,” said Joel Bokenfohr, manager of business structures and financial policy with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “We have a strong farm economy where […] Read more
Farmers benefit from business etiquette, too
Reading Time: 4 minutes For some, just hearing the word ‘etiquette’ is enough to send cold shivers down their spine. It brings up memories of motherly commands — such as, ‘Keep your elbows off the table!’ or, ‘For God’s sake, chew with your mouth closed!’ — or conjures up pictures of fancy dinners with white-gloved waiters and six different […] Read more
Key source of clubroot resistance goes AWOL
‘Grandparent’ can defeat new mutated clubroot strains but somehow it doesn’t get passed down
Reading Time: 3 minutes The ‘grandparent’ of clubroot resistance in most Canadian canola varieties is resistant to new virulent strains of clubroot — but its offspring aren’t. “It’s possible that, in the course of breeding, some of the resistant genes were lost,” said provincial research scientist Rudolph Fredua-Agyeman. European clubroot differential (ECD) 04 is a key source of clubroot […] Read more
‘Terroir’ turns everyday malt into ‘luxury barley’
From central Oregon to Daysland, growers are turning a commodity crop into something unique and special
Reading Time: 6 minutes Whisky from Scotland’s Isle of Islay. Champagne from its namesake region of France. Craft malt from Daysland, Alberta. People will pay a premium for all sorts of specialty products — as long as they like the taste. The brewing industry isn’t quite there yet, but it could be. Just ask Seth Klann. “We’ll buy wine […] Read more
It’s a Spornado! But that’s good news for cereal growers
New tool for detecting disease-causing spores being rolled out across the Prairies
Reading Time: 3 minutes Hold on to your hats — the Spornado is coming. “(The Spornado) is a really good tool that’s been developed over the last couple of years,” said Trevor Blois, disease diagnostician for 20/20 Seed Labs. “It’s just a passive spore catcher that has been used by potato growers in Ontario to detect late blight spores, […] Read more
Bold new plan aims to generate some new love for barley
New action plan targets seven million barley acres and yields of 95 bushels per acre by 2028
Reading Time: 3 minutes The current state of Canada’s barley industry is grim. “Barley’s piece of the pie is shrinking,” said Shannon Sereda, manager of market development and policy for Alberta Barley. “It’s no longer in a dominant position like it once was in Western Canada.” Barley acres across the Prairies have been in a long-term decline, Sereda said […] Read more
Feed barley prices beating out malt
Demand is strong for both feed and malt, but there’s plenty of the latter sitting in warehouses and bins
Reading Time: 3 minutes Farmers with barley in the bin have a bit of a love-hate relationship with barley prices right now. They love that feed prices are so high, but hate that malt prices are so low. “These prices are definitely something — to have feed prices where they’re at right now, it’s definitely out of the norm,” […] Read more
They just keep coming — another new elevator going up
New 42,000-tonne grain terminal marks G3’s first, but not last, foray into Alberta
Reading Time: 3 minutes G3 Canada is expanding west with two new elevators on the Prairies — including its first in Alberta. The new elevator to be built in Westaskiwin will be a state-of-the-art, high-throughput facility, said the company’s vice-president of business development. “Alberta is a province of growth for us,” said Brett Malkoske. “Since we formed G3 (in […] Read more
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