Reading Time: 3 minutes Experts say the PEDv outbreak in Manitoba is a warning to livestock producers across the Prairies that biosecurity has to be a 24-7 priority every day of the year. Since late April, the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus has been found on 10 farms in three areas in southeastern Manitoba — and two of those areas […] Read more
PEDv outbreak shows the ‘inconvenient’ truth about biosecurity
Officials say affected farms in Manitoba had good biosecurity protocols — but following them every day is another matter
Unseeded acres this summer? Consider winter wheat
Producers have a few options for their unseeded acres this summer
Reading Time: 3 minutes A bad harvest followed by a wet, cool spring likely means that many producers won’t get all of their fields seeded this spring. And that means making the best of a bad situation. “Once we enter the middle of June, we’re looking at what producers can do with unseeded acres,” said Neil Whatley, crop specialist […] Read more
The number of unseeded acres isn’t pretty
Reading Time: < 1 minute Even with a run of perfect weather, many northern producers are unlikely to finish seeding all their acres. As of May 23, (the last crop report before press time) just 57 per cent of seeding was complete province-wide versus the five-year average of 83 per cent. The north has particularly struggled with getting seed in […] Read more
Farm workers can unionize — but don’t panic just yet
Ag minister says workers should have that right, but predicts ‘extremely low unionization rates’
Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s business as usual on Kevin Serfas’s farm after the provincial NDP government tabled a bill that will give farm workers the right to unionize. “My initial response yesterday was shock and horror,” the Turin-area farmer said in an interview May 26. “But as I did a little more reading into it, I’m a bit […] Read more
Customers can’t wait for new pulse plant to open
Bowden facility will ‘fractionate’ peas and lentils into protein, fibre, and starch for the human and pet food market
Reading Time: 4 minutes A new pulse-processing plant near Bowden will tap into an underserved and growing market for plant-based proteins once it comes online next year. “It’s really a no-brainer — we already have markets (for the protein) across the U.S. and Canada waiting for us to get into production,” said Chris Chivilo, president of W.A. Grain and […] Read more
Stewardship program ‘putting our money where our mouth is’
For producers involved with the ALUS program, ecosystem services become a type of production like any other
Reading Time: 4 minutes The poplars ringing Adrienne Herron’s wetland stopped growing where her cattle and horses were grazing, and just wouldn’t rebound. That was a real wake-up call for the Innisfail-area rancher. “I was concerned by the impact I was having on this ephemeral wetland with the cows and horses keeping the grass down as much as they […] Read more
New Acre program produces a new kind of commodity
Corporations can ‘offset’ their environmental impact by funding stewardship projects on farms
Reading Time: 2 minutes Say you own a brewery (that’s the dream, right?). You’ve taken a close look at the changing consumer landscape and you think you understand what your customers want. Sure, they expect a good product — but more than that, they want a product they can feel good about buying. So you decide to show your […] Read more
Native forages can weather whatever Mother Nature throws their way
Long-lived native forages complement tame forages nicely — but they have their own merits that make them more competitive than their tame counterparts
Reading Time: 3 minutes Native forages are making a comeback with cattle feeders who are looking for a way to work with — not against — Mother Nature. “Native species complement tame forages,” said federal research scientist Alan Iwaasa. “When used with tame species, native species have merit and can be used quite effectively if you have the land […] Read more
This malt’s for you — growers profit from ‘drink local’ movement
Alberta barley growers earn premiums — and satisfaction — by direct contracting with brewers
Reading Time: 4 minutes Wade McAllister didn’t expect to be a direct marketer when he returned to his family’s grain farm in 2010. But with the demise of the Canadian Wheat Board in 2012, McAllister found a whole new market open to him — direct contracts with breweries for his malt barley. “Ever since the wheat board was dropped, […] Read more
Celebrate Canada’s 150th with your family’s cattle brand
Alberta’s Cowboy Trail is steeped in history, and one man is working to wrangle it
Reading Time: 3 minutes History Wrangler’ Rob Lennard has a million and one stories about Alberta’s past. But few capture the imagination quite the same way as his stories about cattle rustlers. “People appreciate hearing about the cattle rustlers,” said Lennard, historian at the Bow Valley Ranche and official ambassador of the Cowboy Trail. “Before barbed wire fences, you […] Read more
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