Reading Time: 4 minutes When you sit down across a desk from your equipment dealer, you’re out to get the best deal you can — and your dealer is out to make a profit. So how can you keep more jingle in your own jeans? “It doesn’t matter if you pay cash, you finance it, or you lease it,” […] Read more
Cash is your best bet when buying machinery
If you're going to 'run the hell out of your equipment,' lease it
Prairies could be plant-based protein superpower
Protein Innovations Canada aiming to make Western Canada the world’s ‘leading source of high-quality proteins’
Reading Time: 4 minutes Allison Ammeter doesn’t understand why there isn’t more domestic pulse processing on the Canadian Prairies. “As a farmer, I’m really proud of the fact that I grow good, safe food that’s enjoyed around the world,” said the past chair of Alberta Pulse Growers, who farms near Sylvan Lake. “But it’s always really ticked me off […] Read more
College student turns brewery waste into a budding business
Reading Time: 3 minutes Two years ago, Alex Villeneuve was pressing the moisture out of spent grain with two stainless steel bowls in his Olds College dorm room, wondering what he was doing with his life. But that all changed when he was awarded a $5,000 innovation incubator grant — the “launching point” for Ceres Solutions Ltd., a company […] Read more
Five steps for building the right forage mix for your farm
The right mix of forage grasses and legumes will make the most of our short growing season and produce maximum yields
Reading Time: 2 minutes It’s Canada — not New Zealand or Australia — so ranchers here have to squeeze out as much grass as possible to keep up with their competitors in balmier climes, says a federal researcher. And there are a few ways to develop a forage mix to make the most of the shorter season. “The first, […] Read more
Three ways to manage tough weeds on organic farms
Using green manure, increasing seeding rates, and incorporating mechanical weed control can help organic producers manage weeds on their operations
Reading Time: 3 minutes The biggest challenge on Steve Snider’s organic farm is weeds — and killing them properly isn’t a one-size-fits-all operation. “The key to remember in organics is there’s no one answer,” said Snider, who has been growing organic grain on his farm near Edberg for 30 years. “It’s not like conventional agriculture. You can’t control weeds […] Read more
High fire risk means burning unharvested crops should be a ‘last resort’
Extension specialist says cereal crops may have more value than expected, and a ‘normal’ spring looks likely
Reading Time: 4 minutes For Clair Langlois, burning unharvested cereal crops this spring should be “a last resort.” “It is quick, but it’s very risky,” said the provincial cereal extension specialist. “With Slave Lake followed by Fort McMurray, a lot of these municipalities are not tickled pink about burning. “So you’ve got to have a Plan B ready to […] Read more
A terrible toll: Farming still claims too many lives
The latest statistics show an encouraging but modest decline in the number of farm fatalities
Reading Time: 4 minutes The number of people killed in farm accidents continues to decline, but a new report also says “there is no more dangerous occupation” than farming. The average number of fatalities fell from 116 annually from 1990 to 2001 to 84 in the latest 10-year reporting period (2003 to 2012), according to Canadian Agricultural Injury Reporting […] Read more
How to build a soil-health bank account
This organic production technique offers a big-picture view of nutrient management — and a ‘tough love’ approach to soil fertility
Reading Time: 3 minutes Soil is a little like a bank account for nutrients — in order to manage them properly, you need to balance the budget. “No matter how big the bank account is, if you only take stuff out, eventually it runs out,” said University of Manitoba research technician Joanne Thiessen Martens. “We need to look at […] Read more
Pulse sector still on tenterhooks
India’s insistence on fumigation of pulse imports throws up major barrier to Canadian pulse shipments
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canada’s pulse industry is still waiting to hear whether India will reverse a decision that could seriously hamper Prairie exports to its largest market. For more than a decade, India has required most pulse shipments be fumigated with methyl bromide in the country of origin. But Canada and some other countries were granted an exemption, […] Read more
Record-high canola crush is good news — but only for some growers
Growers can only hope discounts for damaged canola are reduced as supply dwindles
Reading Time: 4 minutes Alberta’s canola crush plants may be running at a record-high pace this year — but that only really benefits farmers who are close to those facilities, says a farmer northeast of Edmonton. “We’ve got it in the bins, but we’ve got no place to haul it,” said Doug Scott, whose closest crush plant is in […] Read more
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