Reading Time: 5 minutes Canada’s cattle herd has been poised for expansion for the last two years, but declining cattle prices have put those expansion plans on hold. “The July 1 inventory showed that we were completely steady with beef cow numbers,” said Brenna Grant, manager of Canfax Research Services. “We did have an increase in beef heifers for […] Read more
Canada’s cattle herd has stubbornly refused to grow
High prices made expansion expensive and falling prices have folks nervous — but young producers like Clay and Jesse Williams see only opportunity
Workplace compensation claims on farms jump sharply
But the claims offer an opportunity for finding ways to make farms and ranches safer for everyone, says farm leader
Reading Time: 4 minutes Alberta farm employee injury claims have more than doubled since workplace compensation coverage became mandatory for farms on Jan. 1, even though the number of workers being covered is only up by two-thirds. During the first six months of the year, 395 claims were filed by farm workers and 356 claims were accepted by the […] Read more
Oil lease defaults hit new record
Landowner compensation claims more than doubled last year and have already doubled again this year
Reading Time: 3 minutes For the second year in a row, the number of claims against oil companies defaulting on rental agreements has smashed records. Under Section 36 of the Surface Rights Act, landowners can apply for compensation from the provincial government if an oil company hasn’t paid their surface rental lease. From 2003 to 2014, the board has […] Read more
Farm debt at record highs — but top lender not worried
While FCC says most farmers can handle their debt load, financial expert Merle Good says some are ‘robbing Peter to pay Paul’
Reading Time: 4 minutes Farm debt has hit a record high, bringing back some unpleasant memories of the 1980s debt crisis. But we’re not there yet, said farm business expert Merle Good. “In 1980, we had huge inflation and huge interest rates,” said Good, a longtime tax specialist with the provincial government who now runs a private consulting business. […] Read more
Cocktail cover crops: This ain’t your grandad’s grazing system
Innovative producers, especially younger ones, are looking to cover crop cocktail mixes to build soil health and get more production per acre
Reading Time: 4 minutes Nearly 150 people — some from as far away as Manitoba — converged on a farm near Hardisty recently to learn more about cover crop cocktail mixes. But tour organizer Graeme Finn noticed something a little different about the crowd at the event in late August — it was mainly young farmers. “Young people can’t […] Read more
The challenge ahead: Getting a decent price for downgraded crops
Discounts for lower grades are widening, and working the phones with grain buyers is crucial if you have good quality
Reading Time: 5 minutes The rain started falling in the middle of the night on Aug. 22, dumping two inches of water on John Guelly’s mature crops in less than 12 hours. And then the storm started. “I thought we had the worst of it, and then it ratcheted itself up. We ended up getting almost seven inches in […] Read more
Get the grade and make more money when marketing your grain
The Canadian Grain Commission will grade samples for free — with even the postage paid for
Reading Time: 2 minutes Know exactly what’s in your bins before selling your grain. “One of the things that we can’t emphasize strongly enough is that farmers really should be getting good independent third-party samples of their grain,” said Jonathon Driedger, senior market analyst with FarmLink. “Then you know exactly what you have. You have a sample sheet that […] Read more
Running from dawn to dusk: Women ag entrepreneurs face extra challenges
Operating a farm, raising kids, and building a business often mean there’s no time for conferences and other vital learning opportunities
Reading Time: 5 minutes At first, Kim Good didn’t really see the point of a program geared toward women agri-food entrepreneurs. “I sometimes get a little annoyed at the fact women need more programming than anybody else,” said Good, who co-owns Farm Fresh Pet Foods, which has a line of healthy dog food products made from Alberta-sourced ingredients. “I […] Read more
Is Piedmontese ‘the beef of the future?’
There’s just one herd in Alberta, but rancher Peter DenOudsten says yield and taste give the Italian breed a big advantage
Reading Time: 4 minutes Peter DenOudsten never intended to become a Piedmontese cattle producer when he bought a few cows in the late ’80s to graze off some grassland he couldn’t crop. “I only had a few cows and it wasn’t worth having a bull around, so I just got Dad to artificially inseminate them with some beef semen […] Read more
Craft beer boom drives demand for new malt barley varieties
It’s all about consistency and efficiency for the big brewers, but the small guys want unique taste and also use more malt per batch
Reading Time: 4 minutes New malt barley varieties will soon hit the market to meet the growing demands of a burgeoning craft brewing industry. “The brewing and malting industry is changing,” said Pat Juskiw, a barley breeder with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “In the past, our industry has been composed of big companies — the Molsons, the Labatts, the […] Read more
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