Reading Time: 3 minutes Large chunks of Alberta have seen some wet years recently, but water tends to be the most limiting factor for crop growth. And there’s only two remedies when it’s dry: Increase water supply and improve water-use efficiency, says an agrometeorologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Leaving tall stubble in the field does both those things, […] Read more
In dry years, tall stubble can make all the difference in yields
Leaving tall stubble standing in the field can add an inch of soil moisture and boost yields by as much as 17 per cent
High cost, high risk, but corn a perfect cold-weather grazing crop
When the weather outside is frightful, cattle can get all of their energy and protein requirements by grazing corn
Reading Time: 3 minutes One of the “best-kept secrets” of Manitoba cow-calf producers could soon make its way west — as long as producers have access to better genetics. “The low-heat-unit corn varieties certainly have some potential to move into a cow or a calf backgrounding program,” Dr. Bart Lardner from the Western Beef Development Centre said at the […] Read more
Four life lessons from the farm that will serve you well in life
Reading Time: 2 minutes Fifteen-year-old Andrea De Groot has a thing or two to teach us adults about life on — and off — the farm. And those lessons have been learned working alongside her farmer father. “On the outside, I may look like a regular high school girl,” said De Groot, a 4-H speech contest winner from Taber, […] Read more
Following the money: Farm leaders say it’s well spent
Saskatchewan and Manitoba aiming to keep admin costs below 15 per cent of spending — but their Alberta counterparts aren’t sure it can be done
Reading Time: 4 minutes Do Alberta’s wheat and barley commissions have a spending problem? The chair of the Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission suggested as much when he took a shot at GrainsWest, a magazine published quarterly by the Alberta Barley Commission and Alberta Wheat Commission. “You’ll not see us putting out a great big glossy magazine,” Bill Gehl said […] Read more
Study says healthy cattle can manage taxing transport
Researchers find well-conditioned cattle bear up well during transport
Reading Time: 4 minutes A prominent animal welfare group calls it “transport torture,” but a new study has found conditions inside livestock trailers don’t normally have a significant impact on animal health. The Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada study looked at trailer microclimates during cattle transport. “We thought they might have an impact on the health and morbidity rates once […] Read more
Death of bison industry leader leaves ‘huge void’ in Canada’s bison industry
The death of Bison Producers of Alberta chair Thomas Ackermann in a tragic farm accident is being felt across Canada’s entire bison industry
Reading Time: 3 minutes Thomas Ackermann had a way of making people feel like they mattered to him. With a single smile and a warm greeting, he drew you in, and his enthusiasm kept you talking far longer than you ever expected. To him, you were important, someone who mattered, no matter who you were. And he made everyone […] Read more
Penny rules the roost at Red Deer poultry show
Reading Time: < 1 minute There was lots to squawk about at the recent Canadian National Poultry Show in Red Deer. With more than 60 exhibitors from across Canada showing over 800 birds, it was the largest poultry show in Alberta history, said show supervisor Kyle Lawrence. The Nov. 22-23 event, held in conjunction with the Urban Farm Show, attracted […] Read more
Federal bill brings Canada one step closer to an end-point royalty system
Bill C-18 amends Plant Breeders’ Rights Act to bring it into compliance with an international seed treaty known as UPOV ’91
Reading Time: 2 minutes Federal NDP MPs only delayed the “inevitable” by voting against the Agricultural Growth Act (Bill C-18) in late November, said an Alberta Barley spokesperson at a recent meeting in Lacombe. “It might slow things down a bit, but nonetheless, we believe that it will be approved by Parliament in early 2015, after which work will […] Read more
‘Breeding to feeding’ builds better dairy bulls
Crossbred Jersey-Limousins could be the answer to rebuilding North America’s cattle herd
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta dairy producers may favour Holsteins on their farms, but down in the heart of America’s Midwest, Jerry Wulf milks around 30,000 “smaller, more efficient” Jersey cows — over half of his total dairy herd. But Jerseys have just one problem, he said. “That stray Jersey bull calf that she was raising was a liability, […] Read more
Trust is the key to sustainable beef production
Jerry Wulf says trust, transparency, and finding win-wins were the keys to building one of North America’s largest integrated beef operations
Reading Time: 2 minutes Cattleman Leonard Wulf lived by a simple philosophy before he passed away in 2003: “You can get everything in life you want if you help others get what they want.” That principle still guides his son Jerry as he manages Wulf cattle — one of the largest integrated beef companies in North America. “As we […] Read more
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