Reading Time: 3 minutes As harvest starts to wrap up in some areas of the province, producers can expect their grain to move a little quicker than it did following last year’s record harvest. But they’re not out of the woods yet. “Alberta’s starting to fill up again,” Mark Hemmes, president of Quorum Corporation, said in an Oct. 2 […] Read more
Alberta grain elevators close to capacity, harvest yet complete
As Alberta elevators near 85 per cent of working capacity, concerns remain for a harvest not yet over
The Big Three “to-do’s”: Experts offer their post-harvest advice
Whether it’s in the office or the field, there are some jobs that should be at the top of your to-do list
Reading Time: 9 minutes For many producers, this harvest is going to seem to drag on forever. But, of course, it won’t. The combine will be parked, the farm meetings and shows will get underway, Christmas will come and go, and before you know it, you’re in the shed getting the seeding rig ready. So with that in mind, […] Read more
Better animal welfare is also better for your bottom line
Consumers are beginning to demand higher animal welfare standards for livestock — but improving welfare isn’t ‘rocket science’
Reading Time: 2 minutes Animal welfare and beef cattle productivity are “inseparable,” says a federal research scientist. “Sick animals are not productive animals,” said Dr. Karen Schwartzkopf-Genswein. “Incidences of sickness and lost performance are really heavily linked to welfare.” Stressors like castration, transportation, weaning, and handling have been linked to things like slower rate of gain, greater chance of […] Read more
Permaculture advocate says work with nature, not against it
Ferintosh producer Takota Coen says carefully designed mixed farms are the way of the future
Reading Time: 4 minutes The first thing you’ll notice as you drive by Grass Roots Family Farm is the orchard — an unlikely sight in rural Alberta, but somehow it seems right at home beside the sprawling vegetable garden. In a paddock near the house, a sow nurses a handful of nearly newborn piglets, and just down the lane […] Read more
Breeding for carcass quality has a payoff
Using genomics to improve carcass quality can greatly improve profitability, study says
Reading Time: 3 minutes Sourcing quality breeding stock has the greatest impact on carcass quality — and having carcass data is “integral” to that process. But too many producers are flying blind, according to Tom Lynch-Staunton, director of industry relations for Livestock Gentec. “Most people sell their calves in the fall at weaning and really have no idea how […] Read more
Canola growers crippling clubroot resistance with short rotations
Growing clubroot-resistant canola varieties back to back is causing resistance to break down in Alberta fields
Reading Time: 2 minutes With clubroot resistance breakdown confirmed in one Alberta canola field — and likely in others — a four-year rotation has become even more critical, even though it won’t stop the spread of clubroot. “Rotation isn’t going to get rid of the clubroot out of the field,” provincial oilseed specialist Murray Hartman said of the field […] Read more
Researcher finds a way to calculate roundworm risk in Alberta pastures
Weather matters a lot when it comes to predicting where roundworm infestations are likely to be worst
Reading Time: 2 minutes A federal research scientist has developed “a hint of a tool” for predicting roundworm risk in Alberta pastures. “The question we came up with late at night was: Can we make a correlation between egg counts, antibody levels, and environmental parameters and build a GIS map that would give us an idea of what the […] Read more
Hemp holds potential for Alberta farmers — if they can grow long-fibre varieties
A new southern Alberta hemp fibre-processing facility will give hemp growers a market for what is currently an unwanted byproduct
Reading Time: 3 minutes A $30-million hemp fibre-processing facility is set to open in southern Alberta this fall, but it won’t — at least for now — be sourcing hemp from Canada. “I’ll be moving into a facility in about two months, and we’ll be operational from there,” said Brett Boag, chief executive officer of Cylab International. “But I’ll […] Read more
Shady chicken-meat imports have Canadian poultry producers riled up
Mislabelling chicken as spent fowl has allowed American chicken processors to avoid more than $60 million in yearly tariffs, say Canadian chicken producers
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian chicken producers are crying foul over shady American spent fowl exports. Last year, Canada imported more than 97 million kilograms of chicken meat that was declared as being from spent fowl — which is 110 per cent of the United States’ entire annual spent fowl production. “We’re importing a lot more (spent fowl) than […] Read more
West Coast terminals have a beef with railways, too
Producers who recently toured terminal elevators say every official they met said railways are the bottleneck in the system
Reading Time: 4 minutes Turns out farmers aren’t the only ones with a beef with Canada’s railways — operators of West Coast ports say inadequate rail service is holding them back, too. Sylvan Lake farmer Michael Ammeter was one of 11 producers and grain industry representatives who toured ports in Portland, Vancouver, and Prince Rupert for five days in […] Read more
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