Reading Time: 3 minutes Time of day counts when it comes to spraying for weeds and diseases, a study being conducted by Farming Smarter suggests. “If we have a better understanding of which herbicides work better under different conditions, we might be able to come up with a schedule that will maximize our efficacies,” said Ken Coles, the Lethbridge […] Read more
Spray fungicides before breakfast and herbicides at lunch
Morning may be best for spraying fungicide, but save your herbicide application for midday
Drenched again: South inundated, but it could have been worse
The damage to infrastructure will take time to repair, and the effects on many farms and ranches will be long lasting
Reading Time: 5 minutes The night Willow Creek flooded was a sleepless one for Cecilie Fleming and husband Duncan. Every hour, the couple slogged through the rain and the mud in their yard just east of the creek and used an electric fence post to measure the rise of the rapidly swelling torrent of water. Two feet became four […] Read more
No stopping Wainwright man’s passion for John Deere tractors
Reading Time: 2 minutes In 1952, 18-year-old Gordon Gilchrist arrived in Alberta from Ontario with a shopping bag in one hand and a gramophone suitcase in the other. Back home, his family farmed with horses. But when he came to Alberta, the Ontario teen found work with a farmer north of Edgerton who introduced him to John Deere tractors. […] Read more
Talent trumps gender in today’s agriculture
Josie Van Lent says young women see the opportunities in agriculture and are reaching out to seize them
Reading Time: 3 minutes Josie Van Lent was “purposely naive” when she began her agriculture career more than 30 years ago. “There were times when the fact that I was female was probably less appreciated, but I was too stupid to see that,” Lakeland College’s dean of agriculture says with a laugh. “Definitely people would react to the fact […] Read more
‘City girl’ turns love of horses into farm-based business
Running a farm-based business has come with a ‘huge learning curve’ for city girl Sandy Bell, who operates Windhorse Retreat near Rimbey
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ten years ago, city girl Sandy Bell took a four-day trail ride into the mountains that changed her life. “It was not a beginner ride, and I found at the end of it, I had never been so sore, I had never been so tired and dirty, but I had never been so happy,” said […] Read more
Mustard genes could be key to new blackleg-resistant canola
More than one gene is needed to create blackleg resistance in canola, says a researcher at the University of Alberta
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ethiopian mustard could hold the key to blackleg resistance in Canadian canola crops, says a University of Alberta researcher. “Almost all varieties (of canola) are susceptible to blackleg,” said Habibur Rahman. “But now, the pathogen has shifted, and it’s become a new pathogen that’s more resilient and more aggressive. “The resistance cannot protect the plant. […] Read more
The sky’s the limit for recent grads entering the agriculture workforce
Crop technology and agribusiness students are seeing multiple job offers once they leave school — but there’s no shortage of work on the livestock side, either
Reading Time: 4 minutes There’s never been a better time for ag school grads. “This job with DuPont Pioneer, I actually had basically guaranteed before Christmastime,” said Travis Elford, a recent University of Lethbridge graduate who grew up on a grain and sheep farm near Foremost. Before he accepted his job as a field supervisor, Elford received five other […] Read more
Central Alberta winter wheat fields hit hard by stripe rust
Stripe rust is showing up in winter wheat fields in central and southern Alberta, and threatens adjacent spring wheat fields
Reading Time: 3 minutes Severe stripe rust infections in central Alberta have put wheat growers on high alert, says a federal research scientist. “Because wheat is such an important crop, stripe rust is one of those diseases that could have a major, major impact on cereal crop production,” said Denis Gaudet of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. “To me, it […] Read more
Hog industry braces for PED re-infection
A farm in Indiana has suffered a second outbreak of the deadly PED virus, and Canadian hog producers can expect the same risk in their own herds
Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian hog producers could see increased mortality in their herds as the porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) virus begins to re-infect hog herds, says an Alberta livestock veterinarian. “We have to be prepared to live in a world where this infection and this disease is going to continue to recycle throughout herds in the United States, […] Read more
‘Cow whisperer’ demonstrates low-stress cattle handling at Alberta workshop
Understanding how your movements affect your cows makes it easier to manage them, whether in the pasture or in the pen
Reading Time: 3 minutes Watching Curt Pate work cattle is like watching a child tugging at a kite string on a windy day. At first, it seems he can’t possibly control the wild movement of this unpredictable thing he’s trying to direct. But soon enough, he has everything well in hand. When he approaches the small herd from the […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
