Reading Time: 2 minutes The Council of Beef Leaders proposed in last year’s Straw Man Beef Industry Initiative may not meet until the fall, said the man in charge of bringing all the players to the table. “We haven’t had a meeting yet,” said Colin Jeffares, a former provincial assistant deputy minister of agriculture. “I’m not sure when a […] Read more
No meeting date in sight for Council of Beef Leaders
Sylvan Lake one step closer to Hockeyville title
Alberta town received 1.5 million votes in the penultimate round of voting and has already earned $100,000 in prize money
Reading Time: 2 minutes Nearly 800 raucous hockey fans crowded into Sylvan Lake’s community centre on March 22 to learn if their efforts to vote the central Alberta town into the Kraft Hockeyville finals had paid off. They weren’t disappointed. “When the announcement (that Sylvan was in the final two) was made, it was pretty loud,” said Jared Waldo, […] Read more
Southern Alberta village hit hard by closure of Saputo milk processing plant
Glenwood has fewer than 300 residents and will lose 25 jobs when plant closes
Reading Time: 2 minutes A village in southern Alberta is about to lose its largest employer as dairy processor Saputo prepares to close four processing plants in North America. “The term I would use to describe it is ‘shocked,’” said Kurtis Pratt, chief administrative officer of the Village of Glenwood, one of two communities in Alberta affected by the […] Read more
Researcher urges a slow and steady approach to spraying
Expert says a bigger tank, wider boom, and faster tank filling is a better alternative to increased speed
Reading Time: 2 minutes Slow and steady is the better bet when spraying, says a sprayer specialist. “When you have to cover each acre five times per year, you may be very tempted to travel fast,” said AgriMetrix’s Tom Wolf at the recent Cereal Disease Conference. “I’m going to try to convince people to go slower. I know it’s […] Read more
Alberta rancher gets economics lesson in Argentina
Longview rancher Alex Robertson wanted to see a big global competitor for himself, but was surprised by what he found
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winter has its advantages, and Ottawa could be worse. Those were two take-aways from a recent trip to Argentina for Alberta rancher Alex Robertson. The Longview rancher was surprised to see his Argentine counterparts feeding their cattle in one coastal region even though winter there meant a “very damp” -7 C. “Their grasses don’t harden […] Read more
Bold — and well organized — thieves make off with $15,000 worth of canola
Grain confetti, a good lock, and storing high-value crops close to home can deter thieves
Reading Time: 2 minutes A bit of canola underneath the hopper bottom was the only sign something was wrong at Randy Syvenky’s grain bins on the outskirts of Edmonton. But a look inside the bin showed that more than $15,000 worth of canola had been stolen sometime in the night. “It looks like they took 40 tonnes or about 1,200 […] Read more
Farmers frustrated over delivery contracts that aren’t honoured
Farmers not compensated and still under contract when grain companies go past 90-day extension limit on delivery contracts
Reading Time: 2 minutes The national body for canola producers says it will press major grain buyers to address grower concerns with marketing contracts. “If grain companies are hearing it from (producers) as well as the association, hopefully they can start to make a change in this area that really frustrates farmers,” said Cheryl Mayer, director of policy development […] Read more
It’s not your regular farming, but community-supported agriculture catching on
Most community-supported agriculture operations grow vegetables — lots and lots of them
Reading Time: 2 minutes One size does not fit all when it comes to community-supported agriculture in Alberta, according to a recent Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development study. “We talked to 25 different people, and we got 25 different answers on how you do a (community-supported agriculture program),” said project consultant Brenda Frick of Resilient Solutions Consulting. Community-supported agriculture, or […] Read more
Did you hear about the ‘seed destructor’ at FarmTech?
With burning and cultivation off the table for many growers, the Harrington Seed Destructor an option for managing resistant weeds
Reading Time: 3 minutes A presentation on a “seed destructor” — an Aussie contraption for battling resistant weeds — caught the attention of a lot of FarmTech attendees earlier this winter. But the price tag of nearly $240,000 and having to pull the hefty machine behind a combine quickly cooled their interest. However, a complete redesign of the Harrington Seed […] Read more
Animal agriculture big business for animal rights activists
Undercover videos are rapidly becoming the go-to method of swaying public opinion for animal rights groups
Reading Time: 3 minutes Security personnel at the door at the Egg Farmers of Alberta annual general meeting in Red Deer were a stark sign of how the world has changed for the livestock sector. Four months after an undercover video scandal rocked Canada’s egg industry, security officials were keeping a wary eye out for protesters and allowing in […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
