Reading Time: 2 minutes Farmers are being offered cash incentives to lower greenhouse gas emissions while getting more bang for their fertilizer buck. “The primary goal (of the project) is to help farmers use their fertilizer and other crop nutrients more efficiently to reduce their losses of nitrous oxide, which is a greenhouse gas,” said Clyde Graham, an official […] Read more
Program aims to boost fertilizer efficiency, producers’ bottom line, and environment
Forget the ruler — a new electronic grading system will provide the true measure of Canadian lamb grade
Lamb producers will receive real-time feedback on their carcass quality through a new electronic grading system
Reading Time: 2 minutes A new electronic grading system will move Canada’s lamb industry from grading with a ruler in a cold room into the 21st century. “It’s hardly a way to run an industry,” said Terry Ackerman, chief executive officer of the Canadian Lamb Producers Cooperative, of the current system. Ottawa is giving the co-op $1.4 million to […] Read moreAlberta bird rules the roost at Toronto poultry show
Reading Time: 2 minutes Travelling by wing just wouldn’t do for Champ the chicken on his recent flight to the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto. “He caused quite a sensation in the airport,” said Kathy Stevenson of Bashaw. “People would see the pet carriers and come around to get a good look and jump back startled when they […] Read more
Dual fungicide applications lead to big bump in wheat yield
Provincial agronomy researcher tested 48 management practices in test plots this summer and says fungicide application had the biggest impact on wheat yields
Reading Time: 2 minutes Looking for higher wheat yields? Then consider upping the budget for fungicide. That’s the advice of Sheri Strydhorst, an agronomy research scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. This past summer, Strydhorst evaluated 48 different management practices to determine the economic benefits of stacking agronomic practices for maximum wheat yield. Only fungicide application had a […] Read moreIt was a faba-ulous year for growing broad beans
Acreage of the pulse crop doubled or tripled this year, with good prices and yields making it a big money maker
Reading Time: 2 minutes Mark Olson has finally found the perfect standing field pea. “It’s called faba bean,” said Olson, pulse crops unit head at Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “People have struggled with the harvestability of field pea for a number of years, especially in those areas where there’s a lot of moisture. Faba bean is a crop […] Read more
U.S. pork producers paying the price for trying to cover up PED
Canadian pork industry is taking proactive measures to prevent porcine epidemic diarrhea from entering country, and limiting its spread if it does
Reading Time: 2 minutes ‘Shoot, shovel, and shut up’ didn’t work for American pork producers in the fight against porcine epidemic diarrhea, and it won’t for Canadian ones either, says a top swine biosecurity official. “(The Americans) found out the first case got hidden, and it got spread because it’s so infectious,” Lucie Verdon, national biosecurity co-ordinator at the […] Read morePathologist urges faba bean growers to be on alert for disease
Aggressive root rot pathogens could cross over from faba beans to field peas, creating a potentially disastrous situation
Reading Time: 3 minutes More acres mean more disease pressure, and faba bean growers are being urged to be on the lookout for two diseases. “Faba beans appear to be an emerging crop once again in the province, and any time acres of a crop increase, we’re alert to see what’s going to happen with them,” provincial plant pathologist […] Read more
Cattle feeders measure marketing and production risks for improved profitability
Reading Time: 3 minutes Producers need to remove emotion from the equation to manage risk in feeding cattle. “When we talk about risk management, there are so many things that contribute to our risks as cattle feeders,” Travis Hickey, general manager of cattle strategies for Western Feedlots, said during a panel discussion at the recent Canfax Cattle Market Forum. […] Read more
Buyers are in the driver’s seat for the next while
Reading Time: 4 minutes There’s a big crop on the Prairies, but it’s the same story for many other exporters and buyers are back in the driver’s seat, says an analyst for the FarmLink market advisory service. “It shifts our decisions when we think about when to sell and how to market that crop,” Jonathon Driedger told the All […] Read more
Bin-busting research pushes barley yields past the 150-bushel mark
The Barley 180 research project focused on plant growth regulators, nitrogen and fungicides in a bid to grow 180 bushels an acre
Reading Time: 3 minutes They didn’t reach their goal, but researchers in the Barley 180 project came pretty close. “We just said, ‘OK, let’s see if we can hit 180 (bushels per acre).’ And we hit 156,” said Steve Larocque of Beyond Agronomy, an agronomic services company in Three Hills. The Agricultural Research and Extension Council has been running […] Read moreCyber-Savvy Farmer
