Reading Time: 2 minutes Producers are demonstrating their commitment to the environment through their work with watershed and other environmental organizations. That was the message of a panel for a gathering of about 150 producers at the fifth annual Holding the Reins Landowner Summit for the Oldman Watershed. “Stewardship groups stepped up to the plate in the Oldman River […] Read more
Watershed Groups Are Proactive On Many Issues
Transmission Line Creating Controversy
Reading Time: 2 minutes Construction continues on the 345-kilometre, $130-million Montana Alberta Tie Ltd. (MATL) electrical transmission line from north of Lethbridge to Great Falls. Most of the power poles from Cutbank, Montana to the border have been installed, said Bob Williams, a regulatory officer for MAT LinCalgary. Onlythreetosix kilometres are left to build. In some stretches, the conductor […] Read more
Beet Growers Review A Challenging Year
Reading Time: 2 minutes The 2010 growing season was one that most southern Alberta sugar beet growers want to forget, but record world sugar prices are soothing some of the pain. Speaking to delegates at the 86th annual meeting of the Alberta Sugar Beet Growers Marketing Board, president Rob Boras said 2010 not only saw growers battle problems with […] Read more
JRI Upgrades Lethbridge Canola-Processing Plant
Reading Time: < 1 minute Richardson International will spend $15 million to expand and upgrade its Richardson Oilseeds canola-crushing and refining operation in Lethbridge. John Haen of Winnipeg, vice-president for Richardson Nutrition, said the expansion should be operational by February 2012, and will create safer working conditions for employees. He said some of the repetitive jobs will be automated, but […] Read more
Seed Quality Downgraded By Frost
Reading Time: < 1 minute Cereal seeds from 2010 on a typical blotter might look good to the naked eye, but look closely, says Kevin Zaychuk, business development manager for 20/20 Labs in Edmonton. Zaychuk told the Agronomy Update Conference in Lethbridge last month that a blotter of germinating seeds “looks good if you are not a seed analyst.” He […] Read more
Public Raising A Stink Over Confined Feeding Operations
Reading Time: 3 minutes Concerns are mounting about agriculture’s affect on air quality and odour, and the industry needs to be paying careful attention, according to a provincial specialist on livestock and the environment. The province has received more than 6,000 complaints over the past eight years about livestock operations, either because of the odour they cause or because […] Read more
Questions Flow At Irrigation Seminar
Reading Time: 2 minutes Some are predicting a barrel of water will one day be worth more than a barrel of oil. Ron Renwick isn’t into predicting prices, but is certain water will always flow to the highest bidder. The pricing structure allows farmers to sell rights for a year or forever to other farmers within the same water […] Read more
Nutrient Run-Off From Winter Cattle Feeding Sites Very Significant
Reading Time: 2 minutes Nitrogen and phosphorus loss in snowmelt run-off from in-field cattle overwintering can be an environmental concern, says a researcher from the University of Saskatchewan. Wintering cattle directly in the field creates concerns with increased nutrients being deposited where they may be susceptible to movement with snowmelt run-off, Jeff Schoenau told the Manure Management Update conference […] Read more
Co-Operators Sought For Lygus And Weevil Research
Reading Time: 2 minutes Lethbridge Research Centre scientist Hector Carcamo is looking for farmers to participate in his one-shot control for cabbage seed pod weevil and lygus in canola. His four-year project to try to control cabbage seed pod weevils and lygus bugs with a one-shot application of insecticide so far has produced good news, he told the annual […] Read more
U.S. Ruling Could Affect Canadian Beets
Reading Time: < 1 minute Southern Alberta’s sugar beet industry is taking a wait-and-see approach following a U.S. District Court ruling requiring U.S. growers to uproot all their genetically modified (GM) Roundup Ready sugar beet seedlings. Andrew Llewelyn-Jones, agricultural superintendent for Lantic Sugar, said southern Alberta farmers planted about 90 per cent of the 2009 crop and all of the […] Read more
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