Reading Time: 2 minutes “Meat is very misunderstood. I think we do a terrible job in retailing beef and there have been opportunities missed in Canada.” For farmers looking to gain a foothold in the retail food marketplace, lesson one might be to know your customer – and it’s not the consumer. It’s the retailer, and producers need to […] Read more
Helping Retailers To Differentiate Their Products
Farmers’ Markets On The Rise
Reading Time: 2 minutes As producers prepare for the upcoming farmers’ market season, some organizers are anticipating this year to be busier than ever. Southern Alberta’s largest farmers’ market, at Exhibition Park in Lethbridge, is set to open May 16 and run until October 31. Doug Kryzanowski, the park’s manager of corporate relations, marketing, events and entertainment, has no […] Read more
Alberta French Fries For The World
Reading Time: 2 minutes Driving past McCain’s french fry plant on Highway 3, you don’t see much more than a few steam stacks and the white walls of the facility. Inside, though, is a whole other story. There’s more french fries and potatoes than you could ever imagine. A tour of the facility reveals one of the most technologically […] Read more
Processing Biggest Market For Alberta Potatoes
Reading Time: 2 minutes Another crop of process potatoes destined for McCain’s french fry plant east of Coaldale is in the ground. Typically, McCain contracts about 11,000 acres with 32 growers in the province. About 25 per cent of the growers is exclusive to McCain, while the rest also contract with other potato processors in southern Alberta, such as […] Read more
Farmsitting Service Needs Support
Reading Time: 2 minutes While farmers, farm workers and even the media have welcomed Canada’s first farmsitting service with open arms, industry seems to be lagging behind with its support. Currently AgriConnect is free, with the Red Deer-based service maintaining a database of names and connecting farmsitters with farm or acreage owners across Canada. Compensation is negotiated between the […] Read more
Succession Brings Hard Reality
Reading Time: 3 minutes Farming is a family affair for many operations, but sometimes family and business are too closely related, according to several farm succession experts speaking at the Tiffin Conference here in early March. Barrie Broughton of North & Company, Barristers and Solicitors, says even though it can be intimidating and awkward to open up discussions with […] Read more
Maintaining The Alberta Bean Advantage
Reading Time: 3 minutes Having the best of both worlds is challenging for most, but it’s especially so for bean breeders. No one knows that better than Parthiba Balasubramanian, research scientist and dry bean breeder at the Lethbridge Research Centre, who is trying to achieve both early maturity and high yield. Southern Alberta and Saskatchewan have the shortest growing […] Read more
Triticale Best Choice For Bioeconomy
Reading Time: < 1 minute Triticale has a bright future due to $15.5 million in new funding from the federal government, says one of two science directors in the new Canadian Triticale Biorefinery Initiative. “Triticale is a high-yielding crop that produces a large amount of biomass,” Francois Eudes told the Southern Applied Research Association’s annual meeting here in early March. […] Read more
New Federal Programs Expected In April
Reading Time: 2 minutes As the federal government gets ready to roll out a new suite of programs on April 1, 2009, scientists, producers and industry may be wondering how these new models for science delivery will affect them. “Under Growing Forward, the new agricultural framework, there’s access to more funds, which has stimulated the development of new models, […] Read more
New Crop For Alberta Holds Cure For Malaria
Reading Time: 3 minutes Southern Alberta may be the perfect location for artemisia annua, a new annual crop that would help ease the burden of malaria in Third World countries. The compound artemisinin is isolated from the plant and used as a drug to treat multi-drug-resistant strains of malaria. Paul Watson of the Alberta Research Council (ARC) in Vegreville […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
