Reading Time: < 1 minute The number of cases of highly pathogenic H5N1 avian influenza continues to grow on an almost daily basis as migratory birds head south. As of Sept. 26, there were more than 140 cases with 2.7 million birds affected, according to the Canadian Food Inspection Agency. Alberta has been hardest hit with one-third of the cases […] Read more
Avian flu cases steadily rising
Time to clean the plastic out of your shed
Reading Time: < 1 minute Producers in the northern half of Alberta can drop off old livestock/equine medications as well as unwanted agricultural pesticides next month. Cleanfarms partners with the Canadian Animal Health Institute for livestock/equine medications, which need to have a DIN number, serial number, notification number or Pest Control Product number on the label. One-day collections will take […] Read more
Wildlife compensation program now covers damage by wild boars
Reading Time: < 1 minute The growing threat of wild boars in Alberta has prompted Agriculture Financial Services Corporation to include the invasive species in its Wildlife Damage Compensation Program. “The program will compensate producers for wild boar damage to eligible unharvested hay crops and eligible annual unharvested crops, wildlife-excreta contaminated crops, stacked greenfeed and silage in pits and tubes,” […] Read more
Harvest sample program now open
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Canadian Grain Commission harvest sample program is now open. The free program gives producers a host of info that can be used when marketing or delivering grain. This includes an unofficial grade; dockage for canola; protein content for cereals and pulses; oil, protein and chlorophyll content for canola; falling number for wheat and rye; […] Read more
Biological control for Canada thistle on deck
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Chinook Applied Research Association is bringing in Canada thistle stem mining weevils this fall. Each patch of Canada thistle needs a tray of weevils and there are 100 weevils in a tray. The insects overwinter in soil and leaf litter, emerge in spring to feed on thistles, and then lay eggs. After hatching, the […] Read more
Window for getting climate fund cash closes in early November
There’s been a rush of applications for grants, which can be as much as $75,000 per farm
Reading Time: 2 minutes The main Alberta administrator of funding under the On-Farm Climate Action Fund — a program offering up to $75,000 per farm — says its application deadline for the first round of funding is Nov. 7. Around 200 operations put in applications in the first month after the application window opened Aug. 4, Results Driven Agriculture […] Read more
Harvest is bringing upbeat reports
Reading Time: 2 minutes Despite challenging growing conditions, there was plenty of encouraging news in the first provincial crop report of the month. Dryland yields were running 12 per cent above the five-year average (which was lowered by last year’s drought) and nearly eight per cent higher than the 10-year average, says the Sept. 6 report. Despite an extremely […] Read more
Beef industry honours forage breeder
Reading Time: < 1 minute A federal forage breeder from Nova Scotia is this year’s winner of the Canadian Beef Industry Award for Outstanding Research and Innovation. Yousef Papadopoulos, a research scientist at Ag Canada’s centre in Truro, N.S., “is known across North America for his contributions to forage development and ruminant livestock sustainability,” said the Beef Cattle Research Council, […] Read more
Candidates wanted for canola board
Reading Time: < 1 minute Nominations are open for four director positions on Alberta Canola’s board. Candidates don’t have to reside in a region to serve as a director but must have grown canola in it (or had a share of crop) and paid the canola checkoff. The four regions are regions 1 (the northwest corner of the province), 4 […] Read more
Oat growers warned on chlorpyrifos
Reading Time: < 1 minute A U.S. ban on the use of the pesticide chlorpyrifos on food crops has prompted a warning from the Canadian division of Grain Millers, which processes about one-quarter of the oats grown in North America. The ruling by the Environmental Protection Agency means oats treated with the pesticide, commonly known by the trade name Lorsban, […] Read more
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