New York | Reuters — A U.S. weather forecaster warned on Thursday the El Nino weather pattern that can cause droughts in Asia and heavy rain in the Americas will likely last into next year, longer than previously expected and potentially roiling crops and commodity prices. The Climate Prediction Center (CPC), an agency of the […] Read more
U.S. agency sees El Nino likely to last into 2016
Dry areas of Prairies still waiting for rain
CNS Canada –– The continued lack of moisture across a large portion of Alberta and Saskatchewan is becoming more of a concern for farmers in the region, but there is a chance of rain in some nearby forecasts. Shannon Friesen, a cropping management specialist for Saskatchewan Agriculture in Moose Jaw, said some livestock producers are […] Read more
Intensive beef production seminar
Reading Time: < 1 minute Foothills Forage and Grazing Association is hosting an afternoon seminar on intensive beef production on pasture systems. Flavio Santos, a professor of ruminant nutrition at the University of Sao Paulo, is an expert in areas such as starch utilization by ruminants, integrating pasture management, and grain supplementation. He is also the author of 72 scientific […] Read more
Scientist says plants — not soil — are the building blocks of life
Australian soil scientist Christine Jones challenges conventional thinking by arguing microbes and fungi are the key to soil health
Reading Time: 4 minutes Though many claim that soil is the building block of life, Christine Jones has a different approach. “It’s not the soil that is the building block of life. It’s the plants,” the internationally acclaimed soil scientist and agricultural consultant said at a sold-out appearance in Olds. The Australian also drew a large crowd in Rycroft, […] Read more
What lies beneath your feet is a marvel of nature
It’s believed native grasslands contain plants a century old, their tillers advancing inch by inch to create a perpetual ecosystem
Reading Time: 3 minutes The other day, the Dickinson Research Extension Center became home to an unstoppable force that is going to drill a well. In this case, an oil well. The spot selected is in the middle of a native grass pasture. Who knows the age of that native grass, but certainly the plants were there long before […] Read more
Researcher finds a way to calculate roundworm risk in Alberta pastures
Weather matters a lot when it comes to predicting where roundworm infestations are likely to be worst
Reading Time: 2 minutes A federal research scientist has developed “a hint of a tool” for predicting roundworm risk in Alberta pastures. “The question we came up with late at night was: Can we make a correlation between egg counts, antibody levels, and environmental parameters and build a GIS map that would give us an idea of what the […] Read more
Canada needs to invest to keep forage sector vigorous
Reading Time: 3 minutes Irricana rancher Doug Wray is the president of the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association. In mid-May, he spoke to the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food. He began by noting Canada’s 13 million cultivated hectares of forages (the country’s largest cultivated crop) and 15 million hectares of native pastures and rangeland generate […] Read more
West’s ranchers sending cattle out to pasture early
CNS Canada — The late spring has prompted many Prairie cattle owners to put their animals on pasture weeks ahead of schedule, according to three industry watchers. “They are probably three weeks early (in Alberta) compared to when they should be turning them out,” said forage specialist Barry Yaremcio at the provincial Ag-Info Centre at […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
