Each facility has its own important story to tell about the benefits they provide to the public good, as do the researchers themselves. Additionally, esteemed wheat breeder, Richard Cuthbert’s recent resignation from Swift Current, Sask., research station, leaves a gap that needs to filled by spring if we want to see improved varieties of wheat continue to excel.

We don’t fully know the effect of all these cuts, but this is one of those times when farmers and citizens need to speak up loudly and demand accountability. It’s not enough to simply shrug shoulders and take the pessimistic “there’s nothing more we can do” approach. That drags us into a complacent and passive individualism; the malaise that got us here in the first place; the mindset that expects cuts to be the future norm.

It would also be a mistake to accept that much-touted “privatization” is the only path forward. The realities are that several Canadian private companies pay a fee for use of these facilities and collectively gain from this work.

Most farmers see the benefit of these government institutions. The results on our farms are evident. We see the creation of new varieties, combined with the growth and nurturing of long-term researchers in the public system, as necessary to combat future challenges in food productivity while ensuring the effectiveness of Canadian farmers, globally and locally.

One major problem is that we track the productivity gains from breeding efforts on a bushel-per-acre basis, but we don’t put the same efforts into tracking other benefits of public plant breeding. Simply put, the work is supported, but the value of it can be difficult to communicate clearly.

When effort is taken to delve into the economic impact, it is impressive. A major study in Saskatchewan from lead author Richard Gray found the following:

• Taxpayer investments of $370.6 million between 1995 and 2020 resulted in a cumulative benefit to the Canadian economy of $11.8 billion.
• Ever single dollar of wheat investment from governments returned $31 to Canadians. When producer contributions through joint funding efforts were factored in, the return rose to over $70.

The study concluded “… these breeding programs should be supported by all parties with the aim of enhancing capacity and sustaining these effective relationships over time.”

This is the sort of information we should be communicating to decision-makers in government, especially at a time where Canada’s sovereign economic interests are at the forefront of the policy agenda. Agriculture and food related research should not be a casualty of mere bean counting (literally).

One critical loss will be the organic program lead by Dr. Myriam Fernandez in Swift Current. It’s been one of the few long-term research programs that addresses the production issues of organic and regenerative farmers in Canada. Just as government is asking farmers to use more climate mitigation practices and improve their environmental footprint, it has slashed one of the few research programs aimed at doing so effectively.

There is much we do not yet know about the microbial activity of soil and how we might leverage those natural activities for our agricultural purposes. This work is knowledge-based. It’s free of bias for profit. It’s extremely hard to replace. I fear these moves similar to the agricultural equivalent of scrapping the Avro Arrow in the 1950s, when Canada was a world leader in aerospace design.

To clarify, these cuts:

1. Ignore important production and unbiased knowledge-based issues because there’s no way to reasonably replace or monetize that work (low return).
2. Fuel the fire for profit motive mechanisms like expensive end point royalties that funnel farmer dollars into hungry investor pockets.
3. Introduce a vacuum to future gains through the loss of programs and researchers that require year in and year out experimental work. Private companies will not pick up that tab. The nation suffers.

The results are like cutting off a farmer’s leg, offering them a shiny prosthetic one, and then charging them a subscription to use it.

We must ensure the decision-makers in Ottawa understand the true cost of this decision, and lobby them to reverse it.

Farmers, it’s time to write those letters. Start with your local MP, and work your way up.

Dean Harder farms near Lowe Farm, Manitoba. He’s a member of the Manitoba regional council of the National Farmers’ Union, and a former director of what was the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association.

The post Canadian government got it wrong on public plant breeding appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The last surviving Second World War veteran from the Taber, Alta., area, Wood flew planes for the Royal Air Force, targeting factories and other strategic locations.

Wood, who is now 103, participated in Taber’s 80th anniversary of VE-Day this past May, marking the defeat of Germany in 1945.

Now, he is celebrating another type of history — that of southern Alberta’s sugar beet industry, in which he began working after returning to the family farm after the war.

During the war, the Canadian government incentivized maximum agricultural production. Alberta responded by growing more sugar beets than ever before — a record that still stands today.

Alberta Sugar Beet Growers is celebrating its 100th anniversary this year, and Wood served on the board from 1952-80, including as vice -president and president.

The organization administers regulations while providing leadership to advance the industry through agreements, research, relationships and advocacy.

“After the war, the government gave us a month of university for every month you were in service. I got out of university (University of Alberta) and moved back to the farm here. The association thought, here’s a smart young man. There weren’t a lot of men who went to university in the late ‘40s, and I was elected to the board,” said Wood, who studied agriculture in his post-secondary studies.

At its peak, Alberta Sugar Beet Growers was seen as one of the strongest agriculture organizations in the province, featuring a factory committee and a labour committee, which would recruit First Nations workers.

“It was all hand labour. The Dominion government actually honoured us, saying we were doing something for the Indian that no other organization was doing. We were finding them jobs, we were housing them and every farm had a sugar beet shack,” said Wood.

Back in the early days of the ASBG, deals were brokered that saw producers receive 63 per cent of the net profits while the processor would receive 37 per cent, Wood said.

Committees would be set up in the spring to decide how many acres would be planted for the Prairie sugar market. A simple barometer at the time was to look east to Saskatchewan’s chokecherry harvest.

“Every Indigenous picked chokecherries and made jelly. Chokecherry jelly is half juice and half sugar,” said Wood with a chuckle.

“If it was a bad chokecherry projection, we’d cut down on our acreage.”

Plenty of infrastructure in southern Alberta can be attributed to the organization’s influence.

Highway 36 between Taber and Vauxhall, a bridge north of Taber and another bridge near Picture Butte were all updated through ASBG lobbying.

“It couldn’t stand the heavy loads. The growers call it the Burns Wood bridge,” said Wood.

“We petitioned to get the roads paved. I remember telling somebody that the roads from Vauxhall and Picture Butte were paved with sugar because the road was gravel and rock. It was a splendid organization to represent.”

The industry saw only one year of halted production — in 1985 — due to a breakdown in contract negotiations between farmers and the processing plant, and Burns said he saw both the highs and lows (low sugar prices/higher production costs) of sugar beet production.

B.C. Refining Co. (Rogers Sugar) built a third factory in Taber in 1950, shortly before Wood’s arrival on the ASBG board. Today, Taber’s refinery is Canada’s last remaining sugar beet factory. Raymond’s second sugar beet factory closed in 1963 and the Picture Butte plant closed its doors in 1978.

“As the Taber plant was built, it was (later) deemed that the Raymond and Picture Butte plants were obsolete. We didn’t need them, and that caused quite a break in the organization, but the Taber plant could now handle all of the beets,” said Wood.

The ASBG was formed the same year the Canadian Sugar Factories Ltd. plant was built in Raymond.

New acres for sugar beet production were found in places such as Vauxhall and Burdett, with Taber being centralized for processing.

Wood, who stepped away from production in the 1980s, marvels at how sugar beets are produced today compared to decades ago.

The Wood family, which had eight children, started growing beets around the time irrigation first came to Taber and the formation of ASBG.

Wood oversaw 1,600 growers as a board member, bargaining for the best prices with processors from Raymond, Picture Butte and eventually Taber, compared to the 200 growers today whose production levels are eye popping on the same amount of acres.

“When I was young, the sugar beet industry had the 15-tonne club. If you raised 15 tonnes an acre, you were a member of this club,” said Wood, adding he spoke recently to a father of a Vauxhall farmer who was producing 39 tonnes per acre on his 300 acres last year.

Only approximately five per cent of the cultivated land in Alberta is irrigated yet produces 27 per cent of the province’s primary agricultural sales. Irrigation districts contribute $5.4 billion annually to Alberta’s gross domestic product. Sugar beets from Taber’s processing plant provide eight per cent of Canada’s sugar.

In the fall of 2020, $815 million in irrigation upgrades were announced for Alberta.

“The main thing will be the source of water because you can grow sugar beets on dry land,” Wood said about how the ASBG will thrive for another 100 years.

“The only thing that’s going to pay for that (the added acres), the only growers that are going to go into that land, are potato growers or sugar beets, or maybe corn.”

The post Rich life took him from sky to ground appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

This award, which was given on July 29, is the highest honour the college bestows. It recognizes organizations who have demonstrated exceptional support and commitment to Olds College’s vision of advancing agriculture.

FCC was also awarded Partner of the Year in 2020.

“It’s the first time anyone has actually been partner of the year twice,” said Todd Ormann, Vice President of External Relations and Research at Olds College.

He said the recognition over the two years indicates that FCC is not just a one-year partner, but a consistent supporter over the years.

“I do want to mention that we appreciate the long-term strategic thinking that comes from FCC, because it really does show how you can support ag long-term,” he said.

Ormann said Olds College is not a massive institution. There are only about 500 staff, and 3,800 students. Class sizes are small.

“When you think about the things we do in agriculture, we have courses in heavy duty mechanics and welding, and we have a lot of stuff on the animal health side. We differentiate ourselves because of our ability to both teach and do research,” he said.

The college has over 3,000 acres, a 1,000 head feedlot of cattle, 130 head of cattle, and some sheep and horses.

Olds College does punch above its weight in research and has been recognized as one of the top 15 colleges in Canada for research.

The research at the central Alberta post-secondary institution is done at scale.

“To do the research, we have to do it with modern equipment and everything else,” said Ormann.

“We rely heavily on partnerships. From a research perspective, we have worked with about 500 companies since 2018.”

About 50 of those companies would be called partners, said Ormann.

“To make this work, we need to do things like the research and teaching, and we also need to be able to do things like AgSmart. We also need to be able to sponsor the research. We need those additional funds to take students to events and things of that nature,” he said.

“This is where FCC comes into play,” said Ormann.

FCC has helped with soil-based environmental research studies and has also sponsored Olds College to take students to Agribition in Regina, Sask. FCC is also keen to support AgAmart, Ormann said.

“This is almost as critical as research, because you do have to not just do the research, but you have to do the dissemination,” he said.

Unlike universities which do discovery research, Olds College is focussed on applied research. The college is more interested in economic development and testing, validating and showcasing technology.

FCC has contributed financially to numerous projects at Olds College. Their money supports the Smart Farm and the Smart Farm’s Operations Centre. Ormann described the operations centre as a farm shop, which has space for all the researchers. Equipment can be brought inside and worked on, but the building also houses the farm management team, the research team and the field research team.

“There are offices, but again, the really important piece is that we actually have a heated shop to bring equipment in and work on it,” said Ormann. Bins and cold storage are located right beside the Smart Farm’s Operations Centre.

Another project FCC and Olds College have cooperated on together is the AgExpert Field Project, which uses an FCC software system.

The Forage Quality and Quantity on Converted Marginal Areas is another project funded by FCC. This project looks at marginal land alternate use cases and measures return of investment on them.

Ormann said the project examines whether it is better to put marginal land in grassland for cattle or Ducks Unlimited, rather than farming it.

Other projects that FCC and Olds College are working on include the transformation of marginal cropland into perennial vegetation, and a land restoration project.

FCC’s support has also helped create the Producer Panel, which has been operating for about six years. The Producer Panel is a group of significant producers across western Canada that the college meets with regularly to have discussions about what is relevant and what is not relevant, said Ormann.

“Now those producers as well, though, that’s kind of transforming into becoming more of a panel to both test and validate equipment,” said Ormann.

He would like to be doing product development on research farms and in research environments, and market development on farms — allowing producers to test innovations to get feedback on them, position them, and figure out how they should be sold and adjusted.

Ormann said he can see the Producer Panel transforming from a panel of guidance to an extension of the research farm.

The partnership between FCC and Olds College works well because they are both aligned on agriculture.

“At the end of the day, FCC wants to see agriculture succeed. We’re almost always aligned in terms of what our long-term goals are,” he said.

akienlen@fbcpublishing.com

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Grant Fletcher, a former rancher/farmer southeast of Taber, Alta., passed away this summer at the age of 84. Loved ones and friends recently shared their memories of Fletcher, the most notable of which were all the lives he helped save as a founding medivac pilot with HALO Air Ambulance, flying its very first mission back in 2007.

“He did a lot of things very, very well. He was a farmer, rancher and a pilot for a very long time. HALO gave Grant purpose for the last 16 years (in retirement) and that really hit home with me. We’re a very small program, very close knit, and HALO has a culture that kind of grabs a hold of you because of the people,” said Paul Carolan, chief executive officer for HALO, as Grant’s son shared stories with him at his memorial.

“Even when he stopped flying, he was still flying remote controlled planes. He just loved that side of things, the engineering, the technology, the wide open skies. He was a pilot through and through his entire life. We were very fortunate to have him as part of the program. We will be forever grateful.”

Fletcher officially hung up his HALO helmet at 82 years old, making him the oldest licensed commercial helicopter pilot in Canada. His aviation career spanned 66 years, after getting his pilots licence at 16, through the air cadets and Lethbridge Flying Club. That was at a time when you could rent a plane for $12 a day.

Fletcher ranched cattle and horses in the 1970s after returning home from Newfoundland. He primarily farmed grain and dryland crops through the 1980s and 90s until launching Fletcher Harvesting, which led custom combining crews from Oklahoma to Alberta.

As a commercial pilot, Fletcher’s travels saw him in spray planes and charter flights, manning helicopters fighting forest fires, wildlife surveillance and transporting patients during his time in Newfoundland, and oil work in Inuvik, NWT.

“Farming and flying were both professions he was very passionate about and proud of. It was important to him to get a good crop off properly at harvest to help the farmers and provide for others,” said granddaughter Stacy Peleskey in a family statement to the Western Producer, with Grant and late wife Marilyn having three children, and numerous extended family in the Alberta region.

“Flying for HALO meant so much to him. He really believed in what they they were trying to establish with local medical service for rural families in his home area. While he loved to fly and be part of these important missions, he would always credit the paramedics for saving lives.”

Fletcher’s HALO contributions went past flying helicopters, according to operations manager Ryan Shrives. He kept the wheels turning in every way, from fixing tractors and mowing lawns to plowing snow and tinkering with whatever needed a hand around the hangar — he led by doing.

“Whether it was hangar maintenance or simply making things better, Grant never sat still and never said no to a job worth doing. He was a gentleman-cowboy — boots and buckle polished, wit sharp, heart wide open. Whether it was rodeo stories, rescue missions, or crew room coffee banter, Grant was always up for a yarn and a laugh. He wasn’t just part of the team, he was the soul of it,” said Shrives, a HALO captain, in his social media submission The Concrete in the Cockpit.

“His contributions saved lives. His character shaped HALO. His presence — kind, calm, and unwavering — lifted us all.”

Fletcher would stay in Medicine Hat two weeks at a time on duty with his RV trailer, waiting at the hangar for the next call to come. The southern Alberta farmer would average about five calls a week, which he noted in his memoirs would take him from the Saskatchewan border, across the province, down to the Montana border and up to Hanna.

Before the GPS even finished calculating, Fletcher’s knowledge of the lay of the land and his rural neighbours was indispensable in what was a strength and a hardship emotionally at the same time.

“As a paramedic, firefighter, medivac pilot, you might be very familiar landing at someone’s home, a family member, a neighbour, someone you’ve known your whole life. Grant was very familiar with the area,” said Carolan, adding that Fletcher would fly with a steady hand among the chaos, with urgency, clarity and compassion.

“I was on a search-and-rescue mission with Grant in the helicopter once where I was in the back and he was in the front. I was to communicate the co-ordinates and on the intercom he literally said ‘whose farm is it?’ and next thing you know we were overhead and he knew exactly where to go. His familiarity with the community and the navigation to those locations was invaluable to us, but also weighed heavily knowing those people and the families. Grant went to a lot of calls with us and saw everything.”

In 2024, HALO renamed its annual fundraising event to the Grant Fletcher HALO in the Hangar.

HALO Air Ambulance is southern Alberta’s only dedicated Helicopter Emergency Medical Service Program. Since 2007, HALO Air Ambulance has flown thousands of missions to many rural, hard-to-reach areas. Partnering with regional and provincial stakeholders, HALO responds to a variety of calls for services including; emergency medical scene calls, critical care inter-facility patient transfers, search and rescue, fire rescue, law enforcement incidents and all-hazard disaster responses.

A paramedic who flew missions with Fletcher shared a ranching metaphor of the southern Albertan to HALO, in the heart and dedication he gave flying for the rescue organization.

“Grant can be compared to my faithful rope horse. Easy-going, but when work had to be done, you can count on him to get it done properly. Even in the most challenging conditions, Grant would always bring a calm and level-headed approach.”

The post Tributes soar for HALO founding pilot Grant Fletcher appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

“It was a surprise for sure,” said Laing, who lives with her husband, Smith, on the ranch in the foothills near Nanton.

The Environmental Stewardship Award recognizes exceptional commitment to sustainable ranching practices and contributions to the beef industry.

The couple found out they had won during the Summit event at the Calgary Stampede.

The event was attended by federal and provincial agriculture ministers, as well as Alberta Beef Producers members and representatives from Canadian Cattle.

Smith’s grandfather started the ranch in 1958 and was heavily involved in Herefords. He was the Canadian president of the Hereford Association and ran a test centre in Innisfail. He was also involved in the creation of the Waldron Grazing Co-op. Smith’s parents, Dan and Serena took over the ranch in 1971, and Smith and Laing took it over in 2016. Smith’s mother, Serena, attended the award ceremony along with Smith’s brother, Lloyd.

Smith and Laing are members of the Spruce Grazing Co-op and the Waldron Grazing Co-op. They have Savanna Creek and upper Livingston grazing allotments that are side by side, over a range of mountains. Their ranch, which is named for Plateau mountain, is a habitat for many species, including grizzly and black bears, cougars, bobcats, lynxes, foxes, raptors such as eagles, hawks, owls and even wolves.

“We send 160 to 170 cows to the mountains, and then the balance goes to the Waldron. And we have another couple small, rented pastures down here, where late calvers and stuff that needs a little more attention can stay close to home,” said Smith.

Smith and Laing are running 450 black Angus and black Angus cross cattle. There is still a bit of Hereford influence in some of the animals. They’ve completely switched to black Angus bulls and use Herdtrax to collect data on the cattle.

“That’s really helped as far as treating animals, whenever possible,” said Smith.

Animals are weighed at birth. The weights of the cattle are tracked and kept accurate.

“That really helps with medication and stuff,” he said.

“Working with our vet, we’ve got a full protocol book, and it’s attached to our Herdtrax. So it gives you first and second treatment type protocols,” he said.

Modern ranching practices

Smith and Laing have also been working with Désirée Gellatly, a research scientist at the Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production at Olds College.

The couple has been working on using lidocaine bands with Gellatly. Smith and Laing band their steers at birth.

They have also been practicing tactile stimulation (massage) on their calves as part of the research trials. Smith describes it as like imprinting a colt.

“The way most people tag and the way we used to tag, is to pull up in your side by side, or on your horse, and you leap off it and jump on them and put a couple tags in their ears and then get up and go away. As you can imagine, the animal doesn’t look very favourably at you the next time he runs into you,” he said.

Smith and Laing still put tags on the animals, but after they do this, they spend some time mimicking the cow’s action of licking the calf. They massage the calves, mainly on the hindquarters.

“We’ve kind of found that they like the shoulders and neck stroke too,” he said.

“We’re seeing a lot of improvements in herd health from the tactile stimulation, which is showing improved health because there’s less stress and less stress response when that calf sees a human,” said Laing.

The couple no longer brands their cattle.

“We find that we can have better quality control at vaccination and processing time for the cows rather than branding. It was a tough tradition to kick because we really enjoyed the social side of it, but we’re finding that for our operation, it works well. And we did see a gain in the calves of somewhere between 18 and 21 pounds that first year,” said Laing.

The couple are also taking DNA samples of the animals. As part of their DNA work, they’re participating in an Angus/Hereford genomic study on replacement heifers.

“Getting that parentage back has been great for the massage study, because then you can isolate that sire effect. We’re getting that double band out of the parentage, and then just for our own information — like what bulls are breeding, what bulls are working, and what ones aren’t working,” Smith said.

The couple has fenced off all their creek and riparian areas and put in a wet well watering system.

“We’ve done two zero energy off-the-creek watering systems, plus another solar water system that we’ve got now, and we’ve actually got one more ordered,” said Smith.

Laing and Smith are working on seeding the entire ranch back to grass.

They are looking ahead to the future and would love to get more vegetation on the creek sides they have fenced off. They are working with Ducks Unlimited on this project.

“We’ve definitely spent a lot of time on stockmanship in the environment in which the cattle are, and we’re looking at working with Prairie West to plant some more vegetation and willow to help with bank erosion on our waterways,” said Smith.

Environmental advocacy

Laing and Smith have been part of a grassroots group fighting to stop coal mining in the Eastern Slopes since the provincial government rescinded a decades-old coal policy in 2020. People working in their grassroots group include singer Corb Lund, local residents, organizations like the Canadian Parks and Wilderness Society, civic leaders and concerned people from across the province.

“That’s the biggest thing from an environmental standpoint. And I think one of the reasons people have spoken about the submission, and it’s kind of controversial, is because we’ve obviously been involved with the coal issue for about five years,” said Laing.

Ranchers are environmentalists, and it shouldn’t be a bad word, she said.

“That’s been a five-year full-time deal for us, and not a lot of fun, polarizing. But we have had success, like the government recently purchased back those leases that were going to be open for coal development in our grazing allotment. Even though it was in our grazing allotment, we weren’t fighting for that reason. We were fighting because we understood what that would mean for many people in their headwaters,” she said.

“I would say, from an environmental standpoint, that is the biggest threat and issue that’s faced this ranch in any generation,” said Laing.

“The coal issue was a big one for us. Trying to make environmentalist into a good word, and working with conservation groups was a positive, to try to change that narrative. As ranchers, we’re at the forefront because we live, work and play here and that’s a tough burden,” she said.

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However, many Prairie farmers aren’t buying what they’re selling, says a University of Calgary professor.

“In some regions (the Prairies), the concept of soil health is met with caution, skepticism or even rejection,” said Sabrina Peric, an associate professor in the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Arts.

Peric was one of dozens of researchers and soil scientists who spoke at the Soils for our Future conference, held July 20-25 in Winnipeg.

She presented the results of a survey of Canadian farmers, in which researchers tried to measure producer perceptions of soil health.

Scientists and policy makers may be fully on-board with the concept, but many Canadian farmers are not.

“Several producers … in conversations with me, often (described) the idea of soil health as a contemporary fad. (Something) meant to catch people’s eye … but in general, of little use to producers,” Peric said.

“Our research suggests we need to take a moment to look at the … acceptability of this concept.”

The study hasn’t been published yet, but Peric and her fellow researchers looked at a range of information. She collaborated with Anna Bettini of the University of Calgary and Kevin Tiessen of the International Development Research Centre, a federal organization.

They received 117 responses to surveys, had 37 in-depth interviews with farmers, met with 12 crop organizations and analyzed data collected by the Canadian Roundtable on Sustainable Crops and Soil Conservations Council of Canada.

In summary, they found:

• Prairie farmers are more skeptical about soil health than producers in Ontario.

• There’s a generational divide, with older farmers being more resistant to the concept.

• Many farmers don’t understand soil health and what it means.

Prairie farmers, particularly producers from Saskatchewan and Alberta, said that the government emphasis on soil health is yet another “top down” regulation, which is driven by urban values, Peric said.

Put another way, some farmers believe that people in Ottawa and Toronto are telling them how to grow crops and raise livestock.

One example is cover crops.

The federal government has invested tens of millions of dollars to convince farmers to seed cover crops, which are often planted in the fall and keep a living root in the soil after the cash crop is harvested.

“The thing about cover crops, we farm in a semi-arid climate. There’s not a lot of extra moisture around, especially in the fall,” Jake Leguee, who farms near Weyburn, Sask., said in 2022.

Prairie farmers have repeatedly delivered this message, but it seems like no one is listening.

“One thing that came across clearly (in the survey) is that for a long time, producer knowledge and expertise has been ignored by scientists and policy makers,” Peric said.

The resentment toward soil health policies could be linked to larger grievances in western Canadian agriculture.

The federal government has set targets for cutting greenhouse gas emissions from agriculture, and many farmers dislike those policies.

“Soil health is an increasingly important part of a broader national set of policies intended to target climate change and achieve net-zero goals in Canada,” says a description of Peric’s research.

One interesting finding from the University of Calgary survey is that many producers don’t understand the term “soil health.”

“There is huge conceptual confusion that we noticed across Canada,” Peric said.

“Many producers want to know, who is deciding the meaning?”

The problem could be that soil health is still a new concept.

For decades, soil scientists and farmers talked about the quality of the soil rather than soil health.

Jeff Schoenau, a University of Saskatchewan soil scientist, believes soil health and soil quality are basically the same thing.

“In my early career, I was looking at the effects of the adoption of no-till (on soil quality),” he said.

“We were looking at soil organic matter content, the nitrogen supplying power, we were looking at the soil aggregation or structure and water infiltration…. Those are the same parameters we use today as measures of soil health.”

The post Soil health skepticism prevalent appeared first on Alberta Farmer Express.

The enhanced Private Land Conservation Program and the new Ecosystems Grant Program will enable better protection of natural areas across the province, while allowing landowners to use their land for farming and ranching, the province has said.

A mid-July news released added that private landowners in Alberta are strong supporters of conservation and have conserved more than 142,000 acres since 2019.

Many landowners have been asking for more flexible conservation programs to help them make a living while still protecting the land.

The Private Land Conservation Program is a redux of the Land Trust Grant Program. Funding will be distributed to Alberta-based land trusts only, a move meant to keep money meant for conservation in the province.

The province argued that the new term conservation easements will allow maximum flexibility for future landowners while still protecting the environment.

Term conservation easements last up to 50 years.

The new Ecosystem Services Grant Program helps landowners cover the costs of maintaining conservation lands, according to the mid-July release. The province added that grasslands, riparian areas and wetlands provide ecosystems services that support all residents of Alberta.

Applications are being accepted for both the Private Land Conservation Program and the Ecosystem Services Grant Program until Oct. 1, 2025. Details on how to apply and eligibility are available on www.alberta.ca

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Declaring a state of agricultural disaster allows producers to access provincial and federal relief programs.

While the county has received some rain, it was too late for many producers, local officials have said.

Cypress County is in southeastern Alberta and includes the city of Medicine Hat, the town of Redcliff and several villages including Dunmore, Hilda and Walsh.

Cypress County is regularly drier than areas further west.

According to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada weather data, areas around and southeast of Medicine Hat had received 60-90 millimetres less rain than normal through the growing season as of July 20. Rain had brought southcentral and southwestern Manitoba up to 15 millimetres shy to above long term precipitation averages, while the nothern half of the province remained dry.

That’s a recent development.

As of July 8 the Alberta Crop Report showed either poor (17.6 per cent) or fair (37 per cent) soil moisture ratings for the south part of the province.

The soil conditions were even worse in June. The June 17 report showed poor (35.8 per cent) and fair (39.6 per cent) in the southern region.

The county issued a fire ban June 27 due to extremely dry conditions, downgraded on July 15.

Several municipalities in Alberta, Saskatchewan and Manitoba have declared agricultural disaster this year. In Alberta, Greenview and Pincher have declared agricultural disasters in their counties, while Maple Creek and Fox Valley in Saskatchewan have also sounded the alarm. In Manitoba, the agricultural areas announcing drought-related states of emergency or agricultural disaster include the RM of St. Laurent and RM of Coldwell, according to local media.

The declaration of an agricultural disaster gives producers the opportunity to salvage their inadequate crops for feed, and to make other decisions that can financially benefit them.

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Agriculture minister RJ Sigurdson was on hand on at Farming Smarter’s two-day field school to announce a one-time capital grant of $3.2 million to Alberta’s 12 applied research associations (ARAs).

It will allow them to focus on research into the adoption of new technology and practices.

ARAs are regional, non-profit organizations that conduct research and extension activities tailored to the specific needs of producers in their respective areas.

“The associations can extend the life of their facility’s infrastructure and equipment and reduce their operating costs,” said Sigurdson.

“The funding is intended to support agricultural research and improve competitiveness. Agricultural research in Alberta leads to tangible benefits for farmers that include higher profits and ample food supply at an affordable cost for consumers.”

Sigurdson said Canada is only one of five net-exporting countries in the world. The minister referred to Alberta and Saskatchewan as the bread basket feeding the world.

“Estimates are the global food demand will rise anywhere from 65 to 85 per cent by mid century. More and more countries are going to continue to look towards our provinces to feed the world, and research is going to be key to continuing to support our farmers and ranchers in the incredible work they do every year.”

Farming Smarter used its part of the capital grant to purchase a tractor to expand its capacity for irrigated crop research, specifically in potato agronomy. Alberta has surpassed Prince Edward Island as the country’s largest potato producer.

The province exported $930 million in processed potatoes in 2024, Sigurdson said.

“Alberta is an agricultural powerhouse. They proudly produce about one-fifth of Canada’s ag exports. With potato production contributing billions per year to Alberta’s economy, applied research associations play a vital role in supporting farmers and ranchers with top-notch research that helps producers improve and advance agriculture in Alberta,” he said.

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According to Environment and Climate Change Canada (ECCC) via CTV News, some regions received more than 100 millimetres of rain that weekend. Much of the rainfall was focused on the foothills south of Calgary as well as many parts of eastern Alberta, said the agency.

Rain in the Peace was spotty, but it wasn’t alone. Grant Lastiwka, a beef producer and forage consultant from the central Alberta town of Innisfail, says patchy rainfall means a grower could have received abundant moisture while their neighbour’s land a few miles away could be dry as a bone.

These regional moisture patterns are “probably more notable” than Lastiwka has ever seen.

”When somebody says “I’ve had four inches this year’ — which we’ve had — you go ahead 10 miles east and they’ve had one inch.”

That said, he called the two-and-seven-tenths inches of rain that fell on his Innisfail farm June 21 a “godsend” with the soil absorbing it almost immediately.

Ed Shaw, chair of the Alberta Forage Industry Network (now ARECA), is optimistic the new precipitation will make a difference.

“It’s going to improve primarily the cereal crops. It may improve the hay crops. It’s definitely an improvement to have some more moisture.”

Hay situation ‘serious’

The outlook is looking bleak for some areas of Alberta even after the weekend rainfall, says Shaw.

“The hay situation is serious,” he says, speaking primarily of regions south of Edmonton.

“I was talking to a farmer yesterday. He farms about 5,500 acres. He’s got about 500 acres less than normal, which is not great, but he wanted to cut it in case of rain, so he might get a good second cut.”

Others he’s spoken to haven’t been even that lucky. He’s seeing — on average — less than a tonne of forages per acre to half a tonne per acre.

“South (of Edmonton) is roughly dry and then there’s areas down in the south from Medicine Hat to Pincher Creek — some areas that have some moisture but the hay is very short this year.

“Even the irrigated people are saying it’s pretty bleak down there.”

Meanwhile, in the Alberta Peace Country, Shaw has heard unofficial reports of “okay” but marginal rainfall.

Alberta’s forage acres got off to a poor start with little soil moisture, little runoff on pastures and empty or semi-filled dugouts, says Lastiwka, calling the situation a “profound problem.”

“This year my neighbour sold a bunch of cows because they don’t have sufficient water. The dugouts didn’t fill. The wells can’t handle it. So the reality is now we’re in a progressive stage of too dry and it’s not the first or second year for the majority of people — it’s a third or fourth.”

Lastiwka has been travelling around the province checking forage conditions in several areas including Athabasca, Duchess and Oyen.

“In general, what we’re seeing are stressed forages that are lacking moisture and hay crops that are heading out with low yield potential.”

He believes Alberta is in a “declining moisture environment” that is making this year’s forage acres even more challenging than usual. ”

If there’s a ray of sunshine on the horizon, it’s the decent state of annual crops, he says.

Forage a ‘mixed bag’ in Saskatchewan

Saskatchewan also received some much-needed rain over the weekend, but so far forage conditions have been a mixed bag. All respondents pointed to previous lack of rainfall as a common denominator, even in the usually moisture-rich Parkland region of the province.

Just ask Duane Thompson, a mixed holistic farmer from that region (specifically Kelliher).

Although rain has been sparse, a hit of fall snow melted into his unfrozen soil, and marginal spring rain has replenished some of Thompson’s soil moisture, giving his hay and forage crops a chance to germinate.

Thompson plants about a section of first-year hay every year for haylage. He doesn’t think his new hay is going to do very well in the short term, but some of his older haylage land is looking good, he says.

Calvin Gavelin, who also describes himself as a holistic mixed farmer, got seven-tenths of an inch of rain over the June 21-22 weekend. However, overall rainfall in the drought-prone Palliser’s Triangle area where he farms remains elusive.

His forage season got off to a bad start due to lack of rain and insufficient subsoil moisture. His perennial forages didn’t even get off the ground. Instead, he may have to lean on his annual forages, which benefited from a surprise shower over the May long weekend.

”It didn’t help the other stuff, because it has all gone dormant. But our annuals are our gold star plan if it works,” he says.

Extra hay cuts hinge on rain in Manitoba

In Manitoba, dairy producers are mostly done their first hay cuts while many beef growers are just getting started, said Cindy Jack, livestock and forage extension specialist with Manitoba Agriculture on June 17.

Alfalfa has so far weathered Manitoba’s dry spring better than the grass thanks to its strong root structure, At the time of her comments, most alfalfa had entered early bloom and grasses were starting to head out.

Jack also suggested that overall forage growth was being compromised by older stands and fields that did not receive fertilizer. “(They) generally have lower productivity.”

The prognosis for further hay cuts will be weather-dependent, she added.

“Without significant rainfall soon, regrowth will be limited due to moisture stress, reducing the likelihood of subsequent cuts.”

Southeastern Manitoba dairy farmer Stefan Signer echoes Jack’s concerns.

“At this point, we are really hoping and needing some rain so that the fields can recover for maybe a second and maybe a third cut,” the Kleefeld-area farmer said.

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