Reading Time: 2 minutes Not a lot of work had been done to figure out why sheep go lame, but some Alberta researchers are working to change this. “We would like to develop a strategy to diagnose lame sheep which can later be used to inform best management practices to treat these animals,” said Wiolene Montanari Nordi, at the […] Read more
Finding a cause for lameness in sheep
Little research on sheep lameness has been done in Canada, but the incidence can be high
Cereal seed royalty gets thumbs down at consultations
Government is asking farmers what they think about seed royalties — and the answer is ‘not much’
Reading Time: 4 minutes The idea of charging royalties on cereal seed didn’t go over well with many Alberta farmers who attended a federal government consultation on proposed royalties. “The overarching thing is that control would be imposed and that would be my concern,” Trochu farmer Kevin Niemi said in an interview. “A royalty is like a seed tax […] Read more
Is there an Alberta advantage when it comes to beef?
Lots of research has been done on evaluating juiciness and tenderness, but the flavour factor isn’t well understood
Reading Time: 3 minutes When people talk about a cut of meat, they might praise its juiciness and tenderness. But they don’t often talk about its flavour. This is something Nicole Gaudette — an expert in a branch of science called sensory analysis — wants to change. “By using sensory evaluation to study consumer preferences, we get an idea […] Read more
Ten more counties eligible for tax relief
Livestock tax deferral program assists livestock producers who had to cull their herd this year
Reading Time: < 1 minute Another 10 Alberta municipalities are now eligible for the federal government’s livestock tax deferral program. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s initial list of eligible municipalities issued in September has been expanded to include many counties passed over the first time. Municipalities are only eligible for the program if forage yields fall below 50 per cent of […] Read more
Agriculture Canada ups canola carryout forecast sharply
Winnipeg | CNS Canada – Canadian canola carryout stocks at the end of the current marketing year (2018/19) will be considerably larger than an earlier estimate, according to updated supply/demand tables from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, released on Oct. 19, 2018. Agriculture Canada’s market analysis branch forecast canola ending stocks for 2018/19 at 2.500 million […] Read more
Have you been affected by drought?
Reading Time: < 1 minute Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is currently collecting information on conditions and impact of the drought in Western Canada. It’s asking producers to take an online survey, which takes about three minutes to complete. “This information helps justify and document the necessity for programs such as Livestock Tax Deferral,” it said, adding the results will be […] Read more
New grain standards now in effect
Changes to the grain grading guide as of Aug. 1
Reading Time: < 1 minute Changes to the Official Grain Grading Guide and variety designation lists are now in effect. That means individual official standard samples will be used to assess frost, heat stress, and mildew damage in western Canadian wheat. New variety designation lists also came into effect on Aug. 1 — 25 varieties of Canada Western Red Spring […] Read more
Pulse prices feel pressure from rising ending stocks
CNS Canada – Increasing pulse ending stocks are going to continue to play into pulse crop prices in Canada, according to the latest update from Farm Credit Canada’s (FCC) ag economics team. “We’re still expected to see ending stocks increasing. So as we continue to see that ending stocks increase, that stock-to-use-ratio that we’d see […] Read more
Building a stronger wall to keep out clubroot
New research finds resistant canola varieties are better at strengthening cell walls in their roots
Reading Time: 2 minutes Researchers want to build a better wall — at a cellular level — to thwart clubroot. Of the dozens of canola varieties, only eight have resistance to the fungus-like pathogen and all of them are now showing signs of losing resistance, said Gary Peng, a plant pathologist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s research centre in Saskatoon. […] Read more
Smartphone app for aphid control in cereal crops
Reading Time: < 1 minute Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has released a smartphone app called the Cereal Aphid Manager to help producers control the pest. Producers count both aphids and beneficials that eat them (at a minimum of five locations), and the app predicts what the aphid population will be in seven days and recommends whether to spray or not. […] Read more