Alberta Agriculture and Forestry Archives

Don’t wait until you feel burnt out to make time for yourself a priority, says one health professional.

Don’t try to tough it out if you’re stressed

By Alberta Agriculture And Forestry September 26, 2019

Harvest is a particularly stressful time and it’s important that farm owners and family members know the signs and symptoms of fatigue, anxiety and depression. “When you begin to feel overwhelmed or burnt out, one of the best things you can do is call a timeout, step back and take a moment for yourself,” said […] Read more

A veterinarian with Alberta Agriculture says that any person raising pigs should be registered with Alberta Pork’s Swine Traceability system.

Hogs, News

Everyone needs to be on traceability system

Even if you have just one pig, you should be registered with Premises Identification

By Alexis Kienlen September 9, 2019

If you raise pigs — whether in a commercial setting, on a natural or organic operation or in the backyard — get a Premises Identification. “During the outbreak, we used it for tracing, and we used it for notifying farms in the risk area,” said Dr. Julia Keenliside, veterinary epidemiologist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. […] Read more

Part of a 36-panel array in Athabasca County expected to produce 16,100 kilowatt hours annually. Fixed panels and a grid-tied system are recommended by the Solar Energy Society of Alberta, whose rural workshops continue to attract large numbers of producers.

News

Interest in solar remains strong, but subsidies in doubt

It’s not clear whether the new government will axe subsidies, but producers still drawn to solar workshops

By Jeff Melchior June 18, 2019

Are provincial subsidies for on-farm grid-tied solar projects dead? And if they are dead, does that mean solar and other renewable energy projects have gone the way of the dodo as well? It would be hard to fault anyone for answering ‘Yes’ to both questions. While on the campaign trail in February, now-premier, Jason Kenney […] Read more

Starting later this year, BASF’s InVigor canola seed will be packaged in bags featuring four different thousand seed weight ranges with recommended seeding rates.

Canola, Crops, News

You can count on thousand seed weight

Seeding by weight or volume is too imprecise to give you the optimum number of plants per square foot

By Jeff Melchior April 25, 2019

The message is clear: If you’re still using bushels or pounds per acre as your seeding measure, you may not only be losing yield but spending more on seed than necessary. More and more producers are adopting thousand seed weight (TSW) as their primary seeding measurement. TSW is a more precise gauge of seed size […] Read more

You can determine the protein content of your wheat using the Canadian Grain Commission’s  free Harvest Sample Program.

Crops, Markets

Protein premiums drop from historic high in 2018

Shopping around can reveal how buyers are grading your wheat and how they pay for protein premiums

By Agri-news February 28, 2019

The 2018 crop year featured a strong protein premium for wheat, in particular hard red spring wheat. Neil Blue, provincial crop market analyst with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, looks at the situation with protein premiums on wheat in 2019. Blue says that wheat protein premiums this crop year have dropped back to below-average levels due […] Read more

The average provincial hay price in January was $153 per ton or just over 7.6 cents per lb. based on a 50 per cent alfalfa mix.

Finishers, Livestock

Fed steer prices seen improving towards spring

The average Canadian beef cut-out value has strengthened about 10 per cent since the start of the year

By Agri-news February 27, 2019

A number of factors have been affecting recent fed steer and hay markets. Jason Wood, provincial livestock market analyst with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry, has an update. Wood says that the Canfax reported price for Alberta fed, or slaughter, steers averaged just over $151 per cwt for the week ending February 8, 2019. That price […] Read more

Crops, News

Crop varieties fact sheets available

By Alberta Agriculture and Forestry February 26, 2019

Alberta Agriculture has released three fact sheets on cereal and oilseed variety performance within Alberta and northeastern B.C. ‘Varieties of cereal and oilseed crops for Alberta’ provides agronomic characteristics and disease-resistance information for varieties wheat, barley, oat, rye, triticale, flax and canola. ‘Pulse crops for Alberta’ provides information on variety performance for field pea, chickpea, […] Read more

“Throughout much of southern Alberta, accumulations have been below average, ranging from about one-in-three to six-year lows for those areas east of Highway 2.” – Ralph Wright, Alberta Agriculture

Crops, News, Weather

Southern Alberta suffering from lack of precipitation this winter

While much of the province has seen average snowfall, the south has been below or well-below average

By Staff January 31, 2019

It’s a mixed bag when it comes to the soil moisture situation in the province. Most of the area north of Calgary has “experienced at least near-normal precipitation accumulations,” said Ralph Wright, manager of the agro-meteorological applications and modelling section with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “In contrast, throughout much of southern Alberta, accumulations have been […] Read more

The wheat midge forecast for 2019 so far is low.

Crops, News

Alberta insect forecast maps for 2019 available

By Alberta Agriculture and Forestry January 10, 2019

Forecast maps for wheat midge and wheat stem sawfly are now available… Forecast maps for wheat midge and wheat stem sawfly are now available as well as results from the pea leaf weevil survey. Wheat midge numbers are down “quite substantially,” but sawfly numbers are up in many areas, said insect management specialist Scott Meers. […] Read more

News

4-H Alberta Leaders’ Conference coming up

Registration closes Dec. 15

By Alberta Agriculture And Forestry December 12, 2018

There is still time to register clubs for the 4-H Alberta Leaders’ Conference. “We are expecting about 350 clubs, and that will be around 6,000 members and about 2,000 volunteers,” said Cameron Horner, 4-H communications specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. There will be numerous sessions during the 75th edition of the conference on Jan. 25-27. […] Read more

Impossible Whoppers contaminated by meat, suit claims

Knowing your wheat’s falling number critical this year

U.S. grains: Corn, soy slide on South American weather, trade worries

GFM Network News