Reading Time: 3 minutes 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 count on thousand seed weight
Seeding by weight or volume is too imprecise to give you the optimum number of plants per square foot
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
Reading Time: 2 minutes 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
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
Reading Time: 2 minutes 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
Crop varieties fact sheets available
Reading Time: < 1 minute 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
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
Reading Time: < 1 minute 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
Alberta insect forecast maps for 2019 available
Reading Time: < 1 minute 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
4-H Alberta Leaders’ Conference coming up
Registration closes Dec. 15
Reading Time: < 1 minute 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
In a year of extremes, soil moisture rebound a bright spot
The rain, snow, and cold in early fall had one upside — it recharged soil moisture reserves in much of the province
Reading Time: 4 minutes This year’s harvest was tough, but there is one good thing about it: Soil moisture and subsoil moisture are at almost normal levels in most of the province. “The soil moisture is looking better than it was at the end of August,” said Harry Brook, a crop specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “It’s closer […] Read more
Horrible harvest could impact fertilizer prices
Prices are already rising, but the late harvest is limiting the ability to apply or buy fertilizer now
Reading Time: 4 minutes Poor harvest conditions this fall could drive up fertilizer prices next spring. “For many producers right now in Alberta, fertilizer isn’t top of mind. They’re focused on getting the harvest off,” said Craig Klemmer, principal agriculture economist at Farm Credit Canada. “So when we look at the pricing side of things, demand wasn’t as strong […] Read more
Give your view on livestock welfare
Survey, focus group participation open until Oct. 31
Reading Time: < 1 minute The second phase of the Livestock Welfare Engagement Project is getting underway. There has been strong participation in an online survey, said Alberta Farm Animal Care, which is facilitating the initiative requested by Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. The province wants a better understanding of the “animal welfare landscape.” The second phase will involve five focus […] Read more
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