Reading Time: < 1 minute Understanding how a lender evaluates your application can help you be successful when applying for financing. To help with this, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry has a new fact sheet entitled Get the Loan You Need. “This information will help give business owners an edge in securing the financing they need to develop their business,” said […] Read more
Tips on securing business financing
Ag apprenticeship program opening doors for high school students
Two-thirds Alberta’s Green Certificate program grads find work and one-quarter go on to an agricultural post-secondary program
Reading Time: 3 minutes Two-thirds of high school students who complete Alberta’s Green Certificate program end up working in the agriculture industry. In a survey of recent program graduates, the province found that 67 per cent of students were successful at finding employment in agriculture after finishing the Green Certificate program and 63 per cent are still employed in […] Read more
Horrible fall harvest goes on and on
Many producers may have to delay seeding because they need to combine first
Reading Time: 3 minutes Keith Degenhardt thought last year’s harvest was bad. But then 2016 came along. The pedigreed seed grower from Hughenden estimated only about 60 per cent of the acres in east-central Alberta had been harvested by the end of October. “People have ordered dryers and some are putting crops in bags in hopes that they will […] Read more
Keeping tabs on your agricultural input prices
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Agriculture and Forestry has released the June edition of Alberta Farm Input Prices, its monthly survey of prices for selected farm inputs. The prices are collected by the Alberta Federation of Agriculture in partnership with the Statistics and Data Development Section. The list of inputs, which is reviewed periodically, is designed to be consistent […] Read more
Root rot rears its ugly head — and there’s no treatment
Peas are the biggest concern and even when fields look OK, root rot can still be there
Reading Time: 3 minutes Pulse acres have increased in Alberta this year, but unfortunately root rot has increased as well. “We’re hearing and seeing evidence of pretty extreme root rot in pulses, especially peas,” said Mike Harding, research scientist and plant pathologist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “It doesn’t look like it’s going to be a great year for […] Read more
Humans — your most important farm resource
Attracting and retaining good workers on your farm doesn’t just happen — you have to make it happen
Reading Time: 3 minutes If you don’t have people, you don’t have a farm. It’s as simple as that. While most producers think about their farm in terms of their livestock and crops, they neglect to think about the people, says a rural business specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. But that needs to change, Abby Verstraete told attendees […] Read more
Alberta honeybees are busy — but not well understood
Researcher says there’s a lot to learn about how honeybees could be used to further boost canola yields
Reading Time: 3 minutes Having bees around your canola field might be good for your yield, but the exact details of how and why are not known yet. That’s where people like Shelley Hoover, apiculture researcher with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry in Lethbridge, comes in. Hoover’s research deals with bee health, bee pollination, and the impacts bees have on […] Read more
Alberta acres need one good soaking rain
Reading Time: < 1 minute Although over-winter precipitation accumulations were well below normal across most of Alberta, total over-winter precipitation deficits do not exceed 70 millimetres, even in the driest areas. “From a cropping perspective, these shortfalls can effectively be eased by one good soaking rain, or a few large spring snowstorms,” says Ralph Wright of Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. […] Read more
Have you got a plan to stay safe during Plant 2016?
Do you know the symptoms of fatigue?
Reading Time: < 1 minute Fatigue is your enemy at this time of year. “Too many farmers push themselves, especially during the really busy times,” said Kenda Lubeck, farm safety co-ordinator for Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. Fatigue often creeps up on a person. In addition to feeling sleepy and tired, some common symptoms of fatigue include: Headaches, dizziness, and blurry […] Read more
Varietal fact sheets now available
Reading Time: < 1 minute Three crop varietal fact sheets have been posted to the Alberta Agriculture and Forestry website on variety performance within Alberta and northeastern B.C. Varieties of Cereal and Oilseed Crops for Alberta has agronomic characteristics and disease-resistance information for wheat, barley, oat, rye, triticale, flax and canola. Varieties of Pulse Crops for Alberta covers field pea, […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
