Reading Time: < 1 minute A new licensing system gives Alberta growers access to new CDC pulse varieties, but raises seed costs. In early 2016, Alberta Pulse Growers pulled its research funding from the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre (CDC), prompting concerns from Alberta Seed Growers members about access to new varieties. However, they now have access again. Saskatchewan […] Read more
Seed growers get access to CDC pulses
Pulse levy may be rolled back
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Pulse Growers is considering cutting its checkoff to 0.75 per cent from the current rate of one per cent. If approved by its members at its AGM next month, the service fee levied on sales of pulses would go into effect on Aug. 1 (the start of the next crop year). The one per […] Read more
Feds backpedal on plans to scrap cash ticket deferral system
The federal government has changed its tune on cash ticket deferrals
Reading Time: 4 minutes Dean Gallimore breathed a big sigh of relief when he learned that the federal government had scrapped its plans to eliminate the cash ticket deferral system. “This is a relief in a big way,” said the chartered accountant. “I was very concerned that they were going to scrap the system. Farmers could deal with that, […] Read more
Alberta Pulse website offers more market info
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Pulse Growers has revamped www.pulse.ab.ca to make it easier for pulse producers to find useful information about growing and marketing pulses. “When producers are looking for information, they need it fast and they need to be able to depend on it to be accurate,” said chair D’Arcy Hilgartner. “This website makes use of technological […] Read more
Alberta farm groups want provincial action on unharvested crops
A coalition of Alberta farm groups calling itself “Team Alberta” is meeting with the province’s agriculture minister and representatives from the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) on Wednesday seeking immediate action regarding approximately one million unharvested acres still sitting in farmers’ fields. They are recommending that farmers in the hardest hit areas of Alberta be […] Read more
Curry-flavoured granola bar wins Mission ImPULSEible
What do a curry granola bar, chickpea pudding, and pulse cereal have in common?
Reading Time: 3 minutes A curry-flavoured granola bar was the grand prize winner in this year’s Mission ImPULSEible post-secondary student food development competition. “This was actually our backup plan,” said Andrea Dacko, a member of the winning team. “Our first plan didn’t work out. I guess it’s a good thing. We wanted to go back to the basics, while […] Read more
Blair Roth wins pulse innovator award
Reading Time: < 1 minute Blair Roth is the winner of the third annual Alberta Pulse Industry Innovator Award. While working at Alberta Agriculture in the 1980s, Roth ran field-scale demonstrations for early soybean, lupin, fababean, chickpea, bean, pea and lentil crops. He helped establish the Alberta Pulse Growers Association and its transition to the Alberta Pulse Growers Commission in […] Read more
Hilgartner new chair of Alberta Pulse Growers
Kevin Auch and Greg Sears re-elected as commission chairs as farm groups welcome new directors
Reading Time: 2 minutes D’Arcy Hilgartner is the new chair of the Alberta Pulse Growers. Hilgartner farms 8,000 acres near Camrose with wife Lori, his brother, and their families. Hilgartner has grown pulses for more than 25 years; participated in research plots and demonstration trials; and represented Alberta Pulse Growers at a variety of international events, including most recently […] Read more
Pulses’ popularity points to bright future
The boom in pulse acres may just be getting started thanks to rising demand, better varieties, and strong profitability
Reading Time: 3 minutes Only one hand shot up when Neil Whatley asked a recent crop tour near Castor if anyone was growing lentils this year. Luckily, a more rigorous Statistics Canada survey tells the real story — there are a whole lot of hands growing lentils this year. “There’s close to six million acres on the Prairies this […] Read more
UN international year to showcase pulses
Chair of Alberta Pulse Growers says event will boost competition and prompt more research and breeding
Reading Time: 2 minutes The United Nations International Year of Pulses is underway, and that’s good news for the province’s pulse producers, says the chair of Alberta Pulse Growers. “As IYP draws attention to big global issues like nutrition, food security, and environmental sustainability, this crop — which is a Canadian success story — is only going to get […] Read more