Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta Barley is seeking nominations for directors and delegates. There are 20 positions available, including two directors (Regions 3 and 4) and one director-at-large (Region 1, 2, 3 or 6). Seventeen spots are available for delegates with at least one opening in five of the six Alberta Barley electoral regions. “Volunteering your time as a […] Read more
Alberta Barley has three board and 17 delegate spots open
The deadline for nominations is Oct. 31 with the election taking place Dec. 8
Whew, there’s no malt shortage after all
Don’t cry in your beer — Alberta’s craft brewers have ‘lots’ of good-quality malt
Reading Time: 4 minutes Don’t worry — your favourite beer won’t be in short supply this year, despite recent reports that late-season moisture had seriously harmed Alberta’s malt barley crop. “The barley quality in 2016 is better than the 2015 crop, hands down,” said Kevin Sich, grain department manager at Rahr Malting near Alix. “If I needed a lot […] Read more
Weather woes not the only concern
The grain transportation system is far from fixed, poor quality will have continuing repercussions, and the world is awash in grain
Reading Time: 4 minutes All that rain and its effect on crop quality is top of mind for Alberta farm leaders, but lurking just behind is the prospect of the railways seizing up again in the face of a huge harvest. “It looks like there’s a lot of crop out there — I’ve heard estimates that this might be […] Read more
Craft beer boom drives demand for new malt barley varieties
It’s all about consistency and efficiency for the big brewers, but the small guys want unique taste and also use more malt per batch
Reading Time: 4 minutes New malt barley varieties will soon hit the market to meet the growing demands of a burgeoning craft brewing industry. “The brewing and malting industry is changing,” said Pat Juskiw, a barley breeder with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “In the past, our industry has been composed of big companies — the Molsons, the Labatts, the […] Read more
New tool could speed up crop breeding
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta’s barley breeders now have access to both phenomic (field trial) and genomic data in one place. “The phenomic data is in the hands of the breeder, but the genomic data is generated through lab work,” said provincial researcher and biostatistician Rong-Cai Yang, who developed a new software program called the Barley Breeding Platform (BBP). “Usually […] Read more
Checkoff refund deadline looming
Reading Time: < 1 minute The deadline for applying for a refund for wheat and barley checkoffs is at the end of the month. The five-year transitional Wheat and Barley Check-Off was established four years ago and is administered by Alberta Barley. The checkoff is 48 cents per tonne of wheat and 56 cents per tonne of barley (four cents […] Read more
Learn how to grade your grain
July 26 workshop to be held in Vermilion
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Making the Grade workshops will be held at Lakeland College in Vermilion on July 26. Experts will show producers how to grade barley, wheat, canola, and pulses in hands-on sessions. “Understanding grain grading and factors affecting quality is important for all crop producers as it affects their bottom line,” said Terry Young, a producer […] Read more
Canola, field peas flowering, soil moisture mostly good to excellent
Alberta crop conditions as of July 5
Reading Time: 2 minutes Crop condition ratings improved in all regions of the province with the greatest improvement occurring in the South and Central regions. Precipitation in the form of frequent showers prevailed throughout the province and was much welcomed in the dry western areas though the precipitation was an unwanted impediment to those spraying fungicides or baling hay. […] Read more
Creep feeding an option if your pastures are hurting
A good creep ration could increase the value of a calf by $50 to $200 if prices stay around $2 a pound
Reading Time: 2 minutes It’s another tough year for pastures, and producers wanting to stretch limited forage supplies should consider creep feeding calves throughout the summer, says a provincial beef and forage specialist. “It’s possible that pastures will run out much earlier than normal,” said Barry Yaremcio. “In general, 70 per cent of total forage growth occurs before the […] Read more
Three steps to make your best grain grade deal
Here's how you can help maximize your profits when making your next grain sale
Occasionally producers make sales agreements with grain companies, then find their grain downgraded when they deliver it to their buyer later in the year. This can happen for numerous reasons. Grain companies may have aggressively over-bought early in the year, causing them to lose money and readjust their grain grading later in the year. Producers[...]
Read more
Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
