U.S. dairy farmers continue to benefit from broad agriculture supports, a study shows. Dairy Farmers of Canada has had Grey, Clark, Shih and Associates regularly study the effect of U.S. government policy on dairy farms in that country. The latest version of the project was released at the Dairy Farmers of Canada policy conference held […] Read more
Report pegs U.S. dairy support levels
This ain’t your grandad’s conservation easement
Easements are changing with the times, making it less restrictive for producers to protect their wetlands
Reading Time: 3 minutes Producers can find the right buyers for their marginal lands — if they know where to look. “There is a market out there now for some of these parcels of land that producers might have a hard time off-loading because they’re wet,” said Warren Robb, provincial policy specialist at Ducks Unlimited Canada. And his organization […] Read more
You can now report poachers online
The 1-800 Report A Poacher hotline is the best option when immediate action is needed
Reading Time: 2 minutes You can now report suspicious hunting or fishing activity online. Until now, the only way to report poaching activity, dangerous wildlife or public land abuse was to phone the Report A Poacher hotline. There is now a Report A Poacher website to fill out a form and submit it online. The report goes to fish […] Read more
Donation will spark conservation projects across southern Alberta
A $500,000 gift from philanthropist David Bissett will fund 186 projects on 39 farms and ranches
Reading Time: 3 minutes A$500,000 donation will create almost 1,000 additional acres of conservation land in southern Alberta. “This funding pretty clearly identifies ALUS’s niche,” said Bryan Gilvesy, CEO of ALUS Canada, the organization receiving the donation. “This program isn’t about the traditional environmental ethics of protecting existing features. This harnesses the skills and energy of farmers and ranchers […] Read more
Do your homework before installing tile drainage
Finding out what constitutes a wetland and finding a suitable outlet for drained water are two key considerations
Reading Time: 4 minutes Tile drainage is becoming increasingly popular among Alberta producers concerned about losing valuable land and inputs to excess water. Although tile drainage can be beneficial, it is not without its dangers if a system is designed incorrectly — or if producers don’t know the rules. In Alberta, tile drainage systems — like all drainage or […] Read more
Historic Alberta ranch to be preserved as cattle operation
Reading Time: 2 minutes One of Alberta’s oldest ranches will remain a working operation thanks to a conservation agreement with the Nature Conservancy of Canada. When it was founded in 1882, Oxley Ranch covered 200,000 acres, making it one of the four largest ranches in the foothills. The remaining 2,266 acres will now be preserved from cultivation, drainage of […] Read more
Palmer amaranth threatening U.S. corn fields
Winterset, Iowa | Reuters — A U.S. government program designed to convert farmland to wildlife habitat has triggered the spread of a fast-growing weed that threatens to strangle crops in America’s rural heartland. The weed is hard to kill and, if left unchecked, destroys as much as 91 per cent of corn on infested land, […] Read more
Fifteen years later, conservation program is an overnight sensation
Almost no one wanted to sign up for the wildlife habitat restoration project when it started, but now there’s a waiting list
Reading Time: 4 minutes John Ross was the first rancher to sign on to the MULTISAR (Multiple Species At Risk) program 15 years ago, when no one else wanted to sign up to the conservation initiative. Now, there’s a waiting list of ranchers signed up to make their grazing land more suitable for wildlife and native species. “We worked […] Read more
Historic research ranches won’t be riding off into the sunset
The future of Onefour and Stavely ranches has been secured by the province and the University of Alberta
Reading Time: 2 minutes Decades of grassland research in southern Alberta will be preserved thanks to a deal between the province and the University of Alberta. The agreement will ensure rangeland studies continue at the historic research ranches of Stavely and Onefour. In 2013, the future of both sites was thrown up in the air when the federal government […] Read more
Couple protects picturesque Porcupine Hills ranch
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reno and Corine Welsch have ensured their 3,034-acre ranch in the Porcupine Hills won’t be turned into a subdivision or see its native cropland put to the plow. The couple recently finalized a conservation agreement with the Nature Conservancy of Canada. “This conservation agreement gives me the freedom to run the ranch the way I […] Read more
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