Reading Time: 2 minutes Gottlob Schmidt had a dream of preserving the land that he has spent so much time on. And the realization of that dream will benefit all Albertans with the creation of the province’s 76th provincial park. “It has always been my wish that someday I could leave this land to someone else,” said the 90-year-old […] Read more
Rancher’s generous donation is a gift for all Albertans
Ducks Unlimited Canada opens Strathmore office
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ducks Unlimited Canada has opened a new office in Strathmore. It will house an expanded number of wetland restoration and conservation staff and will complement DUC’s current network of personnel who already work in southern and central Alberta with landowners, communities and municipal governments within the counties of Acadia, Cypress, Wheatland, Foothills, Newell, Paintearth, Taber, […] Read more
What’s it worth? New project aims to nail down the value of wetlands
Innovative new project features a reverse auction in which producers ‘bid’ on the compensation they’d want for giving up acres
Reading Time: 4 minutes Wetlands often present a difficult choice for producers — keep them for their environmental value or drain them for the sake of the bottom line. Until recently, converting wetlands to croppable land was commonplace, and even encouraged by government projects that paid farmers to drain them. Wetlands advocates know it will take compensation to reverse […] Read more
Alberta wetlands receive funding for conservation projects
More than 1,300 acres will be conserved or restored thanks to $11.6 million grant
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ducks Unlimited Canada will receive more than $11.6 million in grant funds for wetland conservation and restoration work to help reduce the impact of flooding and drought in Alberta. The funding comes from the Alberta government’s Watershed Resiliency and Restoration Program. Wetlands have the ability to store water and slow the release of water into […] Read more
New working group gears up to get answers about habitat conservation
Maintaining habitat is also important for pollinators and parasitoids that prey on crop pests
Reading Time: 3 minutes When you cut down your shelterbelt or take out a windrow, you might not think about the effect it has on the beneficial species living on your farmland. A new working group, unofficially known as the Habitat Working Group, is gearing up to inform producers about the changes they can make to conserve habitat for […] Read more
Variable-rate irrigation on the rise in Alberta
Not everyone is convinced the technology is where it needs to be, but advocates say ‘interest is growing exponentially’
Reading Time: 3 minutes Southern Alberta’s irrigation system is on the cusp of going very high tech. Now that crop yield monitoring is commonplace and variable-rate crop-input technology making inroads, ag equipment companies and early adopters of advanced technology are setting their sights on micromanaging irrigation. “Variable-rate irrigation (VRI) is certainly here to stay,” said Jeff Bronsch, president of […] Read more
Irrigation investments, programs playing a big part in water conservation
A soon-to-be-published study estimates 170 million to 200 million cubic metres were saved from 1999 to 2012
Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta producers and irrigation districts are making great strides toward conserving water, with both grants and individual investment producing tangible water and energy savings. Those efforts produced overall water savings of 170 million to 200 million cubic metres in Alberta’s 13 irrigation districts from 1999 to 2012, said Rod Bennett, director of Alberta Agriculture and […] Read more
Initiative aims to showcase the benefits of growing winter wheat
Ducks Unlimited Canada teams up with Lakeland ag students to explore winter wheat’s potential
Reading Time: 2 minutes To many agricultural producers, winter wheat is an unknown and untried commodity. But a new project by Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) is intended to show winter wheat can add to a producer’s pocketbook, the land’s productivity, and nature’s ecological balance. This fall, DUC conservation specialist Bryon Wolters invited Lakeland’s crop technology students to take part in […] Read more
Alberta farm receives national pollinator award
Grass Roots Family Farm near Ferintosh has diversified into agroforestry
Reading Time: < 1 minute Grass Roots Family Farm is the 2014 recipient of the Canadian Farmer-Rancher Pollinator Award, which recognizes the contributions farmers make towards protecting pollinators and pollinator habitats. The 250-acre farm near Ferintosh, south of Camrose, is operated by Michael, Laura and Takota Coen. The Coens have been practising sustainable farming since the late 1980s, with son […] Read more
Cover crops and soil health guru winning converts in Alberta
Gabe Brown’s methods of using a ‘cocktail’ of cover crops to rebuild soil, lower input costs and boost yields are attracting serious attention
Reading Time: 4 minutes Like many farmers, Gabe Brown hates the term “sustainable agriculture.” But his beef is that it doesn’t go far enough. “For us to have the resources that will be truly sustainable for future generations, we have to regenerate our degraded soil,” said the North Dakota rancher and farmer, an internationally renowned speaker who has toured […] Read more
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