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
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’
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
Grassland preservation group takes message of rural stewardship to urbanites
Five southern Alberta ranches featured in stewardship and sustainability video
Reading Time: 2 minutes Anew initiative is trying to show urbanities that grasslands are pretty cool, and running cattle on them is a good thing. “The Conservation Caravan” is a short film featuring producers from five southern Alberta ranches who talk about sustainability, land use and the importance of good stewardship. Operation Grassland Community is behind the film and […] Read more
Bid to save sage grouse launched
Reading Time: < 1 minute A team of international experts, including conservation officials from the Calgary Zoo, has come up with a five-point plan to save the greater sage grouse from extinction. The federal government recently issued an emergency order to protect the bird across 1,700 square kilometres of Crown land in southeastern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan. It’s estimated there are no more than 137 greater sage grouse […] Read more
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