Reading Time: 3 minutes Lethbridge’s new, 268,000 square foot facility is more than just a place to hold popular agricultural events, say its developers. It’s a platform to show southern Alberta’s agriculture sector to the world and grow the local economy in the process. In that sense, the Agri-food Hub and Trade Centre, which opens to the public Aug. […] Read more
Lethbridge Exhibition goes big time with huge new facility
$80 million Agri-food Hub a platform for new ag opportunities, say developers
Suddenly hemp fibre is in high demand as hempcrete use jumps
U.S. builders are using hempcrete more frequently due to its insulating properties and moisture tolerance
Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – The market for hemp fibre may be on its way up again and Jeff Kostuik of Verve Seed Solutions says it’s based on a part of the plant that used to be considered waste. At a crop demonstration in Manitoba this summer, he pulled apart a hemp stem and showed the hurd, […] Read more
AgriRecovery underway for flood-battered B.C. farms
Feds, province put up $228 million
The federal and British Columbia governments’ response to last fall’s destructive flooding now includes what’s said to be the biggest farm disaster recovery package in the province’s history. Provincial Agriculture Minister Lana Popham and her federal counterpart Marie-Claude Bibeau on Monday announced cost-shared funding of $228 million for the Canada-B.C. Flood Recovery for Food Security […] Read more
BHP approves Saskatchewan potash project’s completion
Major miner expects to produce about 4.4 million tonnes of fertilizer per year
After over a decade of development and digging, one of the world’s biggest mining and metals companies has granted its Saskatchewan potash mining project the go-ahead to completion and full production. Australian-British mining firm BHP announced Tuesday its board has approved its potash mine about 60 km southeast of Humboldt, near Jansen, Sask., for another […] Read more
Brandt to buy Deere dealership chain Cervus
Regina firm to pay $302 million in all-cash deal
The world’s biggest privately-owned chain of Deere construction and forestry equipment dealerships is set to expand its reach into Deere farm equipment in a major way. Brandt Tractor, the equipment sales arm of the Regina-based Brandt Group, on Monday announced an agreement to buy all of publicly-traded Cervus Equipment Corp. for $19.50 a share, valuing […] Read more
Pulse weekly outlook: Roquette pea plant readying for full operation
MarketsFarm — Operations at the Roquette pea processing plant just west of Portage la Prairie, Man. have been underway since the end of 2020, according to Michelle Finley of Roquette Canada. The company is working toward full operation at the world’s largest pea plant by early 2022, she said. “To date we have picked up […] Read more
More crop per drop — irrigation gets ‘historic’ cash injection
New $815-million project will irrigate another 200,000 acres without any additional water allocation
Reading Time: 3 minutes There are a lot of big numbers behind a “historic” expansion of southern Alberta’s irrigation system, but also the smallest possible one — zero. That’s the amount of extra water that will, or rather won’t, be needed to add more than 200,000 irrigated acres that will be created by a $815-million project, officials say. “With […] Read more
Trump issues permit for Alaska-to-Alberta railway
Washington | Reuters — U.S. President Donald Trump has issued a presidential permit for a private-sector proposal to build a railway from northeastern Alberta’s oil sands to ports in Alaska, a project that still faces numerous hurdles. Trump said over the weekend on Twitter he would issue the permit, which he signed on Monday but […] Read more
Books and irrigation can go hand-in-hand
Reading Time: < 1 minute It’s not just the face mask that makes this groundbreaking ceremony different. Local officials gathered earlier this month to celebrate a unique venture — construction of a 34,000-square-foot building that will be shared by the Marigold Library System and Western Irrigation District (WID) in Strathmore. In addition to being home to 70 employees from both […] Read more
Meat leads Canadian industrial producer prices higher in May
Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian industrial producer prices rose 1.2 per cent in May on higher prices for meat, fish and dairy products, Statistics Canada said on Monday, as supply chain disruptions caused by the coronavirus pandemic and increased demand boosted meat prices. The gain in producer prices followed four months of consecutive decreases and […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
