Reading Time: < 1 minute Over the past week, rainfall activity has been convective in nature, with heavy downpours leading to localized flooding, and in some cases damaging hail across the province. This has maintained soil moisture levels, but slowed haying progress and reduced hay quality. In cases where crops are not performing well, it is largely due to excessive […] Read more
Hail, flooding damage some crops, but most ‘good to excellent’
Alberta crop conditions as of August 2
Ag in Motion unlike any western Canadian farm show
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ag in Motion offers farmers a unique opportunity to see live crop plots from a variety of seed and crop protection companies, all in one place. For year two of Ag in Motion, attendees will see more plots and even more variety. “The aerial says it all,” says show director Rob O’Connor. “The crop plots are an […] 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
Uncertain times prompt growers to take out more insurance
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s an uncertain world out there, especially in farming — and that has more Alberta producers taking out crop insurance. “We’re seeing more acres being insured by Alberta producers on crops — last year we were close to about 78 per cent of acres insured,” said Merle Jacobson, acting president of the Agricultural Financial Services […] Read more
Six tips to successful land rental
This title to the old Russian folk tale by Leo Tolstoy hasn’t lost any of its significance.* It’s a question farmers ponder today, as land and land rent prices continue to rise to levels never seen before. Despite lower commodity prices, the cost of land is still rising dramatically in the Westlock, Alta. area (about[...]
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Ten is the magic number for canola
Reading Time: 3 minutes In a year like 2015, the little things add up. “If we get lots of moisture early in the spring, you can just about broadcast your canola and it will grow,” Dan Orchard said at the Farming Smarter conference earlier this month. “But when years are tough, that’s when a lot of these little things[...]
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A crop year that doesn’t look better in the rear-view mirror
Yields could have been worse and quality is pretty good, but this is a year distinctly lacking in high points
Reading Time: 3 minutes Harvest 2015 is, finally, a wrap and the storyline is pretty much the same across most of the province — yields are poor but not as bad as feared, and quality is surprisingly good. The final crop report from Alberta Agriculture and Forestry says yield estimates are higher than first forecast earlier in the summer.[...]
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New edition of CropChoice$ crop-planning software available
Reading Time: < 1 minute CropChoice$ 2015 is now available. Producers can plug their yields from the 2015 harvest into the software and find whether their cropping plan can break even or make a profit. They can also enter target gross margins to see if they can achieve them. The software can analyze up to 40 dryland and irrigated crops[...]
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Business strategies for a down market
The bears are out, but here are some ways to manage through a time of tight margins and high risks
Reading Time: 5 minutes The grain market bears are out in full force, but while times are challenging, there are ways to manage through the latest downward cycle, say four Alberta farm leaders. “In 1980 — 35 years ago — I was selling spring wheat for $6 a bushel,” said Gary Stanford, president of the Grain Growers of Canada.[...]
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Lessons Learned: Three takes on what worked — and didn’t — in 2015
Seed into the dust, the bins will bust? That one sure didn’t work this year, but there were happy surprises
Reading Time: 5 minutes This growing season was a challenge for many farmers. Alberta Farmer asked some experts about the lessons learned during the 2015 growing season. Dallas Van Den Driessche is account manager and precision agronomist with Farmer’s Edge in Vermilion. His territory runs from Bonnyville to Oyen and Lavoy to the Saskatchewan border. What specialty crops did[...]
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