Alberta Beef Producers and other cattle groups had requested the earlier-than-usual start to the Livestock Tax Deferral program.

Livestock tax deferral program kicks in early

Program is aimed at helping producers rebuild their herds

Reading Time: < 1 minute Ottawa has started up its Livestock Tax Deferral months ahead of normal to give producers who have to sell cattle a better economic route to rebuilding their herds next year. Alberta Beef Producers and other cattle groups had requested the earlier-than-usual start to the program. Some also want an expansion of the deferral provision beyond just […] Read more


Although this harvest will be meagre, Jason Saunders expects to fulfil his grain contracts this year. But countless farmers across the Prairies won’t be able to — and many face substantial penalties when they can least afford it.

Drought-battered producers facing another crisis — contract penalties

Deadly combo of crop failures and sky-high prices leave some facing huge penalties on unfulfilled contracts

Reading Time: 5 minutes The drought is squeezing producers from all sides, with many facing another calamity — not having enough crop to fulfil their grain contracts. “There are issues because the drought is so widespread,” said Jason Saunders, vice-chair of Alberta Wheat and a dryland farmer from near Taber. “There was aggressive forward contracting on canola and old-crop […] Read more

Help for those short on water

Reading Time: < 1 minute The provincial Water Pumping Program helps livestock producers needing to secure adequate water supplies. For a nominal fee, a producer (or group) can rent pipe and pumping equipment to fill dugouts or other catch basins from nearby water sources. Any producer experiencing water shortages for livestock use has priority for equipment use, which will be […] Read more


Crop quality has been a steep, fast downward plunge

Reading Time: 2 minutes The crop report from Alberta Agriculture in late July was — not surprisingly — dismal. But the speed of the deterioration of crop quality was nevertheless noteworthy. “Only 20 per cent of the annual crops (are) good or excellent,” it said in its end-of-July report. “This represents a 17-point drop in the last two weeks […] Read more

A sharply smaller spring wheat harvest due to drought may force bakers to change how they work with flour.  Photo: DanielBendjy/E+/Getty Images

Millers, bakers fret as drought withers North America’s spring wheat

Reuters – Millers and bakers are draining wheat reserves and paying more for spring wheat used in baking, as drought shrivels crops across the Canadian Prairies and northern U.S. Plains that produce more than half of the world’s supply. U.S. and Canadian farmers are bracing for a sharply smaller spring wheat harvest due to the […] Read more