Reading Time: < 1 minute Ranchers and farmers in Western Canada prefer conservation management agreements when it comes to protecting habitat, a survey of 200 producers by the University of Waterloo has found. These agreements are usually made with a conservation organization to undertake practices that benefit wildlife. Annual payments for habitat management were the preferred incentive. Market certification (having […] Read more
Ranchers prefer conservation management agreements
Deer Creek Livestock recognized for environmental stewardship
Reading Time: < 1 minute Deer Creek Livestock Co. is the winner of the 2020 Environmental Stewardship Award. The award from Alberta Beef Producers recognizes a cattle operation demonstrating leadership in environmental stewardship that contributes to the land while improving productivity and profitability. The Deer Creek Livestock shareholder group purchased the ranch, located near Milk River, in 2011 from the […] Read more
Like it or not, climate change will change your farm, say two experts
The growing season is already longer and extremes more common, say climatologist and crop specialist
Reading Time: 6 minutes Canada’s best-known climatologist always knows when he’s lost a crowd of producers he’s presenting to. It’s usually right around the time he starts talking about climate change. But he gets it. “Farmers have been beat up a lot — they’ve been accused of causing climate change,” said David Phillips, Environment and Climate Change Canada’s senior […] Read more
Interest in irrigation in Alberta heads north
While the lion’s share of irrigation is in the south, some expect a major expansion as far north as the Peace
Reading Time: 7 minutes From the highway, the sign seems out of place. “Now open, Southern Irrigation,” it declares. Down Lethbridge way, it might not be unusual to see a yard full of irrigation pipes and reels of tubing. But Red Deer isn’t exactly the epicentre of irrigation in the province. But that may slowly be starting to change, […] Read more
Ducks Unlimited Canada goes all in to support cattle grazing
Conservation group wants public to know that cattle are key to saving grasslands
Reading Time: 2 minutes Even though they don’t walk like a duck or quack like one, the country’s leading duck organization is pretty fond of cows. “For years, the backbone of conservation in Western Canada has been our cattle-producing partners because of the need for them to have good grass and good water,” said Ducks Unlimited Canada’s Mickenzie Plemel-Stronks, […] Read more
Farmers lose — and weeds win — when energy companies walk away
When well sites are abandoned, the rent cheques often stop while the noxious weeds flourish
Reading Time: 5 minutes “Kochia six feet tall and completely covering the whole leases. We have many that look like this. When I phone, no one even answers the phones.” This tweet from Lethbridge-area farmer Kevin Serfas in August likely could have been written by any one of hundreds of Alberta producers with abandoned well sites on their farms. […] Read more
Dispose of old pesticides and livestock meds
Twenty-six locations named across the province
Reading Time: < 1 minute Cleanfarms is collecting old, unwanted agricultural pesticides and livestock/equine medications in six locations in the Peace region from Oct. 16-18 and at 20 locations in northern Alberta from Oct. 7-11. Materials accepted in the Cleanfarms program include old or unwanted agricultural pesticides (identified with a Pest Control Product number on the label) and livestock/equine medications […] Read more
We need to let people know that raising cattle is a good thing
Junior winner in Alberta Young Speakers for Agriculture competition wants to 'bust a myth'
Reading Time: 3 minutes Ryley Mappin, 14, of Byemoor was the junior winner in the Alberta Young Speakers for Agriculture competition at the Calgary Stampede. He chose the topic: ‘Bust a myth in Canadian agriculture.’ “Oh give me a home, where the buffaloes roam, Where the deer and the antelope play, Where seldom is heard, a discouraging […] Read more
Fish habitat clause sent swimming
Reading Time: < 1 minute Senate amendments to the recently passed Fisheries Act repealed the ‘Deeming Habitat’ provision opposed by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. The provision would have greatly expanded what could be deemed fish habitat to include any watercourse or water body with water flows able to sustain fish ecosystems. It would have meant virtually all water bodies could […] Read more
Many sources of greenhouse gases are being ignored
Agriculture is singled out while major contributors receive little or no attention in climate change debate
Reading Time: 3 minutes As the discussion on climate change heats up, I find myself defaulting to facts that may surprise you. Climate change is not a new phenomenon. The definition is basically changes in wind patterns, temperature and precipitation that stretches over several decades. With that definition in mind, climate change has been an ongoing challenge for farmers […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
