Reading Time: 3 minutes Farms hold promise for generating biofuel and clean biogas to power us into the future, and they also have the land base for building energy systems. But there is a vast difference between the capture of methane on site to produce gas and the permanent use of food production land for solar panels or wind […] Read more
Schoepp: Putting solar farms on good land is a misguided way to go green
The amount of arable land is finite and shrinking. Covering it with panels that could soon be obsolete is wrong
Are feed-efficient cattle the best bet for climate change?
Researcher aims to find out if those cows are better able to deal with sweltering heat and bitter cold
Reading Time: 3 minutes Your most feed-efficient cattle also may be the best when Mother Nature turns the thermostat way up or way down. And that’s increasingly important, says a leading beef researcher. “Significant extremes have become more noticeable,” said Gleise Silva, an expert in cattle nutrition and an assistant professor at the University of Alberta. “What I would […] Read more
Nature Conservancy adds wildlife corridor
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Nature Conservancy of Canada has purchased two parcels of land next to Waterton Lakes National Park that it says will serve as a key wildlife corridor. Although the 630-acre purchase “may seem like a relatively small addition … it will result in a large benefit for nature,” the organization said. The properties, located just […] Read more
The net-zero movement is unstoppable, but farmers will adapt
Reducing emissions is do-able; the key is persuading Ottawa to chart a sensible course, says farm leader
Reading Time: 4 minutes Keep calm, stay flexible and farm on. These were the main messages from a panel on greenhouse gas emissions at the recent CrossRoads conference. Canada, and every member of the G7 and 120 other nations, has committed to achieving net zero emissions by 2050, the manager of government and policy relations for the Grain Growers […] Read more
Round 2 of climate funding set to start
Reading Time: < 1 minute Producers will again be able to apply for grants from the On-Farm Climate Action Fund. More than 700 applications were received from Alberta producers during the first round of funding last year by RDAR (Results Driven Agriculture Research), which is administering most of Alberta’s share of the $200 million federal program. Farms can get up […] Read more
Cowboys and conservation: The battle for the Eastern Slopes
The fight to stop new coal mines in this iconic Alberta landscape is far from over
Reading Time: 5 minutes Nearly three years after the province tried, and failed, to open the Eastern Slopes to coal mining, this iconic piece of Alberta is still under threat, say those who live and work there. “We have to make sure that this land is going to continue for generations,” said Laura Laing, a Nanton-area rancher and part […] Read more
Reduce NO2 emissions 30 per cent? No problem, says expert
Nitrification inhibitors and legumes are clear winners but split application not effective in much of Alberta
Reading Time: 3 minutes Achieving a 30 per cent reduction in nitrous oxide emissions from nitrogen fertilizer shouldn’t be a tall order for a crop sector or even individual farms, says a leader in 4R nutrient management research. “Research across the Prairies has shown that it is possible to reduce emissions quite significantly without the need to drop the […] Read more
Cutting fertilizer emissions can be profitable if done sensibly
Report says farmers can boost the bottom line with 4R, but Ottawa’s goal is too much, too fast
Reading Time: 5 minutes [UPDATED: Jan. 17, 2023] Canadian crop producers can reduce emissions from nitrogen fertilizer by double digits and still turn a healthy profit, says a report prepared for the country’s leading fertilizer advocate. However, even that will still fall short of the federal government’s nitrous oxide emissions goals. “To put it in broad strokes, the crop […] Read more
Red light, green light — watch out farmers
Health and eco labels a sign of how food and farming is increasingly under the spotlight
Reading Time: 3 minutes Imagine a supermarket where every product is labelled by how healthy it is – green for foods deemed best for you and red for those that aren’t. Then imagine another store, where the ratings are instead based on whether the product was produced according to preferred environmental practices. Both of these (one is called Nutri-Score […] Read more
Alberta cattleman right at home at UN climate change conference
Many anti-meat critics have no idea how cattle are raised, but Bob Lowe is always willing to explain
Reading Time: 4 minutes Bob Lowe, a cattle feeder from Nanton, isn’t afraid to enter a conference hall full of vegans — and there was a sizeable contingent of people opposed to meat production at this year’s global climate conference. As part of his trip to COP27 in Egypt last month, the veteran cattle producer paid a visit to […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
