Reading Time: 2 minutes Three Hills farmer earns Alberta’s Outstanding Young Farmers award through marketing of Alect Seeds to bring the best varieties and crop types to their customers and improve the quality of the land they farm.
Outstanding Young Farmer named in Alberta
Sarah Weigum’s work with Alect Seeds earns her Alberta’s Outstanding Young Farmers award
New crop insurer policy enables easier startup for faba beans
AFSC ‘normals’ updated to reflect growing production in Alberta
Reading Time: 4 minutes Agriculture Financial Services Corporation updated its normals for faba beans, which may open the door for more Canadian producers to feel comfortable growing the pulse crop in the future.
Fababeans get a reality check
Fabas were on a tear until this year, but experts expect the crop to have a solid, but modest, future in Alberta
Reading Time: 4 minutes With the sharp drop in Alberta fababean acres in 2016, has the clock struck midnight for last year’s Cinderella crop? Maybe, maybe not, says a provincial pulse expert. “I just can’t see them going away,” said Mark Olson, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry’s pulse crops unit head. “I don’t think the acres are going to go […] Read more
Some Prairie pulses’ limited releases under review
Saskatchewan Pulse Growers wants your opinion on how they release pulse varieties through exclusive tenders. The grower group contributes levy funds to the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre pulse breeding program. In return, Sask Pulse holds exclusive commercial rights to varieties developed in the program. Most new varieties are released royalty-free to seed growers […] Read more
Dryness stalls Sask., Alta. fababeans
CNS Canada — Fababeans are increasing in popularity across the Prairies, but much like other crops in Alberta and Saskatchewan, dry weather is taking its toll — and if it continues, yield could be impacted. Fababeans require a lot of moisture to produce well, according to Dale Risula, a Saskatchewan provincial specialist for special crops […] Read more
New pulse website takes a (web) page from Wikipedia
Alberta Pulse Growers has launched a new online manual in a familiar Wikipedia-style format to share up-to-date research and agronomic best practices
Reading Time: 3 minutes Wikipedia has replaced encyclopedias as the go-to tool for people conducting a little research — and that’s just what Alberta Pulse Growers is banking on with the launch of its pulse crop wiki. “The PulsePOD — or the pulse crop wiki, as we sometimes call it — is designed to take the place of a […] Read more
Decisions, decisions — what will you plant this spring?
It’s only a small sample, but rotation looms large for these four farmers — although there’s an opening for something that’s the right fit
Reading Time: 4 minutes Ag Canada is forecasting a jump in canola, barley and wheat acres this year — but rotations and sticking with the tried and true seem to be top of mind for many Alberta producers. But specialty crops are getting a look as grain and oilseed producers look for options that could beef up the bottom […] Read more
No hill of beans: fababean acreage soars, soybeans may be next
Faba bean acreage has increased tenfold in two years and could double again next year, with soybeans following suit
Reading Time: 3 minutes Every farmer knows a four-year crop rotation is best for good crops, healthy fields and managing pests. However, the four-year ideal often clashes with production reality: canola has been the big money-maker, and while legumes are good for nitrogen fixing, they usually pay less and can present big challenges with disease, standability and harvestability compared […] Read more
Watch for lygus bug damage on fababeans
The insects leave a black spot which is discounted by export customers
Reading Time: 2 minutes Central Alberta farmers planning to sell low-tannin faba beans for export will need to beware of lower tolerance levels for lygus bug damage. Snowbird is a low-tannin variety of faba beans commonly sold into the human market overseas. Parkland Alberta Commodities, a grain buyer based in Innisfail, Alberta, set the tolerance level for lygus bug-damaged […] Read more
It was a faba-ulous year for growing broad beans
Acreage of the pulse crop doubled or tripled this year, with good prices and yields making it a big money maker
Reading Time: 2 minutes Mark Olson has finally found the perfect standing field pea. “It’s called faba bean,” said Olson, pulse crops unit head at Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “People have struggled with the harvestability of field pea for a number of years, especially in those areas where there’s a lot of moisture. Faba bean is a crop […] Read more
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