Wildfire resources for producers

Wildfire resources for producers

Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Beef Producers has an updated list of resources for producers facing the threat of wildfires. It can be found at abpdaily.com — click on the Wildfire Resources link in the upper right-hand corner of the home page. The webpage includes numerous links, including ones for the Alberta Emergency Alert website and the Alberta Wildfire […] Read more

A smoke column rises from a wildfire on May 4, 2023 near Lodgepole, Alta., about 30 km southwest of Drayton Valley. (Photo: Alberta Wildfire handout via Reuters)

Alberta wildfire fighters prepare for hot, dry days ahead

Temperatures to approach 30 C next week

Reuters — An extended period of hot, dry weather that risks worsening wildfires in Alberta began on Friday, with special weather alerts in place across Western Canada and officials urging people to be vigilant. More than 100 wildfires have ignited across Alberta since last week, forcing tens of thousands of people to evacuate homes, farms […] Read more


Smoke rises from a wildfire in Alberta’s Strathcona County, east of Edmonton, on May 5, 2023. (Photo: Video screengrab from @hellohildy on Twitter via Reuters)

Alberta fairs, auctions offer space for evacuated livestock

Central areas catch break with moisture, cooler weather; CN service resumes

Alberta’s ag societies and livestock auction marts are offering up pen space for producers forced to evacuate animals away from dozens of wildfires in the province’s northern and west-central regions. As of early Thursday evening, the province was tracking 76 active wildfires, of which 22 were listed as “out of control” and 17 as “being […] Read more

GRIM READING: Farms remain very dangerous workplaces

GRIM READING: Farms remain very dangerous workplaces

The ag industry ‘hasn’t adopted a culture of safety,’ says author of report on farm fatalities

Reading Time: 3 minutes Canadian Agricultural Injury Reporting recently released its latest report with data on agriculture-related fatalities between 1990 and 2020, with particular focus on 2011 to 2020. CAIR is a national surveillance program funded by the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association and co-ordinated by the Injury Prevention Centre at the University of Alberta. According to the latest CAIR […] Read more


The combine team at KCL Cattle Company hard at work last fall. Co-owner Karleen Clark says a harvest free of weather delays — and as a result, virtually non-stop combining — helped create a recipe for worker fatigue.

The dangers of fatigue in the busy seasons on the farm

The consequences of a southern Alberta farm employee falling asleep last fall could have been much worse

Reading Time: 4 minutes Damaged equipment is bad enough for any farmer in the middle of harvest, but a co-owner of a southern Alberta farm says they could have lost much more. KCL Cattle Company lost thousands of dollars last fall when an employee crashed into a header after a long day in the field. The header was totalled, […] Read more

There are easy steps you can take to ensure you are prepared to manage risks in all situations.

Include safety in your plans before you work alone this spring

Thinking ahead and identifying hazards can help avoid potentially life-threatening situations

Reading Time: 3 minutes In recognition of Canadian Agricultural Safety Week March 12-18, here’s a sobering safety fact: 50 per cent of farm safety incidents in Canada occur when the victim is working alone. The average farmer and rancher in Alberta spends a significant amount of time working alone. Some tasks are even designed to be done alone. But […] Read more


The element of surprise is hard to account for when it comes to performing farm tasks safely, as columnist Brenda Schoepp discovered while being in the saddle one day on her horse.

Schoepp: We are always only a moment away from life-altering change

On farms across the country, pain and grief are all too familiar, but so are stories of perseverance and miracles

On farms across the country, pain and grief are all too familiar, but so are stories of perseverance and miracles

Reading Time: 3 minutes It is calving time on many farms. It’s normally a joyful time of the year as we receive new lives into the fold and look with hope to a season of warmer weather and green grasses. But for some families, it is also a brutal reminder of challenge, broken bodies and long recoveries. These past […] Read more

A range of farm safety topics will be presented beginning on Jan. 31.

Webinars offer expert advice on making your farm safer

Reading Time: < 1 minute AgSafe Alberta is putting on a series of webinars to promote farm safety.  On Jan. 31, an expert from the University of Iowa will discuss safety training for young adults and teens. Younger people are at an increased risk of injury because of developmental differences (both physical and cognitive), inexperience, fatigue and distracted behaviours.  On […] Read more


File photo of a John Deere X9 combine. (Deere.ca)

American Farm Bureau, Deere sign ‘right to repair’ memo

MOU to seek private-sector solutions

Chicago | Reuters — The American Farm Bureau Federation and machinery manufacturer Deere and Co. signed a memorandum of understanding on Sunday that ensures farmers have the right to repair their own farm equipment or go to an independent technician. As the agriculture sector accelerates its adoption of technology, the reliance on high-tech machinery such […] Read more

Grant aims to raise awareness of wildfire risk 

Grant aims to raise awareness of wildfire risk 

Reading Time: < 1 minute Organizations can apply for a $500 grant to host a Wildfire Community Preparedness Day in their area.  The ‘Prep Day’ is held on the first Saturday in May (May 6 this year) with the goal of bringing residents together to “work on projects that raise awareness of wildfire risk and increase their resilience to it.”  […] Read more