Reading Time: 4 minutes The Waldron Grazing Co-op and the Nature Conservancy of Canada are working towards the conservation of the Bob Creek Ranch around the Cowboy Trail in southern Alberta.
Saving southern Alberta’s Bob Creek Ranch
Bob Creek Ranch around the Cowboy Trail in process of being conserved by the Waldron Grazing Co-op and the Nature Conservancy of Canada
Letter to the Editor: Don’t surrender on the enviro front
Reading Time: 2 minutes I am a long-time reader of your paper and appreciate the informative agricultural news and other articles. However, the opinion piece by Matt McIntosh entitled ‘Time to farm with nature,’ has prompted some very serious questions I would love to pose to him, and to you, as you have printed his opinion; vital questions which […] Read more
New program offers big dollars for providing eco-services on your land
New ‘resilient’ farm program offers up to $150,000 for items such as rotational grazing and restoring wetlands
Reading Time: 4 minutes Have you always wanted to try rotational grazing or protect riparian areas? Then say hello to a new government program called the Resilient Agricultural Landscape Program (RALP). There has never been a program quite like this one, said Giselle Ulrich, a grant program specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation. “A lot of the best management […] Read more
Controlled traffic farming is proving its worth, say advocates
The system ‘shines’ during droughts and lets farmers seed and harvest sooner when it’s wet, they say
Reading Time: 4 minutes Controlled traffic farming has yet to catch on in a big way in Alberta, but it proved its worth during last year’s drought for a long-time practitioner. “I grew canola and barley last year and we had 28-bushel canola on four and a half inches of rain and five weeks of smoking hot weather,” said […] Read more
Innovative farmers ‘harvest’ water to boost production
Coen Farm created shallow ditches called swales to capture millions of gallons of snowmelt each spring
Reading Time: 3 minutes This winter, you might want to harvest something a little different on your farm — water. “Our farm harvests 40 years of water in two weeks just from snowmelt,” said Takota Coen, who farms near Ferintosh with his parents. “We live in one of the only places in the world where you can actually increase […] Read more
Taking a fresh look at your land, cattle and grazing system
Range management principles are ‘fairly simple’ but applying them depends on local conditions
Reading Time: 4 minutes You might think you know your land inside and out, but getting back to basics can improve pasture productivity. “It’s important to look at this basic stuff because it helps tune the eye,” said Ross Adams, range management specialist with Alberta Environment and Parks. “It’s easier to integrate livestock into the system if you understand […] Read more
Having an official stewardship plan comes with benefits
Access to grants and the ‘sustainable sourcing’ trend are key reasons for an environmental farm plan
Reading Time: 4 minutes A lot of Alberta farmers have an environmental farm plan, but many are gathering dust on a shelf and are no longer valid. But having a valid environmental farm plan (EFP) has several benefits and renewing one has become easier, say officials who run the program. A constant in Alberta since 2003, there are 4,500 […] Read more
Bank signs on as launch sponsor for ALUS Canada’s New Acre program
“We know that restoring nature on the landscape has many benefits for both farmers and their communities..."
Reading Time: 3 minutes Three hundred acres of farmland across Canada will be transformed into conservation projects thanks to a sizable sponsorship from TD Bank Group to ALUS Canada’s New Acre program. “The TD sponsorship is an indication that the private sector recognizes the value of this kind of work and is willing to put money behind it,” said […] Read more
Cooking up a successful recipe for improved soil health
Brendon Rockey’s farm is far different than most, but his winning formula has lessons for other growers
Reading Time: 4 minutes In some ways, soil health conferences are like recipe swaps — with attendees always on the lookout for a mix of ingredients that will produce better results. One of those recipes presented at the sold-out Western Canada Conference on Soil Health & Grazing last month came from a Colorado potato grower who farms in high-elevation, near-desert conditions and no […] Read more
Soil degradation the forgotten issue
Reducing tillage and summerfallow hasn’t fixed a problem that is costing farmers billions every year
Reading Time: 3 minutes Soil degradation in Canada is causing a huge economic loss — but few people are paying attention. That includes farmers, even though degraded soil is significantly reducing their yields, according to University of Manitoba soil scientist David Lobb. “Soil erosion accounts for a loss of about 10 per cent,” he said. “Farmers are only getting […] Read more
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