Reading Time: 2 minutes Cypress County declared a local state of agricultural disaster last week as drought conditions persist across patches of the Prairies.
Southern Alberta county in state of agricultural disaster
Cypress County declared a local state of agricultural disaster last week as drought conditions persist across patches of the Prairies
Award honours an ‘incredible person’ and his lasting legacy
Reading Time: 3 minutes The life and legacy of a young rancher who died while fighting a wildfire is being celebrated with an award that honours his passion and stewardship. James Hargrave, a fifth-generation rancher from Walsh and a volunteer firefighter, was just 34 when he died. On Oct. 17, 2017, he was helping to fight the massive Hilda […] Read more
Latest Alberta wildfire info available at one website
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Agriculture and Forestry has a dedicated website with news and information on wildfires. The Alberta Wildfire website has a Wildfire Status map that is updated throughout the day and provides an overall look at the current wildfire situation across the province. The map also includes links to updates from the province’s 10 forest areas. […] Read more
Flood protection offers win-win for irrigators
New reservoir could protect both Calgary from catastrophic flood while increasing supply for irrigation
Reading Time: 3 minutes The 2013 “super flood” that hit southern Alberta was the country’s costliest natural disaster — with the bill for damages and recovery measures topping $6 billion. Now, a new report says there are ways to both prevent a similar disaster and also help mitigate the impact of drought. The Bow River Working Group — composed […] Read more
Interest-free loans for wildfire damage offered
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ranchers and farmers in Cypress County and the MD of Acadia, which were hit by wildfires in October, can now apply for interest-free rebuilding loans of up to $25,000. Applications under the Hilda Wildfire Support Loan Program will be accepted until March 31. The loans can go to fund working capital, pay expenses and/or help […] Read more
Feds announce tax support for cattle producers
Measures will assist those hit by bovine TB outbreak and in areas affected by drought
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta and Saskatchewan cattle producers affected by bovine TB outbreak in 2016 and this year will receive additional tax relief. Farmers who received compensation under the Health of Animals Act from livestock destroyed due to the bovine tuberculosis outbreak in 2016 and 2017 in Alberta and Saskatchewan are eligible for livestock tax deferral provisions. These allow them to defer a […] Read more
Out of the blue — India’s tax on peas hits growers here
India is our top customer for pulses but the pea tax and ongoing fumigation issue make for ‘a challenging situation’
Reading Time: 2 minutes India’s sudden decision to impose an immediate 50 per cent duty on pea imports has Canadian pulse officials scrambling to find answers — and figure out what comes next. “This sort of moves us beyond even where India has been before in pulse import duties… more than a decade ago we were at 10 per […] Read more
Solar watering can save stress during droughts
Long viewed as a band-aid solution for droughts, solar watering systems can help raise your grazing game
Reading Time: 4 minutes Cattle grazer Tim Hoven has a love-hate relationship with solar watering systems. “When it works great, it’s amazing. But when there’s complications, it’s extremely frustrating — just like any piece of technology,” the Eckville-area producer said in an interview last month. “Yesterday, I was literally out fighting a frozen water line that had drained the […] Read more
Fund set up for family of James Hargrave
Reading Time: < 1 minute A GoFundMe account has been set up to help the family of rancher James Hargrave, who died in a vehicle crash while helping to fight wildfires along the Alberta/Saskatchewan border. Hargrave, 34, was chairman of the Alberta Grazing Leaseholders Association and first vice-president of the Western Stock Growers Association. The Walsh-area rancher “was community minded […] Read more
High hopes for remote sensing of pasture conditions
Federal funding assists pasture project
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association says it hopes a research project on remote sensing of pasture conditions will be the foundation for a new national pasture insurance program. “The project’s findings may allow for more precision in the development of insurance programs for pasture production, on a farm level, rather than by geographic regions or limited […] Read more
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