Reading Time: 3 minutes While you were busy growing crops and raising livestock this summer, a rising dollar has been taking aim at your profits. The growing season started with the loonie trading under the 75 U.S. cents mark — and many analysts sticking to the theory it would stay low as long as oil prices remained in the […] Read more
Higher loonie will have many impacts
MARKET WATCH: A low dollar shielded Canadian farmers from lower commodity prices but it also raised the cost of farm equipment and inputs
There are extreme rains, and then the deluge caused by Harvey
Some parts of Texas received more rain in 24 hours than Prairie centres have seen in their wettest-ever month
Reading Time: 2 minutes As fairly quiet weather continues across the Prairies, the big weather story recently has been Hurricane Harvey, which came ashore in Texas late on Aug. 26. Harvey rapidly strengthened in the 12-hour period leading up to landfall and came ashore as a borderline Category 4 hurricane, with top winds of 210 kilometres per hour. It wasn’t […] Read more
Big divide in crop and cattle marketing
Grain growers have options that most cattle producers just won’t have this fall
Reading Time: 4 minutes Drought conditions in Alberta will have an upside for crop growers when marketing, but it’s nothing but bad news for cattle producers. “From a bigger-picture perspective, certainly we’re going to have fewer bushels in Western Canada than in the past couple of years, and that is generally going to be supportive to prices,” said FarmLink’s […] Read more
The 2017 fire season has begun
Reading Time: < 1 minute The wildfire season begins March 1 and the province is warning Albertans to be extra careful to help prevent wildfires in forested areas. More than 60 per cent of the wildfires last year were caused by human activity. Last year, 1,338 wildfires burned more than 611,000 hectares, including the Horse River wildfire that spread into […] Read more
Drought-hit tax deferral zones named
In some areas, this is the second year in a row where a lack of feed forced the sale of breeding stock
Reading Time: 2 minutes The federal government is offering ranchers in parts of Alberta hit by drought deferrals on their 2016 income tax from breeding livestock sales. The areas include Clearwater, Lethbridge, Mountain View, Red Deer, Rocky View, Vulcan and Wheatland counties; the municipal districts of Bighorn, Foothills, Pincher Creek, Ranchland and Willow Creek; the Municipality of Crowsnest Pass; […] Read more
Horses and pets not forgotten in Fort McMurray rescue effort
There was an overwhelming effort to rescue and care for horses and pets in the wake of the devastating fire
Reading Time: 4 minutes The outpouring of support for people displaced by the Fort McMurray wildfire was overwhelming — and so was the effort to rescue and care for horses from the area. Krista Critch was one of many volunteers who dropped everything to help save horses and pets at the height of the crisis. She had driven up […] Read more
Protection measures in place for wildfire season
A permit will be required for all planned fires in Alberta’s Forest Protection Area
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta’s wildfire season officially starts March 1, bringing into effect annual restrictions on burning activities. A permit will be required for all planned fires in Alberta’s Forest Protection Area, with the exception of campfires. “By beginning one month early, we can more effectively monitor burning activities and also ensure that our firefighters are well prepared […] Read more
Tax deferral an option — but is it your best one?
Experts say you should run the numbers and get expert advice before deciding how much tax to defer
Reading Time: 4 minutes It’s a classic ‘good-news, bad-news’ story. The bad news is: If you’re a producer reading this in Alberta, chances are you live in one of the vast majority of Alberta municipalities devastated by drought or other inclement weather. The good news is you may be eligible for the Federal Livestock Tax Deferral, which allows producers […] Read more
How the pork sector survived the attack of a killer virus
PEDv decimated the U.S. hog herd, but Canada showed how to do biosecurity right
Reading Time: 4 minutes If you want expert advice on biosecurity, talk to a Canadian hog farmer — and cattle producers should probably do just that. The country’s outstanding record on controlling the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus has a host of lessons for the cattle sector, says a swine veterinarian who was deeply involved in Alberta’s battle against PEDv. […] Read more
Why does El Niño have such a big impact on our weather?
It’s all about heat and the atmosphere’s aversion to imbalances when it comes to hot and cold
Reading Time: 4 minutes A few weeks ago while waiting for a triathlon to start, a thunderstorm rolled through the region forcing everyone to run for shelter. While listening to people talk during the storm I overheard a weather-related idea or story that I’ve actually been mulling in my head for a while now, but I still haven’t figured […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
