Reading Time: < 1 minute It’s the time of year when producers are being warned about the dangers of blue-green algae in dugouts. The toxic bacteria can cause organ damage or even death. Once temperatures reach 25 C, producers should look at the water surface for algae that resembles “blue-green scum, pea soup or grass clippings suspended in the water,” […] Read more
Time to watch for toxic bacteria
Signs of mental health struggles easy to overlook in agriculture
Reading Time: 4 minutes Even after a tough year, the arrival of spring always seems to bring hope for a new season and optimism that this year will be better. But after several tough years — a global pandemic, drought in some regions and flooding in others, feed shortages, rising input costs, supply chain issues, and now war in […] Read more
Fortune favours the speedy when it comes to grants
Focus On Practical Energy: Federal farm programs often pay out large sums, but they can become fully subscribed very quickly
Reading Time: 2 minutes It’s a simple equation: federal cash for green initiatives goes to those farmers who apply for it. Already this year, the $18-million Agricultural Clean Technology program stopped taking applications because of high demand. Up next is the $185-million On-Farm Climate Action Fund, which will help pay for costs for improving nitrogen management, cover cropping and […] Read more
Farmer-driven stewardship organization gets major funding boost
ALUS gets $5 million for expansion and to find a better way to measure carbon sequestration
Reading Time: 3 minutes A new $5-million initiative aims to find a better way to measure the carbon that Canadian farmers sequester in the soil to make sure they’re being paid fairly for the ecosystem services they produce on their land. “Despite what you might hear, carbon quantification in Canada is not very well advanced,” said Bryan Gilvesy, CEO […] Read more
GM CEO says ‘we are selling every truck we can build’
Rising fuel prices not seen undermining big truck demand, yet
Detroit | Reuters — General Motors CEO Mary Barra said on Monday the automaker is “selling every truck we can build” and expanding North American truck-building capacity, even as U.S. gasoline prices hit record highs. Barra made her comments during the automaker’s annual shareholder meeting. GM is pursuing a two-track strategy: Investing heavily in electric […] Read more
With fewer young farmers, what will the future hold?
The shift to very large operations run by a smaller number of (mostly older) producers is intensifying, latest census finds
Reading Time: 4 minutes The average age of farmers keeps going up, but it’s not because younger people don’t want to farm — it’s high land prices and tight margins that’s keeping them out, the latest ag census suggests. Bob Ohlhauser agrees. “It’s about money,” said the 82-year-old who still helps operate a medium-size grain farm near Carbon, an […] Read more
Opinion: It’s not just oil prices — refining capacity is driving up fuel bills
Fat margins mean refineries have plenty of reasons to up production but they have limited capacity
Reading Time: 3 minutes Reuters – Global stocks of refined petroleum products have fallen to critically low levels as refineries prove unable to keep up with surging demand especially for the diesel-like fuels used in manufacturing and freight transportation. The result has been a surge in prices refiners receive for selling fuels compared with prices they pay for buying […] Read more
Going the extra mile pays off for 4-H clubs during pandemic
Reading Time: 4 minutes Throughout the past two years of the COVID-19 pandemic, 4-H Alberta had one clear goal: to serve their youth. “We knew they were a vulnerable population that needed this community,” said Kurt Kinnear, the organization’s CEO. “We worked as much as we could to serve our youth through all of this, whether it was virtual […] Read more
Ag plastic recycling program gets extended
Reading Time: < 1 minute The provincial government has anted up another $115,000 to keep a recycling pilot program for grain bags and baler twine going until next year. The Alberta Ag Plastic. Recycle It! pilot, scheduled to end last month, will run until the end of August 2023. “The long-term goal of the group is to expand the pilot […] Read more
Canadian Angus scholarships awarded
Reading Time: < 1 minute A young Albertan was recently awarded a $5,000 scholarship from the Canadian Angus Foundation Legacy Scholarship program. Julie Sharp of Lacombe just completed her second year as a student in the bachelor of science in agriculture program at the University of Saskatchewan where she is on the board of the (Bio) Science Club. A member […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
