Reading Time: < 1 minute Producers are being asked to urge Health Canada to adopt “fair and reasonable rules” for gene editing. The department is conducting a public consultation on “novel food” guidelines, which could impact use of gene editing by plant breeders. Canada has not kept pace with other countries, says an alliance of national farm groups and industry […] Read more
Farmers asked to back gene editing
Made-in-Alberta carbon tax poised to return, but no details yet
Farm groups want carbon capture payments, premier says ‘all options’ on the table
Reading Time: 3 minutes Premier Jason Kenney isn’t saying what’s next after losing a court battle to declare the carbon tax unconstitutional — but his options appear to be limited. “There are better ways to help the environment than by punishing people for living ordinary lives, for heating their homes and driving to work,” Kenney said following the Supreme […] Read more
Alberta ag lender drops rural business loans
AFSC not taking new applications for program
A program offering term loans to small- and medium-sized businesses in rural Alberta is off the provincial ag lending agency’s menu. Alberta’s Agriculture Financial Services Corp. (AFSC) announced Thursday it had discontinued its Rural Business Loan Program effective immediately, so as to “concentrate its efforts on agricultural producers and agribusinesses.” The decision means no new […] Read more
Schoepp: Ag technology is a marvel but one that should be shared worldwide
There shouldn’t be haves and have-nots when it comes to the amazing advances in ag tech
Reading Time: 3 minutes As farmers, we are exposed to a multitude of choices in agricultural technology. And today, college students in Canada can earn an agricultural technology degree or diploma. What an opportunity for young men and women who want to grow food! I recently participated in the Global Agriculture Technology Summit on the panel for Women in […] Read more
Online resource on inactive oil wells updated
Reading Time: < 1 minute The number of inactive and orphaned wells in the province is growing, says the Pembina Institute. In response, the non-profit think-tank focused on energy has updated its Liabilities Resources for Landowners on its website. The web page has “detailed and timely information on funding, regulations and policy, legal cases, and involved organizations,” said the organization, […] Read more
New research funding agency gets first elected board
Farmers make up the majority of the directors overseeing Results Driven Agriculture Research
Reading Time: 2 minutes Like other birthday celebrations this past year, there was not a party. But Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) marked one year of existence by announcing, on a Zoom meeting, the members of its first elected board. The new 10-person board overseeing the research funding organization (replacing one appointed by the province) was elected by its […] Read more
Demand for air ambulance lottery tickets soars
Reading Time: < 1 minute It was quite the liftoff. It only took a week for HALO Air Ambulance to sell 70 per cent of the tickets for its first-ever online lottery. The pandemic meant the Medicine Hat-based emergency service hasn’t been able to hold most of its traditional fundraisers, so it has come up with a number of new […] Read more
Diversity more than a buzzword at Alberta’s agricultural colleges
Reading Time: 5 minutes Alberta’s ag colleges are growing the next crop of industry workers — and they’re trying to make that workforce more inclusive and diverse. “In the ag sector, we’re in a lot of international markets, and being able to deal with all sorts of different people in all sorts of different situations is going to become […] Read more
Ag ministers withdraw AgriStability reference margin limit
Program's compensation rate unchanged but 'remains on table'
In a move expected to provide $95 million in additional farm support per year, Canada’s ag ministers have agreed to remove the reference margin limit from the AgriStability farm income stabilization program. “That’s it! The ‘reference margin limit’ of the #AgriStability program is over! And it will be retroactive to 2020!” federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude […] Read more
Cut costs and carry on: Ag societies caught in a web of uncertainty due to COVID
Most revenues come from events that aren’t taking place while the bills keep rolling in
Reading Time: 4 minutes When COVID-19 hit, Strathmore and District Ag Society went into total shutdown. “We were just kind of reeling at first. We laid off all the staff, cancelled events, cancelled Strathmore Stampede, cancelled cowboy concerts,” said Ryan Schmidt, the society’s general manager and CEO. “Everything looked kind of black and dark. You can’t see where to […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
