Reading Time: 5 minutes Most every winter, Alberta farmers find themselves hitting the highways to get the latest and greatest in learning at farm conferences and meetings. This year, though, they’re covering that ground on the information superhighway instead. “Normally as a farmer, I’m attending events in the summer and wintertime, and this year, I didn’t get to experience […] Read more
Stuck on the farm doesn’t mean getting stuck in a rut
Online conferences definitely have drawbacks, but farmers still need to ‘stay ahead of the game’
Alberta weather disasters make Top 10 in 2020
Reading Time: < 1 minute It’s an unwelcome honour, but Alberta has two of the top three spots in Environment Canada’s Top 10 weather stories of the year. The June 13 hailstorm in Calgary caused an estimated $1.3 billion in damage – $386 million in smashed or cracked windshields alone along with pummelling “hundreds of thousands of hectares” of grain […] Read more
Alberta suffered the most hail damage on the Prairies this year
Reading Time: < 1 minute This year was below the five-year average for hail claims for Prairie farmers but saw higher-than-average claim payments. Overall, the industry will record a near break-even type of year. Claims produced insurance payouts of over $192 million on more than 12,100 claims in Western Canada. Producer premiums totalled just over $300 million for an industry […] Read more
Pandemic has many thinking about the future of the farm
If you plan to leave land to your off-farm child, you need a strategy that makes sense for the farm business
Reading Time: 3 minutes If the pandemic has you looking at your will and wondering how to split your farm up, you’re not alone. “COVID has increased the anxiety about our wills for all of us who are a little bit older,” said Merle Good, owner of GRS Consulting. “When I’ve talked to farmers about it, they’re starting to […] Read more
Yes, it’s different — but rural Albertans are making the best of it
Reading Time: 10 minutes Making the best of it Music fills the cul-de-sac, a familiar Christmas carol that draws the neighbourhood children outside and their parents right behind them, hastily throwing on coats and boots and gloves against the December cold. The night is a cacophony of noise — cheering, yelling, singing, screaming — and the noise grows only […] Read more
Celebrating everyday things is a gift in 2020
Reading Time: < 1 minute What was your favourite story in the paper during the past year? That’s an easy one — it was the front-page story of the May 18 paper bearing the headline, Life and its blessings continue during these troubled times. Or at least the uplifting stories of seven families from rural Alberta struck a chord with […] Read more
Does the wall need to be repaired before being repainted?
There’s a case for fixing mistakes but also one for brightening things up to give us a fresh start
Reading Time: 3 minutes The person I was walking with on a soft and warm island night was speaking of her career as a commercial painter. From a previous conversation, I knew that in her work she was a victim of harassment, exposure to extreme language, lack of privacy and the frustrating absence of washroom facilities. She was small […] Read more
Indian opposition demands repeal of farm laws after protests
New Delhi | Reuters – India’s main opposition party pressed the government on Thursday to call a special parliamentary session to withdraw new agricultural laws that farmers say will leave them at the mercy of big corporations. Rahul Gandhi, a senior leader from the opposition Congress party, handed the president a copy of a petition […] Read more
Court approves Morris Industries’ sale to Rite Way
Yorkton plant, not included in deal, to close
Seeding equipment manufacturer Morris Industries has been approved for sale to another Saskatchewan manufacturer — minus its Yorkton manufacturing plant, which is not part of the sale and is now expected to close by year’s end. Judge Shawn Smith of Court of Queen’s Bench in Saskatoon on Friday approved the sale of Morris to a […] Read more
Don’t put your networking on hold because you can’t meet in person
Making new contacts is as important as ever — here are four tips for networking virtually
Reading Time: 3 minutes You won’t be able to schmooze at events and conferences this winter, but it’s still important to network. However, it’s not easy, said Darlene McBain, who used to travel frequently in her job as manager of industry relations for Farm Credit Canada. Trying to build a network at her computer during the lockdown just felt […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
