MarketsFarm — Most of the Canadian Prairies were already blanked in snow by late November, with the deepest snowpack in Alberta and Saskatchewan, according to data compiled by Environment Canada and the U.S. National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Aside from the Rocky Mountains and some areas around the Great Lakes, the U.S. was largely […] Read more
Most of Prairies already covered in snow
It’s been a long, hard slog, but there are ways to lessen your load
Everyone is exhausted by the pandemic and needs to recharge emotional batteries, Olds psychologist says
Everyone is exhausted by the pandemic and needs to recharge their emotional batteries, says Olds psychologist
Reading Time: 4 minutes Has burnout become your everyday reality during the pandemic? You’re not alone. More than 2,000 people recently took in a webinar on burnout and “compassion fatigue” by Jody Carrington, a child psychologist from Olds. “I don’t know if any of you are emotionally exhausted in the middle of a global pandemic, but I don’t know […] Read more
The interconnections between species are deep and interwoven
COVID-19 has put bats into the spotlight, and research shows how deeply everything is connected
Reading Time: 3 minutes In the last column I introduced the concept of systems change for the benefit of human and animal health. Fortunately, there is an avenue to work with human and animal doctors, scientists and experts towards a healthy world and it is called One Health. One Health is defined as a “collaborative, multi-sectoral and transdisciplinary approach […] Read more
Forget the app, there’ll soon be a college grad for that
‘Techgronomy’ diploma program aims to train experts able to put the promise of precision ag into practice
Reading Time: 4 minutes For many, the term ‘precision agriculture’ is becoming a source of irritation — a buzzword that often seems more about jargon than things you can use on the farm today. Viewed from that angle, the title of Olds College’s new diploma program — Precision Agriculture – Techgronomy — may seem like more of the same. […] Read more
Farmers urged to ‘channel their flannel’
Contest open until Nov. 30
Reading Time: < 1 minute Agriculture for Life is launching a ‘Farmers in Flannel’ photo contest to celebrate farmers and a successful harvest. “When the leaves start to fall and the temperatures start to drop below zero, there’s no article of clothing that’s as omnipresent as the flannel shirt,” said Ag for Life. Alberta producers are being urged to “channel […] Read more
Two more ‘murder hornets’ turn up on B.C. mainland
One nest found last month in neighbouring U.S. town
Beekeepers in British Columbia’s Fraser Valley and Lower Mainland are asked to keep an eye out for so-called “murder hornets” after two were found in the region within a week. A single Asian giant hornet was found Saturday at Aldergrove, near the intersection of Fraser Highway and Highway 13 — about five km from where […] Read more
Coronavirus kills 15,000 U.S. mink
Affected states aren't planning to cull
Chicago | Reuters — More than 15,000 mink in the United States have died of the coronavirus since August, and authorities are keeping about a dozen farms under quarantine while they investigate the cases, state agriculture officials said. Global health officials are eying the animals as a potential risk for people after Denmark last week […] Read more
Four community projects share $100,000 grant
Reading Time: < 1 minute An old grain elevator, a new skatepark, a rodeo arena, and an old-fashioned drugstore with a soda fountain will benefit from $100,000 in grants from the Rural Communities Foundation. The six-year-old foundation, created by UFA, recently announced the second batch of winners in a five-year, $500,000 initiative to support projects that enrich education, recreation and […] Read more
Better rural broadband internet is coming — eventually
Ottawa is pledging $2 billion for fast rural internet, but how that money gets spent is the key question
Reading Time: 7 minutes Ottawa’s pledge to spend $2 billion to bring decent broadband service to rural and remote areas is welcome news, but the devil will be in the details, say officials in Alberta. “I’m encouraged to see the funding, but the full delivery of it is the next question — how will we be able to make […] Read more
Innovative biorefinery to be built in Lacombe
Reading Time: < 1 minute The industry-funded Technology Innovation and Emissions Reduction (TIER) system is contributing $10 million for construction of a $45-million Lacombe Biorefinery. The clean energy and organic fertilizer facility will be the first in the world to use a technology called BioRefinex thermal hydrolysis. This technology, developed in Alberta, uses high heat, high pressure and water to […] Read more
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