Reading Time: < 1 minute A new program is offering to help farm and agribusiness employers as well as food processors with the cost of pandemic-related training and equipment. The Agriculture Training Support Program “is intended to offset costs for COVID-19 safety and training, including the costs for personal protective equipment and to remove any barriers to get Albertans safely […] Read more
Grants available for worker safety training
Life and its blessings continue during these troubled times
Little joys have new meaning and family time has taken on new significance on farms across the province
Reading Time: 8 minutes Getting ready for the new baby and celebrating the one newly born. Having coffee with your spouse. Checking out some four-legged farm visitors. Getting a bit goofy on social media. Pausing to appreciate the arrival of spring. On farms across Alberta, special moments abound during these stressful and unprecedented times. And they are worth celebrating. […] Read more
What makes you great at what you do?
Farming is not just another job — and it’s not just production skills that make farms successful
Reading Time: 3 minutes The value of food and of farming has become part of the mainstream conversation these days. If you are a farmer, what you do is important. And like any other year, we must remember what it is that makes us great at what we do. To help with that, here’s a little list gleaned from […] Read more
High-profile ag committee to advise province
Reading Time: < 1 minute The UCP government has set up a number of advisory groups with high-profile members, including the Economic Recovery Council that includes former prime minister Stephen Harper among its members. The newest advisory panel is called the Champions of Agriculture. The group will provide “strategic advice and recommendations on emerging issues and priorities related to consumer […] Read more
‘Learn to do by doing’ sums up 4-H pandemic response
Reading Time: 3 minutes Like many other agricultural groups, 4-H clubs have had to adapt to life under COVID-19. “When they first closed everything down, we said we were going to finish the year, no matter what, and every kid’s steer was going to get sold, no matter what,” said Murray Skippen, general leader of the Fort Saskatchewan 4-H […] Read more
Add some farm safety education to home schooling
Reading Time: < 1 minute With in-person events cancelled, a program that provides farm safety education for children has launched a new online platform with interactive resources and activities on farm safety. “With children at home due to indefinite school closures, we recognize that more kids will be involved in activities on the farm while, at the same time, they […] Read more
Laid-off foreign workers may get conditional clearance for other jobs
Workers allowed to start new jobs while permits are processed
Approved temporary foreign workers (TFWs) whose jobs disappeared before they could begin work in Canada this spring can now get much quicker approval to start at other workplaces, including farms, where the workers are needed. The federal government said Tuesday it will, effective “immediately,” temporarily waive its rule requiring a TFW to receive federal approval […] Read more
Olds College acquires self-driving DOT platform
Reading Time: < 1 minute Olds College has acquired a DOT Power Platform for its Smart Farm. The self-driving platform can be equipped with a variety of implements. In addition to the platform, the college has acquired a DOT Seeder-SeedMaster Ultra DSR, DOT Sprayer-Pattison Connect, and the DOT-ready New Leader NL5000 nutrient applicator. “Our goal is to demonstrate how this […] Read more
Ag in Motion outdoor farm show going online instead for 2020
Showrunners plan free 'Ag in Motion Discovery Plus' online event
Glacier FarmMedia’s summer farm show Ag in Motion is coming in from the outdoors to operate in cyberspace for 2020. The event — which was due to run July 21-23 at the Glacier FarmMedia Discovery Farm on Highway 16 west of Langham, Sask., about 40 km northwest of Saskatoon — has been rebranded for 2020 […] Read more
Orphan well cleanup gets $1.7 billion from Ottawa
Move to deal with long-standing problem welcomed but bid to use sites for solar arrays may get lost in shuffle
Reading Time: 5 minutes A federal cash injection of $1.7 billion will help clean up Alberta’s mess of orphan oil and gas wells. “We were already planning to have a very busy 2020, and this is going to help us continue doing the work that we’re doing,” said Lars De Pauw, executive director of the Orphan Well Association. The […] Read more