Reading Time: 2 minutes Plan how to stay safe while seeding during COVID-19. Start, of course, by minimizing contact, said Jody Wacowich, executive director of AgSafe Alberta. “If you have a large group, maybe have them come at different points during the morning, so they’re not all together,” she said. But having safety conversations, in one form or another, […] Read more
Add COVID-19 to your safety plan for spring seeding
More cleaning and less sharing of equipment are sensible moves these days
Grain is moving but it will take months to catch up
Canada’s reputation as a reliable grain supplier has taken a hit
Reading Time: 4 minutes There won’t be a quick fix for a ‘perfect storm’ that has set grain movement back by at least three months. The problems started with the late harvest across the Prairies followed by the week-long CN Rail strike in November and then cold weather and mudslides. By the time the anti-pipeline rail blockades hit in […] Read more
Cross-border truckers exempt from mandatory isolation
TFWs coming to Canada won't be exempt from new rule
Truckers and others who are still allowed to cross into Canada on essential business are exempt from a new two-week self-isolation rule for people arriving in the country. Health Minister Patty Hajdu on Wednesday announced an emergency order under the federal Quarantine Act, requiring anyone who’s entering Canada by land, air or sea to self-isolate […] Read more
Farm publishers hail periodical fund streamlining
Publishers of Canada’s agricultural journals and newspapers expect greater certainty out of a new federal plan to cut the turnaround time on support available to publishers. Federal Heritage Minister Steven Guilbeault on Wednesday announced his department is “working to establish a simplified process” for submitting and processing 2020-21 funding requests for both the Canada Periodical […] Read more
Make food supply chain an essential service, says Alberta’s ag minister
Things are working well and there is no need for hoarding or panic buying, says Devin Dreeshen
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta’s food supply chain is stable and is functioning — but it’s essential to keep goods flowing across the U.S. border, says the province’s agriculture minister. “We have put in an official request to the federal government to deem the entire food supply chain as an essential service to ensure a safe and stable food […] Read more
Canada’s strengths in global trade highlighted at conference
Pandemic has since pushed all other issues out of the spotlight but crops convention highlighted country’s abilities
Reading Time: 3 minutes It was just three weeks ago, but the issues in the spotlight at the Canadian Crops Convention almost seem to be from another age. But the conference was also a reminder that however the coronavirus pandemic changes the landscape, Canada has a lot of people working behind the scenes to ensure trade can take place. […] Read more
2018 cash advance deadline extended on pandemic concerns
Western Canadian farmers had more than $100 million coming due this month
Reading Time: 3 minutes Grain and livestock producers with a cash advance from 2018 will have until September to pay back their loan. “Hopefully, this will give them enough time to get it paid down so that we’re not forcing them into a default situation,” said Rick White, president and CEO of the Canadian Canola Growers Association, one of […] Read more
It might seem far off — but a bright new future is before us
Country’s top bank says there’s ‘a historic opportunity’ ahead — and Alberta ag colleges are preparing for it
Reading Time: 5 minutes Although no one can say how much devastation will be caused by COVID-19, experts in both disease outbreaks and economics all agree on one point — this crisis will pass. And if the country’s biggest bank and the province’s leading ag colleges are right, the future will be bright. “Technology is disrupting sectors across the […] Read more
Staff laid off at the Ag-Info Centre
Livestock and crop specialists have lost their jobs but province says farmers will be able to get the info they need
Reading Time: 3 minutes Eight specialists at the Ag-Info Centre in Stettler have been laid off in the latest round of staff cuts at Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. But the provincial government says farmers won’t be affected. There was no public announcement of the layoffs, but the province did send letters to crop and livestock associations as well as […] Read more
In the face of this crisis, we will all carry on
Those on the front lines will be in our thoughts but so too will be farmers
Reading Time: 2 minutes As our March 23 edition of Alberta Farmer was being prepared — the paper was printed on March 17 — the COVID-19 situation was changing by the hour. Like everyone on the planet, those who grow and raise food will be wondering how this pandemic will change their lives. So readers may be struck by […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
