Reading Time: 3 minutes In the second week of December, about 50 staff at Alberta Agriculture and Forestry got a pre-Christmas delivery no one would want — they were laid off. Details have not been released but among those affected are engineers, agrologists, and managers. “This is just another example of where they have taken some significant steps backwards,” […] Read more
Fifty provincial agriculture ministry staff get layoff notices
Many of those losing their jobs are scientists and their work greatly benefited farmers, says a retired researcher
Conflict drives them from home, but hope is what they bring
Many of our newcomers had to flee their own country and they value the peace and opportunity they find here
Reading Time: 3 minutes While walking on the path, I met a group of students working on an outdoor assignment, enjoying the activity and chatting away. I love to find out the story behind people — starting with a joyous welcome to Canada and asking the inevitable question, ‘Where are you from?’ In this group there were people from […] Read more
The kids are alright — and they have big ideas for feeding the world
Reading Time: 4 minutes Three up-and-coming Albertans were among 100 young global leaders who met in Brasilia, Brazil, to discuss sustainable solutions to feeding the planet. Grace Heuver, Emmett Sawyer and Kelcie Miller-Anderson were chosen to attend last month’s Bayer Youth Ag Summit — a biannual event that brings together youth aged 18 to 25 to discuss and develop […] Read more
Early 2020 forecast points to cooler, drier Prairie spring
MarketsFarm – After 2019’s dry growing season and messy harvest, 2020 may have fairer skies in store for producers across the Canadian Prairies. Following the spring melt, weather in the Prairies is expected to show a bias to the drier side, which will keep excess soil moisture at bay following wet conditions last fall. “The […] Read more
Alberta pair gets twice-in-a-lifetime opportunity to start farming
Two families are creating a new legacy on a family farm — just not the one they grew up on
Reading Time: 6 minutes For most farm kids, taking over the family farm is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity that’s too good to pass up. But for Jay Bruggencate and Mike Sulzle, it was a second chance that drew them back into farming — just not on their own family farms. Both men had “missed the window” to go back to […] Read more
U.S.-China deal should secure Canadians’ release, Trudeau says
Ottawa | Reuters — Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said on Thursday that the U.S. government should not finalize a trade deal with China unless the pact also secured the release of two Canadians detained by Beijing. The two men were picked up separately in December 2018, shortly after police in Vancouver held Huawei Technologies […] Read more
Opinion: When it comes to rules, it matters who writes them
Reading Time: 4 minutes I recently read The Myth of Capitalism where author Jonathan Tepper argues that if competition is a key tenet of capitalism, then it’s a myth to say the 21st-century economy is capitalistic. Many industries lack true competition and are dominated by monopolies and oligopolies, allowing them to charge higher prices and pay lower wages. One […] Read more
New body needed to thwart threat of livestock epidemic, says group
Livestock groups and processors back creation of Animal Health Canada to prevent a devastating disease outbreak
Reading Time: 4 minutes Avian influenza, H1N1 flu and now African swine fever have all posed threats to Canada’s livestock sector. And while there are a host of regulations overseen by numerous organizations, it’s a patchwork that leaves the country vulnerable to a devastating disease outbreak, says a group representing both livestock, dairy and poultry associations and leading meat […] Read more
Certificate needed to avoid carbon tax on fuel
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Beef Producers is urging farmers to fill out a fuel charge exemption form before Jan. 1, when the federal carbon tax kicks in for the province. The carbon tax (officially called the Federal Fuel Charge) isn’t levied on gasoline and light fuel oil for farm machinery “for the purpose of farming or travelling from […] Read more
Ford recalls Super Duty pickups on post-crash fire risk
Reuters — Ford Motor Co. said Friday it would recall 547,538 of its Ford Super Duty pickup trucks across the U.S., Canada and Mexico, citing the risk of a post-crash interior fire. The second-largest U.S. automaker said the recall covers certain models between the years 2017 and 2019 with carpet flooring that could experience a […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
