Beijing | Reuters — President Xi Jinping wants China to accelerate efforts to achieve self-reliance in agricultural technology, identifying seed development and core equipment among areas to focus on, state media reported. The central leadership had said in 2020 that the country’s seed industry was a weak link in the food chain and needed to […] Read more
China must raise self-reliance in ag tech, Xi says
Seed industry seen as weak link in food chain
AFSC and Olds College form partnership
Drone assessment of hail damage is among the research projects
Reading Time: < 1 minute Olds College and Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC) have created a formal partnership in which AFSC will support applied research on the Olds College Smart Farm. In 2021 the Olds College research team worked on a proof of concept with AFSC to see if drone imagery in hail-damaged fields could assist assessment, with promising initial […] Read more
They don’t wear lab coats but more farmers doing on-farm research
Getting scientifically valid data takes time and work -- and often at the busiest times of the year
Reading Time: 4 minutes With all the decisions that must be made in a growing season, on-farm research trials are a way for farmers to increase the odds of making the right call on major changes. “When you do something yourself on your own farm, you can be pretty certain it will work in your conditions,” said Lewis Baarda, […] Read more
It’s still ‘wait and see’ country when it comes to biostimulants
A multi-year study has found some products work sometimes on some crops -- but it’s hit-and-miss
Reading Time: 3 minutes Biostimulants work. Sort of. Sometimes. Depending. Dubbed the ‘vitamin supplements of farming,’ there are a wide range of biostimulants and they work — or don’t — in a host of different ways. Sometimes they’re worth applying and sometimes not, suggests a three-year study by Farming Smarter. “We did see an increase in yield for some […] Read more
Squeezed and struggling: Research groups desperate for funding
Farmer-led groups say producers rely on their work but they’re hamstrung by inadequate, short-term funding
Reading Time: 6 minutes Alberta farmers need local, practical research but applied research associations say they’ve been hamstrung by a lack of provincial funding — and some may have to pack it in if that doesn’t change soon. “A lot of the groups are kind of squeezed to the point where, if we don’t get something secured right now, […] Read more
Study finds big payoff on wheat research
Reading Time: < 1 minute And a trio of Prairie organizations that fund research say that every dollar they invested generates a return of $33 through varietal improvements. The Canadian Wheat Research Coalition (which includes Alberta Wheat) and two other farmer-led research organizations worked with two USask economists on the study. “Our measure is conservative because we don’t include many […] Read more
Cannabis firms catch whiff of opportunity in Brazil
Canadian producers among those now supplying Brazilian market
Sao Paulo | Reuters — International cannabis companies are showing interest in Brazil, both its large consumer market for medicinal products and a proposal that could legalize planting of the crop. Major producers such as Colombia’s Clever Leaves and Canada’s Canopy Growth are developing and selling medicinal cannabis products to a Brazilian consumer segment estimated […] Read more
Alberta colleges strike an alliance
Reading Time: < 1 minute Lethbridge College and Olds College have signed an agreement to work co-operatively on applied research. The memorandum of understanding will sometimes see the two colleges conduct joint projects but will also have them “refer companies to each other based on the best fit with infrastructure and research expertise, and share relevant data and data networks.” […] Read more
BAT looks beyond tobacco to Canadian marijuana
Lucky Strike cigarette maker buys into Moncton's Organigram
Reuters — British American Tobacco (BAT) said Thursday it will buy a nearly 20 per cent stake in New Brunswick-based cannabis producer Organigram for about 126 million pounds (C$221.3 million) as it seeks to expand beyond its main tobacco business. Organigram, headquartered at Moncton, grows cannabis and makes cannabis-derived products in the Canadian market, where […] Read more
Bibeau promises help to farmers on rising carbon tax
Funds expected to help farmers cut emissions
A steadily rising carbon tax has a lot of Western Canada’s grain farmers wondering how they’ll compete in world markets against competitors not subjected to a similar tax. “I think the world market is also looking towards a greener economy and always more sustainable agriculture,” federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said when the question was […] Read more
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