Overall spring seeding of all crops in Alberta was just over 18 per cent complete, according to the province’s first crop report of 2024. The pace was nearly seven points above the five-year average.
Seeding in Alberta ahead of pace
Snow and rain fall across the Prairies
Topsoil should have sufficient moisture for planting in next few weeks says analyst
Farmers took to social media to post pictures of snow and rain as the effects of a Colorado low splashed across the Prairies.
Record pasture insurance paid out in 2023
Agriculture Financial Services Corp. paid out more than $325 million through the Moisture Deficiency Insurance program
Reading Time: 2 minutes [UPDATED: Feb. 12, 2024] Glacier FarmMedia – Last year had the highest ever payout for pasture insurance in Alberta, surpassing that of 2021, according to data from Agriculture Financial Services Corp. More than $325 million was paid through AFSC’s Moisture Deficiency Insurance program, nearly three times the amount provided two years ago. “We went through […] Read more
Assessing strength, building on foundation key to soil health
Crop advisor says soil health options will vary by farm and by economics
Reading Time: 4 minutes Lee Briese’s soil health principles build upon five pillars: soil armour, minimizing disturbance, diversity, continuous living roots, and livestock integration. “I don’t find these to be laws, commandments or requirements for soil health management,” the North Dakota crop advisor said. “These are nice guidelines to help guide some of the practices,” Briese said. “I’ve learned […] Read more
Less wheat expected in Kazakhstan in 2023-24, despite same acres
Soil moisture loss expected in wheat-growing regions
MarketsFarm — As the 2022-23 crop year in Kazakhstan begins to wind down, the U.S. Department of Agriculture (USDA) attaché in the country’s capital of Astana estimated its wheat production at 16.4 million tonnes. Should that forecast hold, the attaché’s report noted it would be the largest wheat harvest since 2017-18. However, going into the […] Read more
Soil moisture more critical than rainfall to estimate climate impact
Yields don’t always correspond to rainfall amounts, but researchers have solved that mystery
Reading Time: 2 minutes You don’t need a PhD in agriculture to know that water is critical to crop production. But for years, people like Jonathan Proctor have been trying to explain why the importance of water isn’t showing up in statistical models of crop yield. “Studies analyzing how crop yields respond to temperature and rainfall tend to find […] Read more
Drought expands across western Prairies
MarketsFarm — Drought conditions expanded across Alberta and Saskatchewan in October, with very little precipitation across the agricultural regions of the two provinces since August. That’s according to the latest Canadian Drought Monitor from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, as of Oct. 31. At the end of that month, 72 per cent of the Prairie region […] Read more
Alberta harvest in home stretch as province dries up
MarketsFarm — As harvest progress in Alberta remained well ahead of the five-year average, soil moisture levels in the province continued to dwindle. With a gain of 12 points on the week, Alberta Financial Services Corp. (AFSC) estimated 87.6 per cent of the major crops were harvested. While that’s slightly below this time last year, […] Read more
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
Alberta seeding ahead of five-year average
MarketsFarm — While spring planting in Alberta is 12.2 per cent complete overall there’s a disparity between the south and the rest of the province. Also, the pace was 2.6 points above the five-year average, but 5.2 behind last year. As of Tuesday, Alberta Agriculture found seeding in the south was at 36.5 per cent […] Read more
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