Reading Time: < 1 minute Cow-calf producers in Alberta are being asked to take a survey aimed at improving the productivity of the industry. Researchers at the University of Alberta are conducting the survey on the willingness of commercial cow-calf producers to accept compensation for sharing their animal traits information and the willingness of breeding associations to pay to obtain […] Read more
Are you willing to share animal traits info?
It came from outer space, but now resides near Camrose
Researchers are trying to find a chunk of an asteroid that likely landed in a farmer’s field near the town
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s not every day that researchers come to your field to look for space rocks. But that’s what happened to Camrose producer Rod Ross, after a meteor flew across the sky towards his farm on the last evening in August. “We had a rock that was about 50 kilograms, that might have been about the […] Read more
University’s ‘Beefier Barley’ billboard binned
A billboard about Alberta barley’s prospects under climate change in the University of Alberta’s ‘Truth Matters’ promotion — a series of ads meant to spark discussion about its researchers’ work — has been winnowed out of the campaign. Jacqui Tam, the Edmonton-based U of A’s vice-president for university relations, announced Sunday it would withdraw the […] Read more
Hands-on plant breeding: Farmers help select new plant lines
Since 2011, organic farmers from across Canada have been making their own breeding selections
Reading Time: 4 minutes You might call it DIY cereal breeding. Since 2011, plant-breeding researchers have collaborated with organic farmers in a breeding program in which the producers select lines from trials on their own farms. Normally, a breeder goes through a plot, and selects the best spikes, heads or plants according to their breeding goals. “The participatory plant-breeding […] Read more
From farm to fridge? Making cling wrap from canola straw
University of Alberta researchers have found a way to make a food wrap that’s biodegradable
Reading Time: 3 minutes As people try to reduce their use of plastic products, there is a need for items created from environmentally friendly products. Researchers at the University of Alberta may have come up with part of the solution — cling wrap made from canola straw. The product is the only one of its kind in the world, […] Read more
Better than bitcoin? Students (sort of) make millions from farming
Reading Time: 3 minutes Cassidy Marcotte knows horses, operates a cow-calf operation with her fiancé, and has taken basic animal science. But it was a little overwhelming when the University of Alberta student was given $10 million to start a broiler operation. “I know a lot about beef but I knew nothing about chickens starting this project,” said Marcotte, […] Read more
Beef Industry Conference returns to Calgary in 2019
Reading Time: < 1 minute Hockey and junk science are among the items on the menu at the Canadian Beef Industry Conference, which is returning to Calgary this year. Timothy Caulfield, a University of Alberta professor well known for debunking unfounded health claims, will be one of the keynote speakers. The other is Karl Subban, who grew up in Jamaica […] Read more
More wildfires and changes in run-off a challenge for irrigation district
A lack of tree cover can boost run-off volumes but they come sooner and with much more sediment
Reading Time: 4 minutes As wildfire experts peer into the future, they see more — and more severe — forest fires because of a changing climate. But some are also looking to the past and measuring the impact that forest fires have on the quantity and quality of run-off — two factors that could have major implications for Alberta’s […] Read more
A big scholarship and a helping hand
Reading Time: < 1 minute They’ve already won a $20,000 scholarship and now the four winners — two from Alberta — of a prestigious 4-H award have a mentor to help them achieve their career goals. The mentorship program is a key part of Leadership Excellence Awards of Distinction scholarships. Emmett Sawyer, who grew up on a mixed farm near […] Read more
Canadian farms are getting safer — but not fast enough
Safer machinery is saving lives, but farms remain dangerous places to work, says expert
Reading Time: 4 minutes Farms across Canada are becoming safer, but danger still abounds. “We are seeing fewer entanglement injuries and fewer deaths from rollovers — that’s where the big gains are on the technology and engineering side,” said Don Voaklander, director of the University of Alberta’s Injury Prevention Centre. “The other stuff is kind of the same. Falls […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
