Reading Time: 2 minutes Regular feed only goes so far in keeping cattle warm when it’s bone-chilling cold. “Cattle can stay warm down to -20 C without wind chill, and the heat from digestion when they consume their feed will keep them warm,” said beef and forage specialist Barry Yaremcio. Feed requirements change when it gets that cold. “You […] Read more
Cows can handle the cold — but extreme cold is a different story
Once it gets below -20 C, extra measures are needed to ensure animals aren’t dropping pounds
Feed weekly outlook: Rally likely to end soon
MarketsFarm — After a bit of a rally for feed grain prices over the last three to four weeks, the feedlots are on the full side, said Brandon Motz of CorNine Commodities at Lacombe, Alta. “That normally means we back off a little bit,” he said, noting there hasn’t been an uptick in deliveries with […] Read more
A year with more ups than downs, say these cattle producers
It wasn’t without its challenges, but 2019 worked out better than many had feared
Reading Time: 5 minutes This past year may have been a better year for Alberta’s cattle producers than 2018 was, but you’d be hard pressed to find many who would call it good. Between uncertain feed supplies, whiplash-inducing weather conditions, and variable cattle markets, producers across the province had to dig into their reserves, find a degree of patience, […] Read more
A normal crop year went out the window in 2019
It seems pretty much everyone had severe weather challenges this year, but they came in many forms
Reading Time: 5 minutes Weather always gets talked about, but usually there are other issues that mark the year gone by. But this was a year when the rain gauge and thermometer were front and central from spring to harvest. Or rather, what passed for harvest. With about 1.6 million acres of crops still in the field, the story […] Read more
Bad doesn’t begin to describe situation of unharvested fields
Reading Time: < 1 minute “Cleaning up the acres left out in the spring will be no small task.” So reads the provincial Ag Ministry’s final crop report of 2019. It estimates 10.4 per cent of crops are still in the field — on par with the dismal 2016 season (when 10.3 per cent was unharvested). But that number doesn’t […] Read more
Like it or not, climate change will change your farm, say two experts
The growing season is already longer and extremes more common, say climatologist and crop specialist
Reading Time: 6 minutes Canada’s best-known climatologist always knows when he’s lost a crowd of producers he’s presenting to. It’s usually right around the time he starts talking about climate change. But he gets it. “Farmers have been beat up a lot — they’ve been accused of causing climate change,” said David Phillips, Environment and Climate Change Canada’s senior […] Read more
Alberta farmers grapple with a miserable harvest
There simply aren’t a lot of positives for many producers in the province
Reading Time: 5 minutes This year’s harvest was the season from hell for farmers across Alberta. Many will still be combining next spring, drying grain for weeks to come, and their marketing efforts will resemble a salvage operation. And while producers — particularly in central and northern regions — knew their crops were late in developing, Mother Nature did […] Read more
Alberta harvest continues, 11 per cent of crops remain
Alberta Crop Report: Conditions as of November 5
Reading Time: 6 minutes Following a cooler than normal growing season, September brought several wet spells, interspersed by two major dry spells, each lasting less than two weeks. In October, wet spells occurred more frequently, with the northern half of the province blanketed with a few cloudy days. Over the past month, all areas in the province experienced below […] Read more
Alberta producers battle for harvest progress
Alberta Crop Report: Conditions as of October 29
Reading Time: 3 minutes One more week of harvesting between weather events, and another blast of winter this past weekend brought snow or rain to many areas in the west and north halting operations yet again. The strong winds that accompanied the cold front have scattered canola swaths and blown snow into and over top of swaths still left […] Read more
Poor weather continues to hamper Alberta harvest
Snow, rain and cold winds continued to hamper harvest operations in Alberta during the week ended Oct. 29, according to the latest provincial crop report. Total harvest progress across the province was pegged at 81 per cent done, which was up eight points from the previous week. Southern Alberta was farthest along, at 95 per […] Read more
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