Amber Mac is a television and radio host, entrepreneur, author, and speaker. She has keynoted more than 300 events, and moderated sessions with leaders such as Prime Minister Justin Trudeau, FBI director James Comey, and astronaut Chris Hadfield. In January, Mac spoke alongside Farm Credit Canada’s Marty Seymour, in a presentation on tech innovations. “I… Read More
Starting this month, the Farm Freedom and Safety Act (FFSA) has come into effect. Put in place by the Alberta Government, the Act — known as Bill 26 — is a replacement of Bill 6, introduced by the previous NDP government. In it, there’s changes to current employment, workers compensation coverage (WCB), and occupational health… Read More
One of the questions that come up this time of the year, when it comes to the growing season, is — what do the pest forecasts look like for 2020? Boyd Mori, assistant professor in agricultural entomology, at the University of Alberta, was at FarmTech in Edmonton, Alta, and broke down the top 5 insects in… Read More
Crop planning is well underway in the Prairies, and you may be in the middle of choosing what crop will go where. Of course, there are many things to consider, but looking at your soils is a large part — especially if you are growing pulses. Nevin Rosaasen, policy and program specialist with Alberta Pulse… Read More
Managing tough canola is… tough. Especially after the year that was 2019 — and for many parts of the Prairies, in the late season, it would not stop raining, snowing, sleeting — precipitating in any form. Canola is still being harvested and will continue into the spring again; but for those who managed to bring… Read More
China bans imports. Demand suddenly drops for a commodity found on Canadian farms. Supplies build up and prices drop in the rest of the world. No, we’re not talking about soybeans or canola. That all-too-familiar market scenario is playing out in the global plastic recycling industry. “The world is in a recycling crisis right now,”… Read More
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At first it seems counterintuitive, since canola values usually follow soybean prices, but reduced demand for soybeans in China as a result of African swine fever (ASF) is contributing to a bullish scenario for canola prices, according to a senior analyst with Oil World. As China’s demand for soy protein has fallen due to the… Read More
If you’re on Twitter, you might have seen John Kowalchuk creating a following for his #RumseySoybeans that he has tackled over the past five years on his farm in Rumsey, Alta. Soybeans are a tricky crop to grow, as they need a certain amount of heat units that central Alberta doesn’t always experience. This didn’t stop… Read More
Another conference has come and gone in the blink of an eye. One of the trickiest things is catching all the speakers: with concurrent sessions and panels, visiting tradeshow booths, and all the people to catch up with — there’s a lot going on. Towards the end of the final day of FarmTech this year,… Read More
Canada’s relationship with China could get worse before it gets better, depending on the outcome of the U.S. extradition request for Chinese telecommunications executive Meng Wanzhou, according to an expert on Chinese affairs at the University of Alberta. Farmers in both Canada and the U.S. have been paying close attention to their respective country’s relationship… Read More
As you sit down to finalize fertility plans for the 2020 growing season, do you look at a one, two, or five-year window when determining phosphorus rates? Jeremy Boychyn, agronomy research extension specialist with the Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions, says it’s time we really start to consider looking at multiple years at a time… Read More
The Alberta government is moving ahead with plans to reduce its funding and involvement in agricultural research, although according to the provincial agriculture minister, what that will look like is still to be determined. The United Conservative Party’s budget, tabled last fall, included a plan to reduce spending on ag research by $34.1 million over… Read More
January 29th is Bell Let’s Talk Day, a day focused on raising awareness of mental health through social media sharing. Started in 2011, the day has raised millions of dollars for mental health support. At this year’s FarmTech held at Edmonton, Alta., farmer Christi Friesen took the time to sit in the RealAg Radio booth… Read More
The customer is always right, but who is the customer? If you’re a grocery store or a coffee shop trying to stay on-trend, is it consumer opinion that matters most, or those of your shareholders, as the pressure for profits rises? “The demands of the average consumer are pretty intuitive — they want affordable, tasty… Read More