On Friday, Alberta Beef Producers (ABP) will have their plebiscite vote available to its members. Ranchers are being asked if their provincial check-off dollars should be refundable or non-refundable. Voting will take place at various ABP fall meetings across the province from October 19th until November 13th. There’s also the option to vote at any of the… Read more »
Category: Western Canada
Tips for setting up a new grain dryer
It’s the middle of October and there is a lot of harvest yet to do in the Prairie Provinces. Many farmers got off to an early start, progress was ahead of schedule, and then things ground to a halt. No one knows for sure, but back of the envelope estimates conservatively put the value of… Read more »
Wheat School: Search continues for weapons in battle against wheat midge
Wheat midge is still a significant threat to wheat in Western Canada. While the threat has subsided a bit because of the discovery and use of the SM1 resistance gene, it’s important to remember that there is only one bullet in the chamber, and if it gets spent wheat crops will be, once again, at… Read more »
Dryer catches fire at Saskatchewan grain terminal
A major fire broke out late October 11 at the North West Terminal approximately one kilometre east of the town of Unity, Sask. The terminal had just recently installed a new high capacity dryer, which is where the fire started. At this time, the fire is contained to this area, but is in close proximity… Read more »
Bayer CropScience reaffirms commitment to Calgary-based headquarters
After a calculated decision-making process that included “a number of factors,” Bayer has chosen Calgary, Alta., as its new Canadian headquarters. Since the acquisition of Monsanto was completed in the summer, Bayer had yet to decide on a headquarters, and begin the process of finalizing its new corporate structure. Bayer spokesperson Trish Jordan indicated to RealAgriculture… Read more »
Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence aims to deliver world-leading research
This week marks the official opening of theLivestock and Forage Centre of Excellence (LFCE), located southeast of Saskatoon. Leadership of the LFCE say that this isn’t just a world-class facility, but it is designed to be world-leading in forage and beef production research. RealAgriculture’s Dale Leftwich attended the grand opening of the LFCE and met… Read more »
High expectations for father-daughter ranch donation to University of Calgary
A family succession plan for a lasting impression on the cattle industry is one of the reasons J.C. (Jack) Anderson and his daughter, Wynne Chisholm, have donated a 19,000-acre cattle ranch operation worth more than $44 million dollars to the University of Calgary’s Faculty of Veterinary Medicine (UCVM). The university calls the gift “transforming,” and will… Read more »
Canola School: Harvest decisions and bin management for green or tough canola
Harvest started strong in most parts of the Prairies and then has either came to a complete halt or fallen into a slow grind of doing a few acres, checking moisture levels, changing fields, waiting, and getting frustrated. RealAgriculture’s Saskatchewan field editor Dale Leftwich went out to a couple of fields with Canola Council of… Read more »
Wheat School: Tips for dealing with tough grain in a cold, wet harvest
The phone is ringing off the hook at PAMI. Some very difficult questions are being asked by farmers as a result of the late harvest and the cool, damp weather. There are no easy answers, of course, but luckily PAMI has done a lot of research over the years and although they can’t change the… Read more »
Canola School: Introduce yourself, start a conversation
Your thirty second elevator pitch: We are often told we should have one. For many of us it is hard for us to even stammer out who we are in 30 seconds, let alone talk about something intelligently. Afterwards, we often think we should have said more, but with fewer words. In this episode of… Read more »
Hope for better harvest weather rests with El Niño
Patience is in short supply for Western Canada’s farmers slogging through a tough harvest, but those waiting for a change in weather are just going to have to wait longer, according to Drew Lerner, of World Weather Inc. “The atmosphere is very unsettled right now,” Lerner says. “There is a lot of cold air coming… Read more »
Frustration mounts over long dry down of western Canadian crops
The 2018 harvest in Western Canada started early for many, given the hot, dry conditions earlier in the summer, but September has turned ugly — but in very different ways in different regions . While some are struggling with snow and wet conditions, still others are getting frustrated with a crop that was roaring to harvest,… Read more »
Value chain buy-in matters, but the future of ag policy needs farmers’ voices
When I first became involved with the Saskatchewan Canola Growers Association (SCGA), I did so because wanted to know what the hell was going on. I, like most of you I’m sure, was pretty tired of the state of things and wondered who was running the show. The first thing I found out was that,… Read more »
19,000 acre ranch and 1,000 cattle donated to Calgary’s Veterinary College
The University of Calgary just received one of the biggest donations in Canadian university history, to the tune of 19,000 acres. W A Ranches, just north of Cochrane, will now be known as W A Ranches at the University of Calgary following the donation of the working ranch by Jack Anderson, his daughter Wynne Chisholm,… Read more »
Trade minister says CPTPP will be among first things House debates
Federal Trade Diversification Minister Jim Carr was in Saskatoon last week for the federal Liberal caucus meeting. Carr and Mary Ng, Minister of Small Business and Export Promotion, took the opportunity to address the Saskatoon Chamber of Commerce in what was billed as a ‘fireside chat’. The discussion focussed mostly on the programs available to… Read more »