Now in its third year, the Alberta Wheat and Alberta Barley Plot2Farm program is turning out some excellent data regarding questions on nitrogen management, the timing of plant growth regulators, and seeding rates. Jeremy Boychyn, agronomy research extension agronomist with the commissions, says the field-scale, on-farm research program provides producers with the framework to implement… Read More
Tag: Alberta Barley Commission
Alberta farmers who submit a levy to the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) and the Alberta Barley Commission (ABC) have voted in favour of amalgamating the commissions, based on the preliminary results of two plebiscites that were conducted over the month of October. 89 per cent of the ballots cast through the Alberta Barley plebiscite and… Read More
Wheat and barley growers in Alberta only have a few days left to vote on whether they want to see Alberta Barley and the Alberta Wheat Commission amalgamate into a single organization. Farmers who paid a levy on wheat or barley sales between January 2020 and April 2022 should have received a voting PIN in… Read More
Alberta farmers who pay a levy to the Alberta Barley Commission or the Alberta Wheat Commission will have the opportunity to vote on amalgamating the two organizations in October. The Alberta Agricultural Products Marketing Council, working with third-party advisor MNP and the two commissions, will be administering two online plebiscites: one for barley growers, and… Read More
Several organizations that represent grain farmers from across Canada are raising concerns about the federal government’s push to add environmental incentives or criteria to business risk management (BRM) programs, such as crop insurance, AgriStability, or AgriInvest. As part of the negotiations for Canada’s next five-year agricultural policy framework, federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau is urging… Read More
The Alberta Wheat and Barley Commissions are launching a consultation on amalgamating to form a single commission. The Commissions will be soliciting farmers’ opinions beginning in July with an online survey, followed by virtual town hall events after harvest in October, and further dialogue and sessions during regional meetings in November. The commissions have been… Read More
Alberta Agriculture and Forestry’s field crop development centre is changing its location, and how its research is conducted. Now to be housed at Olds College — through an initial $10.5 million grant over three years, funded through Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) — the barley breeding program will continue to develop and introduce new varieties… Read More
During the annual CropSphere conference held at Saskatoon, Sask., Prairie barley commissions announced the formation of the Canadian Barley Research Coalition (CBRC). The national not-for-profit organization will facilitate long-term investments aimed at improving profitability and competitiveness for Western Canadian barley farmers, according to a news release. The CBRC is made up of the Saskatchewan Barley… Read More
There is constant talk about farmer-led commodity groups joining together to increase efficiencies. The farm groups in Manitoba are working on it, the Grain Farmers of Ontario have done something about it, and now so have the commissions for Alberta Barley (ABC) and Alberta Wheat (AWC). Alberta Barley has been hosting the Barley Summit in… Read More
In a quest to create more export opportunities to Asia for Alberta oil, the Alberta government is asking the federal government to get involved, suggesting the feds invest in oil tanker cars and locomotives. It’s estimated the Canadian economy is losing $40 million per day due to heavily discounted product entering the United States. But… Read More
Growing a crop is not easy with all of the variables and factors impacting your decisions made and results achieved. If only we could make all agronomic decisions with hindsight, it would allow us to be way more effective agronomists and farmers. This year has brought its own challenges across Canada that have proven to… Read More
Having shared office space and administrative staff since 2013, the Alberta Wheat Commission and Alberta Barley Commission are moving ahead under shared management. “This is a next logical step in our relationship,” explains Tom Steve, general manager of Alberta Wheat, and now, Alberta Barley. The move to shared management, which was announced at FarmTech in… Read More
Barley grower organizations from the three prairie provinces and the Western Grains Research Foundation are investing $2.4 million over the next five years in the barley variety development program at the University of Saskatchewan’s Crop Development Centre. The funding from Alberta Barley, the Saskatchewan Barley Development Commission, the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association and… Read More
The Alberta Barley Commission’s new general manager comes with experience in the crop input and grain handling sectors. Rob Davies, the former CEO of Weyburn Inland Terminal, has been hired as the commission’s new GM following Lisa Skierka’s departure earlier this year. “Having spent my entire career working in agriculture across Western Canada, I am very… Read More
Barley water, anyone? While most Canadians associate eating barley as beef and barley soup, this ancient grain is actually much more flexible than that. In some countries, barley is already considered a premium ingredient, thanks to verified health claims, and is consumed as a drink or in noodles and baking, says Linda Whitworth, market development… Read More