There was plenty of warning but that didn’t ease the shock for about 135 Alberta Agriculture employees who got notice last week of pending job loss. The recent cuts were phase one of a two-phase “workforce transformation” that will see the provincial government eliminate 247 union positions in agriculture and forestry, with the second phase […] Read more
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Alberta has adequate water supplies to grow: panel
One member of a recent discussion says the environment will suffer if water use in the province expands too much
The question is apt: does Alberta have enough water to grow? The University of Calgary’s School of Public Policy put that question to a three-member panel Oct. 20. Two said the answer is yes. The third said maybe but there will be trade-offs. Earlier this month the federal and provincial governments announced an $815 million […] Read more
Alta. sugar beet producers have bumper year
A bountiful crop is especially welcome given disastrous weather last fall that resulted in half the beet crop unharvested
Southern Alberta sugar beet growers are harvesting one of the best crops of the last five years. Farmer reports indicate yields of 28 to 29 tonnes per acre, well above the average of 26 tonnes, and sugar content of more than the average 20 percent, said Alberta Sugar Beet Growers president Gary Tokariuk. “It’s a […] Read more
Slaughter backlog slow to disappear
American processors are having an easier time because producers placed fewer cattle in feedlots in March and April
The backlog of slaughter cattle that developed when many North American packing plants slowed or shut down in early days of the COVID-19 pandemic might be gone by December in the United States. In Canada, it might take a little longer. In a fourth quarter update organized online by meat and livestock analysts J.S. Ferraro, […] Read more
Producers donate cattle to college program
Olds College’s Technology Access Centre for Livestock Production will use the 10 Red Angus heifers for feed research
Old College has gone into the red — Red Angus, that is. Last week 10 Red Angus heifers stepped off the truck and onto Olds College property and entered a research project on residual feed intake and feed efficiency at the college’s Technology Access Centre (TAC) for Livestock Production. Ten Red Angus producers from Western […] Read more
New technology to change feedlots
Technology is already hard at work in the Canadian cattle feeding industry but there is potential for far more, says a global leader in feedlot management. Dr. Kee Jim, founder of Feedlot Health Management Services, said technology can lead the way to improved sick animal detection, enhanced use of ultrasound and better practical management aspects […] Read more
Alta. research agency looks for proposals
Results Driven Agriculture Research chair Dr. David Chalack made good on an earlier promise last week by announcing the initial call for research proposals to the new entity. RDAR plans to allocate $4 million in its call and has targeted four priorities: soil health and quality; water quality and efficiency; feed production; and plant and […] Read more
Alta. gives agriculture research a makeover
Government provides funding as its moves work and staff to colleges and universities that have agriculture departments
A flurry of funding announcements last week and early this week left no doubt about the direction of agricultural research in Alberta. The provincial government is getting out of the research business, shifting its work and some of its staff to colleges and universities that have agricultural programs. The department’s Field Crop Development Centre operating […] Read more
Alberta agency sets priorities for agricultural research
Productivity, profitability and competitiveness top the list of priorities for future agricultural research in Alberta. Last week, the Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR) entity released its list of four focus areas for research that were determined through consultation with producers, industry, academia and applied research organizations. The other three are: sustainable and responsible agriculture; market […] Read more
FCL opens new fertilizer terminal in Alberta
The terminal near Grassy Lake is the third such facility opened by Federated Co-operatives Ltd. in the last three years
GRASSY LAKE, Alta. — Speed and volume are key points of emphasis at the new fertilizer terminal that officially opened Oct. 6 in southern Alberta. The Federated Co-operatives Ltd. facility is the third it has opened within the last three years. The new terminal between Purple Springs and Grassy Lake, Alta., along Highway 3, can […] Read more
