NISKU, Alta. – Swath grazing is great when it works, but it doesn’t always work well, an Alberta Beef Producer animal health and welfare manager told producers during a forage update. Last winter, the Alberta SPCA investigated 13 cases of cattle in distress, all on winter or pasture grazing, said Reynold Bergen. “Last year there […] Read more
Stories by Mary MacArthur
Change both challenging, rewarding
EDMONTON – The key to farming together as a family is working for the greater good rather than concentrating on individuals, says an Alberta farmer who works with his father and brother. Working on a family farm is not easy, Kevin Bender told a session called Management Tips From Leading Edge Farmers held during FarmTech […] Read more
Producer recommends on-farm input research
EDMONTON – Results from trials conducted by seed, herbicide and fertilizer companies may look good on paper, but that doesn’t mean they will translate well on the farm. With fewer government resources available for independent agricultural tests, a farmer promoting the benefits of on-farm research says it’s up to producers to do their own work. […] Read more
Trial looks at phosphorus on peas
EDMONTON – An on-farm research trial has found that adding phosphorus to peas creates more nodules and vigorous looking plants but doesn’t affect yields. Roger Andreiuk, an agronomist with Reduced Tillage Linkages, says field peas yielded 58.3 bushels per acre when no phosphorus was added and 56.6 to 59.7 bu. per acre when 25 to […] Read more
Alta. farmers feel ignored by politicians
EDMONTON – In the two weeks leading up to the election call, the Alberta government doled out money faster than a 10-inch auger. Money was given to seniors’ housing projects, to rural school upgrades, to arts centres and to hospitals. More than $1.8 billion was pledged, reannounced, and promised to provincial organizations. But agriculture was […] Read more
Water worries key rural issue
PONOKA, Alta. – Every morning before breakfast, Shawn and Ronalie Campbell check their e-mail for updates on their ongoing fight with the Alberta government and the oil industry over their contaminated water well. Since the Ponoka couple went public last May about their contaminated water, they’ve had phone calls and messages from across the country […] Read more
Stelmach calls early March election in Alberta
It may have been the worst kept secret in Alberta. Voters go to the polls March 3. Nobody was surprised when Alberta premier Ed Stelmach called an election shortly after the Feb. 4 speech from the throne. Stelmach is looking for the 11th majority Progressive Conservative government since the party swept to power 37 years […] Read more
Alberta crop insurance will ignore the Joneses
Farmers no longer need to worry about their neighbour’s crop when buying their own crop insurance. Beginning in 2008, Alberta farmers will receive insurance based on their own crop history, said Tom Crozier, a senior manager with Agriculture Financial Services Corp., the provincial crown corporation that administers crop insurance in Alberta. Before, a farmer’s coverage […] Read more
New rotation boosts yields
LETHBRIDGE – Researchers have been able to significantly increase potato yields by using an irrigated sustainable rotational program instead of conventional cropping systems. Frank Larney, a researcher with Agriculture Canada, told farmers attending a recent Irrigated Crop Production conference in Lethbridge that a trend toward better performance in sustainable versus conventional rotations is starting to […] Read more
Zone tillage controls erosion
LETHBRIDGE – Watching topsoil blow off southern Alberta sugar beet fields was the inspiration behind a new tillage machine. Wayne Veenstra of Taber, Alta., turned an old cultivator into a 44 foot zone tillage machine to help protect tiny seedlings battered by southern Alberta’s strong wind. Some years farmers need to reseed hundreds of acres […] Read more
