Trade mission planned for South America
Alberta Agriculture is co-ordinating a trade mission to Bogota, Colombia, and Lima, Peru, in August for Alberta exporters of grains and pulses, agricultural inputs, equipment, machinery and related technologies.
The mission will include market briefings, a business-to-business meeting program to connect with potential buyers, and attendance at Expo AgroFuturo in Bogota, a trade show for producers and marketers of agricultural products and services.
The deadline to apply is July 13.
For more information, contact Meghan Horosko, trade development officer, at 780-422-7195.
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Farming Smarter near Lethbridge got a boost to its research equipment, thanks to the Alberta government’s increase in funding for research associations.
Farm programs take applications
Applications are now being accepted for Agriculture and Food Sustainability Assurance Initiatives, Public Agriculture Literacy and Youth Agriculture Literacy.
Creating and maintaining public trust are the goals of the three programs under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.
Assurance initiatives helps the public learn more about industry practices and standards, as well as allow farmers and food companies to demonstrate the quality, safety and sustainability of their products.
The Public Agriculture Literacy program supports initiatives to help build communication tools that will give Albertans information about agriculture and the food production system.
Youth Agriculture Education helps develop and deliver agriculture education programs that are science-based, topic-driven and curricular-linked. It will promote critical thinking and informed conversations about issues that affect public trust in agriculture.
For more information, visit cap.alberta.ca.
Pulse storage research conducted
Researchers at the Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute are collaborating with Alberta Pulse Growers to help Alberta growers better manage stored pulse crops.
Besides grain aeration and natural air drying, airflow rates required to achieve desired cooling and drying rates have not been extensively evaluated, specifically for storing peas and lentils.
As pulse production increases, it is important to understand how grain temperature, moisture content, resistance to airflow and seed quality characteristics are measured to better define airflow rates and fan running times for optimum storage practices.
The type of research information that will be shared in upcoming releases and webinar events includes ideal storage conditions for pulses, effect of airflow rate on drying rate, fan size selection, use and economic benefits of supplemental heating, big bin considerations, technologies for monitoring grain during storage and the pros and cons of fan control systems.
Funding to help boost forage exports
The Canadian Forage and Grasslands Association is receiving $98,950 in federal funding to increase export capacity and strengthen awareness of Canadian forage products to new and emerging markets.
It has developed export readiness training for its members and strategies for emerging markets, in addition to participating in international trade expos in the United States.
A further $16,000 was provided to hire a student intern under the Agricultural Youth Green Jobs Initiative, which has created 591 youth jobs on the farm and with organizations engaged in the agriculture sector.
The initiative helps farmers integrate environmentally beneficial management practices into their crop planning.
