A SaskOrganics farm tour near Bangor, Sask., Aug. 4 was meant to promote rotational grazing, but the takeaway for many was how grazing can help replenish soil nutrients and organic matter. Garry Richards and Keith Buckingham led the tour to multiple fields to show progress toward improving soil on their farms and how they use […] Read more
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Young farmers flourish in northern Alberta
The average age of Mackenzie County farmers is 46.8, making it the youngest farmer population in Western Canada
FORT VERMILION, Alta. — Neil Simpson takes a break from welding a spray boom in the shop, deciding he’ll check on his horses and his small herd of cattle on nearby land. The 26-year-old farmer has his own home and two quarters of land near his parents in Fort Vermilion, and he plans to grow […] Read more
B.C. farm finds new challenges in Alberta
AIRDRIE, Alta. — When the Souto family set up a new farm on 27 acres near Airdrie, they soon learned they were not in British Columbia anymore. Plenty of wind, new weeds and a different farming style introduced them to foothills cultivation. “It is completely different from B.C. Everything we learned growing up was out […] Read more
Alberta farm raises produce for food banks
A decline in business prompted the initiative, and more than 31,000 pounds of root vegetables were delivered last year
WESTEROSE, Alta. — Steve and Nicky Breum’s 320-acre Gone Green Farms sits in a long lush valley in central Alberta not far from Pigeon Lake, one of the busiest recreation areas in the province. The couple raise livestock including Highland cattle, pigs, geese and ducks, but it’s their five acres of vegetable gardens that keep […] Read more
Eggs were just part of visiting the hen house
The stops that were made along the way were half the fun when heading out to gather eggs on Uncle Jim’s farm
I needed at least three baskets to gather eggs with Uncle Jim. It wasn’t that he kept such a large flock. Two dozen hens couldn’t possibly lay that many eggs, even if they were as pampered as Uncle Jim’s. And besides, hens lay only once a day. Whenever I paid a week’s visit to the […] Read more
General Mills wants farmers to reduce use of pesticides
UPDATED – August 26, 2019 1445 CST – This story has been updated with the addition of comments from John Wiebold, vice president, North American direct material sourcing at General Mills. “We are working to reduce the need for synthetic pesticides”: General Mills. Over the last five years, or so, General Mills has committed to […] Read more
French mayors ban glyphosate, defying government
RENNES, France, Aug 22 (Reuters) – Some 20 French mayors have banned glyphosate from their municipalities, defying the government, which is now taking legal action to impose national legislation which allows the controversial herbicide’s continued use for now. In 2017, President Emmanuel Macron had pledged to ban glyphosate in France within three years, rejecting a European Union […] Read more
Australia’s drought expected to persist in spring – weather bureau
MELBOURNE, (Reuters) – Australia’s spring is expected to be warmer and drier than average, following one of the driest winters on record, the country’s Bureau of Meteorology said on Thursday. The forecast provided little relief to Australia’s farmers, hit by a prolonged drought that has parched grain growing areas, as well as cattle and sheep […] Read more
USDA to probe beef market after Tyson plant fire
CHICAGO, (Reuters) – U.S. Agriculture Secretary Sonny Perdue ordered an investigation into widening prices between cattle and beef on Wednesday after a recent fire at a Tyson Foods Inc slaughterhouse in Holcomb, Kansas, shut the plant. Cattle prices have tanked because the fire temporarily eliminated a key buyer of livestock. Farmers have worried that meat packers […] Read more
Air channel networks can influence how leaves operate
Understanding how carbon dioxide moves through pores could help develop crops to adapt to climate change
Botanists have long known that plants breathe through tiny openings in leaves called stomata that take in carbon dioxide and release oxygen. But until now, it was never clear how these air channels form their intricate patterns in the right places to deliver a steady flow of CO2 to every plant cell. In a new […] Read more
