Book’s authors hope farmers will take measures to minimize risk by understanding their vulnerability to drought
A 50-year-long drought may not be as crazy as some people think. According to a new book, it actually happened on the Prairies and not that long ago. And that’s not all. The book, titled Vulnerability and Adaptation to Drought, suggests that droughts will become longer and more severe on the Prairies in the future. […] Read moreNews
Decades-long droughts possible on Prairies
From zero to 5,400 acres in five years
Darryl Klassen’s fortunes have changed dramatically since he arrived in Kindersley, Sask., in 2012 to drive a semi-truck for an oilfield trucking company. Klassen had been farming with his brother in Austin, Man., but he was uncertain about his future at the farm. “The brother I was farming with, he had two young boys that […] Read more
Sask. cattle deaths blamed on bad water
Cattle producers are urged to test livestock water sources after tests confirmed that exceedingly high sulfate and total dissolved solid levels led to the deaths of more than 200 head in a pasture near Shamrock, Sask. Reports received last week indicate water quality throughout southwestern Saskatchewan is worse than many suspected, said chief veterinary officer […] Read more
Clubroot spreads as new pathogens develop
Increasingly harmful strains have been identified in Western Canada and so planting canola resistant varieties is advised
OLDS, Alta. — Keeping ahead of clubroot may seem impossible, considering that 200,000 spores can piggyback on a gram of dust. The disease was first detected in four fields in 2003 and the latest report shows more than 2,440 infected fields in central Alberta. Rather than planting canola in the same field every year, farmers […] Read more
Year of Pulses smashing success
Vancouver — One of the main objectives of International Year of Pulses 2016 was to increase consumption of the crops in North America, and that has happened in a big way. Based on an analysis of U.S. Department of Agriculture stocks data, domestic consumption of pulses in the United States will reach 900,000 tonnes in […] Read more
Brewery competes on unique flavour
LACOMBE, Alta. — With the stunning rise in craft breweries, some companies have unique approaches to stay ahead of the competition. For Blindman Brewery at Lac-ombe, the idea of crowd funding helped the operation get enough money to import foeders from France. A foeder, pronounced food-er, is a large oak vat used to age wine. […] Read more
Causes of new PED spread in Manitoba remain a mystery
Hog producers, barn managers, employees and veterinarians in southeastern Manitoba have now been battling porcine epidemic diarrhea virus for more than two months. There were signs in early July that the epidemic was peaking, at around 50 confirmed cases, but a new case was discovered July 12. However, industry leaders remain hopeful that the epidemic […] Read more
Most crop futures up on Midwest heat
Traders’ attention was fixated on weather outlooks on Thursday with heat in the Midwest lifting soybeans and corn. That helped canola close up, but off the highs set in the morning. November canola closed up $2.90 or 0.57 percent at $510.40 per tonne. The rising loonie, which traded near US79.5 cents, limited gains. CLICK HERE […] Read more
Data gathering boosts swine efficiency
Daniel Roelands had little confidence in the accuracy of the numbers on his metered feed mill when it came to measuring swine feed volumes. So last year he and his family — he farms with his wife and parents near London, Ont. — replaced the mill with a new computerized one that works on weight […] Read more
Swine nutrition experiences decade of advances
Changes in swine nutrition over the past two decades have been sweeping, and the namesake for the London Swine Conference’s new CFM de Lange Lecture in Pig Nutrition played a pivotal role. “Kees (de Lange) was certainly a pillar in the swine nutrition community,” Mike Tokach, a Kansas State University animal sciences and industry professor, […] Read more
