Country still isn’t buying agricultural commodities from Canada due to a diplomatic spat, but barley sector has moved on
Saudi Arabia imports about six to seven million tonnes of barley every year. That makes it the world’s number one importer or number two importer of barley behind China, depending on the year. In the summer of 2018, Canadian sales of barley, wheat, forage and other agricultural commodities to Saudi Arabia came to a crashing […] Read moreNews
Program to protect farms, workers from virus
The Emergency On-Farm Support Fund will help improve living quarters, create temporary housing and purchase PPE
Applications are now open for a federally administered $35 million Emergency On-Farm Support Fund. Aimed at lessening the impact of COVID-19 on farms and employee living quarters, the fund is being managed by Agriculture Canada, but cost-shared with producers 50-50. Money is coming from a $58.6 million fund announced by Ottawa in July focused on […] Read more
Ag society takes steps to survive COVID-19 crisis
Regional exhibitions and agricultural societies across the Prairies continue to struggle financially as events are cancelled because of the pandemic. The Lloydminster Agricultural Exhibition Association is among them but the board, staff and community have taken steps to keep the venue afloat while continuing to hope for more government support. Last week it launched the […] Read more
Stockade Roundup cattle show plans to continue with live event
Lloydminster’s annual Stockade Roundup could be the only livestock show held on the Prairies this year. The event is going ahead, albeit with a slightly different appearance to accommodate pandemic-related health protocols. Jenelle Saskiw, executive director of the Lloydminster Agricultural Exhibition Association, said there will be more cattle but fewer people at the Nov. 4-7 […] Read more
Broadband top Sask. election issue: SARM
Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities says rural voters are also focused on road infrastructure and carbon tax
Improved broadband service tops the list for many rural voters as they assess party promises during the Saskatchewan election campaign. Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities president Ray Orb said rural residents have long been promised better internet and cellular phone service by both federal and provincial governments. “It’s very slow to come to fruition, that’s […] Read more
Feds target irrigation in new program
Saskatchewan’s proposed irrigation plan will benefit from a $10 billion Canada Infrastructure Bank program announced Oct. 1. The CIB intends to spend $1.5 billion for agriculture infrastructure. According to a backgrounder issued with the federal government’s news release, that includes “transformative irrigation infrastructure” in Western Canada. “The benefits of this new initiative include the addition […] Read more
Indigenous college to be rebuilt after fire
Red Crow Community College will rise again in coming years through $48 million in funds contributed by the federal government, Kainai and the college itself. The previous building in Standoff, Alta., burned down in 2015 but on Oct. 8 the provincial and federal governments announced construction of a new 9,888 sq. metre campus in southern […] Read more
Project digs deep to understand soil health
Research and forage associations will follow specific protocols to take samples from 20 locations a year for five years
CAMROSE, Alta. — A small laboratory in central Alberta, cobbled together through donations and determination, may help farmers improve crop yields through soil samples. Yamily Zavala, soil health and crop management specialist with the Chinook Applied Research Association in Oyen, is leading a study to understand and improve soil health across Alberta. “Our goal is […] Read more
Quebec dominates growth in organic sector
Organic acreage in the province increased 65 percent between 2017 and 2019, jumping to 570,000 acres from 314,000
The number of organic farmers and acreage may be flattening in Canada, but not in Quebec. Growth is way up in Quebec, as the province continues to add growers and land that is organically certified. Data from L’Union des producteurs agricoles (UPA) shows that acreage went from 178,980 in 2017 to 243,168 in 2019, a […] Read more
Young family turns old barn into new home
The ambitious project required years of planning, designing, permits, cleaning and work on weekends between day jobs
ONOWAY, Alta. — If Katie Hartfeil and Adam Turnbull’s three children are ever asked the etiquette question, “were you raised in a barn,” they can truthfully answer, yes. For almost 10 years, the family transformed the eight-stall hip-roofed horse barn, built in 1928, on the family farm, into their home. “They were wandering around here […] Read more
