Canadians’ ballot decisions in the Sept. 20 federal election will likely differ depending on what they care about. But since everyone eats and most of us try to manage a limited food budget, the most important electoral issue will likely be inflation. Or at least it should be. Everything is costing Canadians more, including food. […] Read more
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We must swallow our pride and roll up our sleeves
COVID-19 vaccination rates lag in rural areas and among farm families. I’ve tried to understand this vaccine hesitancy, but I find none of the lame brain arguments viable. “Oh, I’m not around many people and the infection rate has been low around here.” Lots of rural people have had COVID and the delta variant is […] Read more
Container crisis may run into 2022
A truck pulls up to a yard to pick up empty containers to ship Canadian soybeans to Asia. But the shipping company refuses to allow the trucker into the yard. It prefers to ship the containers back empty to Asia. Thousands of bushels of identity-preserved soybeans, in this real-life situation of the past year, stayed […] Read more
Solar power projects take big leap in Alberta
Municipalities told they can expect more than $100 million in tax revenue over the 35-year life of these energy projects
It’s been more than five years since the Green Acres Hutterite Colony near Bassano, Alta., powered up what was then the largest solar project in the country with its two-megawatt installation. Now, Vulcan County’s Travers Solar Project is set to trump Green Acres in power production with a 465-megawatt project set to start up next […] Read more
Portable synchrotron to assist plant imaging
The smaller machine can be brought into greenhouses and take pressure off the beam lines at the Canadian Light Source
The Global Institute for Food Security at the University of Saskatchewan is using synchrotron technology as a way to look more closely at plants. By capturing these images of the plants, they will be able to make crop breeding more efficient. The synchrotron that is being used is semi-portable, the first ever designed to be […] Read more
Deere raises a green flag over robotics company
Deere acquired Bear Flag Robotics, expanding the farm equipment company’s labour reduction technology platform
Farming is a game of timing, precision activities and work, in its most fundamental form. Important stuff has to get done on time and machines can be really good at that stuff, especially when there aren’t enough skilled people around. That is an over-simplified version of what San Francisco’s Bear Flag Robotics has been developing. […] Read more
Nitrogen stabilizers prevent three forms of loss
Volatilization, nitrification, and denitrification are looking to rob the farm in more ways than one
Earlier this year, Verdesian Life Sciences began to offer a new series of nitrogen stabilizers for row and specialty crops. Trident uses a combination of a co-polymer and solvent blend with active ingredients NBPT and DCD to protect against all three forms of nitrogen loss: volatilization, nitrification, and denitrification. “The co-polymer acts as an exchange […] Read more
Slaughter delays complicate drought
Minor livestock species such as bison and elk face long wait times that can be harder to manage during a feed shortage
Feed shortage problems facing cattle ranchers in Western Canada are shared by those raising other livestock. However, the troubles for those raising bison, elk and sheep are far from consistent. “We just don’t have a well-developed infrastructure in Canada,” said Les Kroeger, Canadian Bison Association chair. “We’re hearing of wait times of up to a […] Read more
Data sharing caution urged
Farmers need to ask themselves what they’re giving up in return for the benefits of downloading an app or sharing information with a company or online platform, says a vice-president of an online grain marketing network. “We need to push people to make sure their data is being used responsibly, so who are you sharing […] Read more
Rocky Mountain dry: Canada’s waning water supply sows division in farm belt
CROWSNEST PASS, Alberta, Sept 2 (Reuters) – Where fly fisherman Shane Olson once paddled summer tourists around in a boat, he now guides them by foot – carefully navigating shallow waters one step at a time. “Every year, these rivers seem to be getting smaller, faster,” Olson, 48, said, whipping a gleaming fishing line over […] Read more
