File photo of a desk in Canada’s Senate. (Dougall_Photography/iStock/Getty Images)

Opposition accuses feds of ‘playing games’ on Bill C-234 

Conservative shadow minister says new Liberal senators set bill up for failure

Reading Time: 3 minutes The Conservative shadow minister for Agriculture, Agri-Food and Food Security has accused the Liberal government of “playing games” with a bill that would grant Canadian farmers a carbon price exemption for natural gas and propane used for barn heating and grain drying.

 Photo: iStock/Getty Images

Equipment sales expected to soften in 2024

Interest rates, equipment prices and commodity prices will all play a role, says FCC

Reading Time: 2 minutes According to FCC's 2024 outlook for the Canadian farm equipment market, new sales are projected to be softer in 2024 based on three factors: higher interest rates, elevated equipment prices and a decline in commodity prices.


The constant input of farmers has been key to the program, which recently finished its third cohort of attendees.

Training fills the gaps between agriculture and technology

Program aims to match tech specialists with farmers and industry employers

Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Say there’s trouble with the automated GIS and mapping features on the tractor, but you can’t find a tech with enough knowledge to offer help. It’s a simple example of the kind of employment gaps that keep farmers up at night, and that prevent their adoption of new technology, said the manager of an […] Read more

University of Saskatchewan student and longtime 4-Her Kadence Johnson has discovered the Next Step Club, a 4-H club for post-secondary students wishing to learn adult skills. (Alberta Farmer photos by Jeff Melchior)

At Ag in Motion: 4-H’ers get bigger-picture view of ag industry

Saskatchewan teens have fun at leading ag show

Reading Time: 3 minutes Whether they were there to learn about leadership, careers in agriculture or just hang out with friends, some happy young people from Saskatchewan 4-H came out in force to Ag in Motion on Wednesday. Shelby Longworth, the provincial programs manager for 4-H Saskatchewan, said the group of older teens wanted to attend for a diverse […] Read more


Regan Ferguson tells of her experience using data on the farm near Melfort at Ag In Motion. (Jeff Melchior photo)

At Ag in Motion: Find a purpose, then buy tech, Prairie grower says

No matter how cutting-edge, digital ag needs to be a fit on your farm

Reading Time: 2 minutes Investing in digital agriculture can be a daunting experience. A producer’s best bet, one northeastern Saskatchewan farmer says, is to do your homework and find a purpose for it on your farm. “You have got to have the root purpose of why you got that technology. Either that or you talk to others to help […] Read more

File photo of a potato field in Alberta’s Lacombe County. (COrthner/iStock/Getty Images)

Alberta potatoes chip in $2.9 billion for Canadian economy

New report verifies what many in industry suspected

Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta’s potato industry is making a big impact — not just on that province but the entire country. A new report — dubbed a “landmark study” by the Potato Growers of Alberta — revealed the sector drove a total contribution of $2.87 billion to Canada’s economy in 2022. It also notes the nationwide creation of […] Read more


yellow canola flowers

Canola crush plants seeing big-time profits

High crush margins mean demand should stay strong, but premiums for growers are scarce

Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Canola crush profits are high, but that’s no reason for growers to break out the champagne, say Alberta producers. Crush plants are riding a wave of demand and processed about 794,000 tonnes of seed in September, the most in a year. And with crush margins well above $200 per tonne for futures contracts (more […] Read more

CDC Austenson (centre), seen here in a yield trial, bested or equalled the malt barleys in every site-year regardless of N rate or PGR treatment.

Feed barley yields from malt varieties?

An Alberta project compares how both types benefit from high N and PGRs

Reading Time: 5 minutes It’s a disappointment when barley intended for the malt house winds up in the feed market because it doesn’t meet maltsters’ strict specifications. It’s why many growers have given up on barley altogether — malt premiums are hard to attain while feed barley yields don’t offer the revenue of competing crops. But some researchers have […] Read more


RWOAC chair Eric Johnson wants to work with farmers to find out their ideas for managing resistant wild oats.

A new plan of attack for resistant wild oats

With more wild oats showing resistance to Group 8 herbicides, this action committee is going on the offence

Reading Time: 5 minutes In the 1970s, the Wild Oat Action Committee was formed to encourage farmers to control the pesky weed, especially with herbicides. Now a new version is back, but with an ironic twist — the herbicides aren’t working. A recent Prairie-wide study reveals 69 per cent of tested wild oats proved resistant to some modes of […] Read more

Southern Alberta seed grower Greg Stamp in a field of KWS Daniello, a hybrid fall rye variety noted for its high resistance to ergot.

Rye sees a resurgence

New high-yielding hybrids with better ergot resistance are finding a home in the pasture and feedlot

Reading Time: 6 minutes Rye — arguably the runt of the litter among Prairie grains in recent decades — has staged something of a comeback. But this isn’t your granddaddy’s rye. Since 2016, rye’s acreage across the Prairies has been on a steady climb. Statistics Canada pegs last fall’s seedings at 352,500 acres, up from 225,000 four years ago, […] Read more