Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — The Alberta government said Tuesday it will support the creation of 5,000 megawatts of additional renewable energy capacity by 2030 to help achieve goals laid out in its climate plan last year. Shannon Phillips, Minister of Environment and Parks, said Alberta now has a firm target of 30 per cent of electricity used […] Read more
Alberta to back new renewable energy capacity
Saskatchewan farmers to launch ag retail chain
Reading Time: 2 minutes A Saskatchewan family farm and seed retailing operation is set to become the home base for a new chain of crop input and seed retail stores. Brad Hanmer, who farms and operates Hanmer Seeds at Govan, Sask., about 100 km north of Regina, on Wednesday announced the launch of SynergyAG, which plans to open four […] Read more
Combining begins in drier sections of Western Prairies
Reading Time: 2 minutes Commodity News Service Canada – Producers in southern Alberta have begun to combine some grain and pulses, according to a farm leader. “Down around Lethbridge and south of it, they had pretty decent moisture so they’ve got good crops. Guys are starting to combine winter wheat now and peas,” said Lynn Jacobsen, president of the Alberta […] Read more
Alberta sacks AFSC board over top brass’ expenses
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta’s government has dismissed the board of its farm financing and crop insurance agency following an internal probe into “expense and procurement practices” for senior executives. Three unnamed senior executives at Agriculture Financial Services Corp. (AFSC) have also been “relieved from active duty,” the province said in a release Monday. The province on Monday named […] Read more
Alberta rain good news for farmers, bad news for grasshoppers
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — After a dry spring, the rainfall across Alberta is a welcome change — unless you’re a grasshopper. “I’d hoped that over the weekend with the rain we had it would drown the little buggers out. When they’re small like that, they’re easily drowned if there’s water on the surface,” said crop specialist […] Read more
Alberta lifts off-roading ban
Reading Time: 2 minutes Citing an outbreak of “wet and cool weather” across parts of the province, reducing the overall fire hazard, the Alberta government has lifted most of its restrictions on off-highway vehicle (OHV) use. The province lifted its OHV ban for “much of the province” except for its forest areas around Lac La Biche and Fort McMurray, […] Read more
‘Severe’ grasshopper numbers loom over northern Alberta
Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada –– A mild winter and a warm, dry spring have created some favourable hatching conditions for grasshoppers in Alberta, with the possibility of a severe outbreak in some areas. According to Mark Cutts, a crop specialist with Alberta Agriculture in Stettler, higher numbers of grasshoppers lie in a region northwest of Edmonton. Beyond […] Read more
Farming uses exempt from Alberta off-roading ban
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta’s new provincewide ban on recreational use of off-highway vehicles (OHVs) in provincial parks and on other public lands won’t apply to their use in farm work. The provincial government announced the temporary OHV ban Friday as “another tool… to help prevent the spread of wildfires,” on top of Thursday’s provincewide fire ban and its […] Read more
Seeding underway in southern Alberta
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — Alberta farmers are in the early stages of seeding this year’s crop, with operations expected to become more widespread over the next few weeks. “Southern Alberta is the most advanced, and (farmers) have been plugging away for as long as two weeks in some areas,” said Mark Cutts, a crop specialist with […] Read more
Alberta to shut livestock, grain agencies in budget
Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta’s farmers will be spared the new fuel levy planned for next year in the province’s latest budget, but can expect a number of farm agencies to close in the meantime as the province moves to curb spending. Provincial Finance Minister Joe Ceci on Thursday announced a 2016-17 budget with projected revenue of $41.38 billion, […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
