Alberta’s provincial grasshopper forecast map for 2016. Maximum risk ratings for June-July range from “very light” (green) to “severe” (red). (Stephen Ausmus photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

‘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

A member of Wildfire Management Alberta’s Wild Mountain Unit pulls hose through smouldering forest in the Parsons Creek area of Fort McMurray on May 5. (Chris Schwarz photo courtesy Government of Alberta via Flickr)

Glacier pledges support for wildfire disaster relief

Reading Time: 2 minutes Farm Business Communications’ parent company, Glacier Media, is donating $50,000 toward the Canadian Red Cross’ disaster relief efforts in the Fort McMurray area. The Vancouver company said its donation is also on behalf of individual Glacier business units, which will undertake their own awareness and fundraising efforts to help the city and its residents rebuild […] Read more


(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Ottawa seeks feedback ahead of Growing Forward sequel

Reading Time: 2 minutes The federal government has set up a new web-based questionnaire to gather farmer and industry feedback on the Growing Forward 2 (GF2) ag policy funding framework as it develops the next framework. The next agricultural policy funding framework is due to launch April 1, 2018, the government said in a release Monday. The first phase […] Read more

Canola at the cotyledon stage. (Photo courtesy Canola Council of Canada)

Canola to get early test as Prairies brace for frost

Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — Overnight lows of -2 or -3 C are expected across much of Saskatchewan by Wednesday or Thursday, according to Environment Canada forecasts. The colder temperatures are expected to make their way into Manitoba by Friday. That could put some stress on canola plants that have already emerged, according to industry watchers. “As […] Read more


(AOHVA.com)

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



Green peas. (PulseCanada.com)

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

Floods cause deaths, block food aid in drought-hit Ethiopia

Reading Time: 2 minutes Nairobi | Thomson Reuters Foundation — Flash floods in drought-stricken parts of Ethiopia have killed people and livestock and are blocking food aid deliveries to hungry communities, a charity said. Ethiopians have been waiting for the spring rains to replenish water sources and to plant crops after the most severe drought in decades pushed more […] Read more


Record-low summerfallow expected

Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — Changing farm practices and moving world markets over the years have seen shifts in the makeup of the crops grown in Canada — but the most noticeable change in the past three decades may be the amount of land seeded to nothing. Heading into the 2016 growing season, Canadian farmers say they […] Read more

(UCCS.ucdavis.edu)

California communities beg for relief from drought restrictions

Reading Time: 2 minutes Sacramento | Reuters — California communities where a wet winter has filled reservoirs and begun ameliorating the state’s catastrophic four-year drought begged water regulators on Wednesday to reduce or eliminate emergency conservation measures imposed last year. Facing pushback from aggravated consumers under the ongoing rules, water utilities say they will have little credibility asking for […] Read more


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