Agriculture

In 2022, quality for canola, as pictured, was above the five-year average. (Photo by Michaela Ludwig)

Harvest results in above-average yields

Alberta’s crop producers continue to show resiliency despite dry growing conditions and the rising costs of farm inputs

 

Mackenzie Skeels. (Photo submitted)

Rimbey Rodeo royalty competing for Miss Rodeo Canada

There is a 66 per cent chance of the Miss Rodeo Canada…

 

Jennifer and Art Snoek are the new owners of Sylvan Star Cheese Farm. Art is a 6th generation cheesemaker who grew up in the city of Gouda in the Netherlands.

When the weather gets cooler, it’s time to say ‘Cheese Please’ at Sylvan Star Cheese

The goodness of gouda is a great way to help take the chill away from a cool day

  • Sep 26, 2022

 

A county of Wetaskiwin Farmer beats the heat with an umbrella rigged up to a tractor as he takes to the fields. Photo by Shaela Dansereau/Black Press)

Recent weather tough on central Alberta farmers

The recent string of weather across central Alberta has affected some farmers…

A county of Wetaskiwin Farmer beats the heat with an umbrella rigged up to a tractor as he takes to the fields. Photo by Shaela Dansereau/Black Press)
A drop of maple water drips out of a spile from a tree that was just tapped at the Vanier Museopark sugar bush in Ottawa on Saturday, March 13, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang

Maple syrup producers see climate change as a threat to industry’s future

Syrup producers are recording declining yields due to increasing global temperatures

A drop of maple water drips out of a spile from a tree that was just tapped at the Vanier Museopark sugar bush in Ottawa on Saturday, March 13, 2021. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Justin Tang
Due to the rising costs of fuel and fertilizer farmers like Tara Sawyer, pictured at her family’s farm near Acme, Alta., Tuesday, May 17, 2022, say this will be the most expensive crop in Canadian history. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Stakes are high for farmers as 2022 crop shapes up to be Canada’s most expensive ever

Costs surge due to inflationary pressures, spiking energy costs, and the war in Ukraine

Due to the rising costs of fuel and fertilizer farmers like Tara Sawyer, pictured at her family’s farm near Acme, Alta., Tuesday, May 17, 2022, say this will be the most expensive crop in Canadian history. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh
A farmer sorts through eggs as they exit the hen barn at an egg farm in West Lincoln, Ont., on Monday, March 7, 2016. Canadian poultry and egg producers have now lost more than 1.7 million birds to a highly contagious strain of avian influenza. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter Power

Canadian farmers battle avian flu as bird death toll hits 1.7 million

Alberta is the hardest hit province, with 900,000 birds dead and 23 farms affected

A farmer sorts through eggs as they exit the hen barn at an egg farm in West Lincoln, Ont., on Monday, March 7, 2016. Canadian poultry and egg producers have now lost more than 1.7 million birds to a highly contagious strain of avian influenza. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Peter Power
A chicken looks in the barn at Honey Brook Farm in Schuylkill Haven, Pa., on Monday, April 18, 2022. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says bird flu has been found in three more communities in Alberta. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lindsey Shuey-Republican-Herald via AP

Avian flu confirmed in 3 more Alberta communities: Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Cases confirmed in Two Hills, Wainwright and Lethbridge County

A chicken looks in the barn at Honey Brook Farm in Schuylkill Haven, Pa., on Monday, April 18, 2022. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says bird flu has been found in three more communities in Alberta. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Lindsey Shuey-Republican-Herald via AP
Don Davidson pictured at Pigeon Lake Alta, on Sunday May 1, 2022. 2022. Thousands of Alberta cottagers and homeowners are waiting nervously to see if a provincial regulator will allow a large feedlot to be developed near the popular and environmentally fragile recreational lake. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson

Proposed cattle feedlot threatens popular but fragile Alberta lake, residents say

G&S Cattle of Ponoka, Alta., wants to pen 4,000 cattle about four kilometres west of Pigeon Lake

Don Davidson pictured at Pigeon Lake Alta, on Sunday May 1, 2022. 2022. Thousands of Alberta cottagers and homeowners are waiting nervously to see if a provincial regulator will allow a large feedlot to be developed near the popular and environmentally fragile recreational lake. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jason Franson
Duck breeders load ducks into a truck to bring them to a slaughterhouse at a poultry farm in Saint Aubin, southwestern France, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017. France’s agriculture ministry had ordered all remaining 360,000 ducks in a key poultry-producing region slaughtered to try to stem a growing outbreak of bird flu. (AP Photo/Bob Edme)

Avian flu: Quebec duck farm says it has to kill 150,000 birds, lay off 300 staff

Company says it could take a year and several million dollars to fully restore operations

Duck breeders load ducks into a truck to bring them to a slaughterhouse at a poultry farm in Saint Aubin, southwestern France, Wednesday, Feb. 22, 2017. France’s agriculture ministry had ordered all remaining 360,000 ducks in a key poultry-producing region slaughtered to try to stem a growing outbreak of bird flu. (AP Photo/Bob Edme)
Chickens are seen at a chicken farm that was flooded but now getting back up and running in Abbotsford, B.C., Friday, Dec. 10, 2021. Poultry farmers in British Columbia are under pressure to protect their flocks as a highly contagious strain of avian flu sweeps over North America. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

B.C. poultry farmers uniquely equipped to respond to possible avian flu

578 poultry farms in B.C., about 80 per cent of those are located in the Fraser Valley

Chickens are seen at a chicken farm that was flooded but now getting back up and running in Abbotsford, B.C., Friday, Dec. 10, 2021. Poultry farmers in British Columbia are under pressure to protect their flocks as a highly contagious strain of avian flu sweeps over North America. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
B.C. cherry farmers and other fruit growers have been challenged by weather patterns. (pixabay photo)

Cherry farmers worried by unseasonably cold temperatures in British Columbia

Helicopters being used to push much-needed warm air over crops

B.C. cherry farmers and other fruit growers have been challenged by weather patterns. (pixabay photo)
This July 6, 2016, file photo shows egg cartons displayed on a shelf at a market in San Francisco. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada says the food industry is making adjustments to maintain supplies of poultry and eggs in the face of a large outbreak of avian flu in Canada and around the world.THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Jeff Chiu, File

Food industry adjusting to large outbreak of avian flu in Canada, around the world

About 260,000 birds have been euthanized or killed by the virus in Canada, a majority in Alberta

This July 6, 2016, file photo shows egg cartons displayed on a shelf at a market in San Francisco. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada says the food industry is making adjustments to maintain supplies of poultry and eggs in the face of a large outbreak of avian flu in Canada and around the world.THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP/Jeff Chiu, File
A mink sniffs the air as he surveys the river beach in search of food, in a meadow near the village of Khatenchitsy, Belarus, northwest of Minsk, Sept. 4, 2015. A B.C. Supreme Court justice denied a request by mink farmers for interim relief that would allow them to breed the animals while their court case against the province proceeds. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Sergei Grits

B.C. court denies interim request by mink farmers ahead of their COVID-19 challenge

Judge rules province was acting in the public’s best interest in phasing out the farms

A mink sniffs the air as he surveys the river beach in search of food, in a meadow near the village of Khatenchitsy, Belarus, northwest of Minsk, Sept. 4, 2015. A B.C. Supreme Court justice denied a request by mink farmers for interim relief that would allow them to breed the animals while their court case against the province proceeds. THE CANADIAN PRESS/AP-Sergei Grits
Saskatchewan poultry farmers have been put on alert after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed the H5 strain of avian influenza was detected there in a wild snow goose. Canadian Press photo

Poultry farmers asked to keep birds indoors after avian flu reported in Saskatchewan

Small flocks are considered high-risk for highly pathogenic avian influenza

Saskatchewan poultry farmers have been put on alert after the Canadian Food Inspection Agency confirmed the H5 strain of avian influenza was detected there in a wild snow goose. Canadian Press photo
Chickens are shown at an egg-laying chicken farm in Amritsar, India on April 17, 2018. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says bird flu has been found in Alberta poultry flocks and there are new cases in Ontario. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Aleksandra Sagan
Chickens are shown at an egg-laying chicken farm in Amritsar, India on April 17, 2018. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency says bird flu has been found in Alberta poultry flocks and there are new cases in Ontario. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Aleksandra Sagan
B.C. Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham speaks during a news conference in Vancouver, on Friday July 5, 2019. The British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture says it is ending the COVID-19 quarantine program for seasonal agricultural temporary foreign workers but will keep a different program for another year to support self-isolation to curb the spread of the virus.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck

B.C. ends quarantine program for temporary foreign workers, self-isolation continues

The British Columbia Agriculture Ministry says it is ending the COVID-19 quarantine…

B.C. Minister of Agriculture Lana Popham speaks during a news conference in Vancouver, on Friday July 5, 2019. The British Columbia Ministry of Agriculture says it is ending the COVID-19 quarantine program for seasonal agricultural temporary foreign workers but will keep a different program for another year to support self-isolation to curb the spread of the virus.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Darryl Dyck
British trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan poses for a photo after an interview in Ottawa on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle

Beef emerging as sticking point in free trade talks between Canada and Britain

Trade secretary says UK will not compromise on allowing hormone-treated Canadian beef into Britain

British trade secretary Anne-Marie Trevelyan poses for a photo after an interview in Ottawa on Wednesday, March 23, 2022. THE CANADIAN PRESS/ Patrick Doyle
Rising flood waters are seen surrounding barns in Abbotsford, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. A recovery package is expected to be announced today for British Columbia’s agriculture industry after devastating floods last November. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward

Governments to announce recovery plan for B.C. agriculture industry after floods

Announcement billed as the largest recovery program for the sector in the province’s history

Rising flood waters are seen surrounding barns in Abbotsford, B.C., Tuesday, Nov. 16, 2021. A recovery package is expected to be announced today for British Columbia’s agriculture industry after devastating floods last November. THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jonathan Hayward
Cows and their calves graze in a pasture on a farm near Cremona, Alta., Wednesday, June 26, 2019. Some Alberta cattle producers say they will run out of food for their animals this weekend, as train delays and the impacts of last summer’s drought combine to create a crisis situation on the Prairies.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh

Canadian cattle producers desperate as feed shortage reaches crisis levels

‘I’ve never experienced where we don’t know what we’re going to feed the cattle Monday morning’

Cows and their calves graze in a pasture on a farm near Cremona, Alta., Wednesday, June 26, 2019. Some Alberta cattle producers say they will run out of food for their animals this weekend, as train delays and the impacts of last summer’s drought combine to create a crisis situation on the Prairies.THE CANADIAN PRESS/Jeff McIntosh