Ag News

Earlier this week Canada's early detection surveillance program, CanSpotASF, announced wild pigs are now added to the list for African swine fever testing.

As we head into the month of August, most farmers will be getting the combine ready for harvest. However, the question of whether to desiccate or not is always on the minds of farmers that want to get a jumpstart on harvest. Sometimes that decision of desiccation can be answered as early as seeding time. Jason Stewart is an agrologist with Parrish & Heimbecker in Weyburn and has noticed the increase in desiccants used.  

Olds College of Agriculture announced RME - formerly known as Rocky Mountain Equipment - as their 2024 Partner of the Year.

RME has made significant contributions to Olds College by providing students with equipment giving them the opportunity to work with the latest machinery and technology in the agriculture industry. 

The research side of Olds also benefits as farm staff and researchers also have access to the equipment as they work the 3,000 acres that make up the Olds College Smart Farm.

The two-day event featured some key informational sessions and tours touching on every aspect of crop production from seeding to harvest, new advancements in technology, and livestock-related research.

The farm-focused and data-driven educational expo is celebrating five years of innovation.

Todd Ormann, vice president of development says AgSmart’s evolution is a testament to their commitment to agricultural innovation and education at Olds College.

An agricultural manufacturing firm in Saskatchewan has been ordered to pay $65, 000 relating to a workplace accident two years ago.

Highline Manufacturing Limited, a subsidiary of Bourgault Industries entered a guilty plea July 22nd in Saskatoon Provincial Court to one violation of the Occupational Health and Safety Regulations.

The charges stemmed from an incident that occurred on June 22, 2022, in Vonda, when a worker was seriously injured while flushing highly flammable solvent through an electrostatic paint gun.

Two other charges were withdrawn.

Alberta has announced changes to the  Agriculture Financial Services Corporation’s (AFSC) Next Generation Loan program. 

The province says over the past 20 years, the number of young and middle-aged producers in agriculture has seen steep declines, while the number of farmers over 55 has increased. 

Alberta’s government wants to reverse that trend with changes to AFSC’s Next Gen Program .

Saskatchewan's former Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart has lost his battle with cancer.

The 73-year-old served six terms as MLA for the former Thunder Creek consistency now known as the Morse-Lumsden riding from 1999 to 2023.

He was one of the 25 Sask Party MLAs to be elected in their first election as a party in 1999.

Premier Scott Moe shared on social media that Lyle's quiet strength and dedication to the people he served were an example to all of us who served with him.  

The Manitoba Livestock Marketing Association (MLMA) is holding their largest fundraiser of the year this Thursday at the Killarney Lakeside Golf Club.  The annual event draws over 250 people from across the province, all stakeholders in Manitoba's cattle industry.

MLMA Executive Administrator, Rick Wright, says tomorrow's Cattlemen's Classic Golf Tournament will host about 200 on the course and then another 50 or more to the evening supper.

The MLMA represents auction mart owners, livestock dealers, livestock traders and numerous feedlot owners.

There's been a definite increase in grain moving to market as farmers look to clear out bin space for the new harvest.

Elizabeth Hucker, the assistant vice-president of sales and marketing for bulk with CPKC says in grain shipping week #51 they moved just shy of 400,000 metric tonnes to Vancouver, Thunder Bay, Eastern Canada, the United States and to Mexico all out of Western Canada. 

She notes back to around week #49 they were shipping around that 400,000 metric tonne level, adding that movement is stronger than what we would normally see this time of  the year.

Alberta Agriculture's latest crop report shows crops have started to decline with the prolonged heat wave. In just one week, major crop conditions have gone from 73 per cent good to excellent  to 55 per cent good to excellent.