Some of us on the verge of retirement wonder at times who will be taking over the reins of leadership of agricultural organizations, agricultural academia, the government agricultural bureaucracy and the industry in general. It’s a real concern, as never-ending production efficiencies mean fewer and fewer people needed to produce more food. In addition, agriculture
Conference a great forum for young agriculturalists
The drones are coming to a sky near you
Most folks have heard about the use of drones for military purposes, but there is a much better future for these unmanned aerial vehicles (UAV), as they are officially called, in the world of agriculture. A number of universities and research agencies are already busily investigating their use mainly for crop surveillance of diseases and
White knight charges in to save XL, but it may be the last one
There seemed to be a collective sigh of relief from the western Canadian cattle and beef industry when it was announced that JBS would be taking over management of the XL Foods Lakeside beef plant in Brooks. The reality is that there was a very good possibility that the plant was not going to reopen
Is Agriculture Image Being Blindsided By Social Media?
Aspeaker at a recent national cattle industry event showed a video which both bemused and shocked the audience. The speaker and her research company, on behalf of an industry group, was investigating public response to the image of beef. Part of the research involved a focus group to ascertain their opinions on the topic. The
Sheep Industry Has Everything Going For It — So Why Is It Languishing?
The recent conference of the Canadian Sheep Federation (CSF) in Calgary brought to light a market situation that other commodities can only dream about – high producer prices, high demand and a declining supply. Such an atmosphere certainly provided for an optimistic mood at the meeting, but there seemed to be some underlying angst to
Critical CWB Activity May Be Its Most Important
Another Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) director election is upon us and it seems a bit quiet so far. Considering the acrimonious position of the Conservative government on the CWB and its past meddling in its affairs, one almost expects some more political mischief from them sooner or later. On the other hand if they do
Do We Really Need More Farmers And Ranchers?
Most producers, particularly those trying to get a crop into the ground last spring, would have noticed junketeering federal politicians and their entourage on a fact-finding tour in Alberta. That group would be the House of Commons Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food, not to be confused with the Senate Standing Committee on Agriculture and
ALMA Supports BSE-Testing Study
“This idea arose from a meeting between ALMA, APRI and PrioNet Canada to determine what prion-related issues were facing the livestock industry.” A proposal for a study that has been a long time coming is being initiated by a consortium made up of the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (ALMA), the Alberta Prion Research Institute
Alberta Decision Has National Repercussions
It would seem that the Minister in his quest to rein in the ABP may have opened a whole new can of problems. Arecent decision by Alberta Minister of Agriculture George Groeneveld to introduce a refundable cattle checkoff is going to affect the cattle and beef industry both nationally and even internationally. The decision, which
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
