Lethbridge Polytechnic was granted its new post-secondary status in September 2024 and has made applied research a high priority since it dropped “College” from its name. Central to this updated focus is the Agriculture Research Innovation Facility (ARIF), which has been in operation since the summer of 2023.
At first glance, Canadian farmers should be concerned about Donald Trump’s victory in the recent U.S. election. Canada is a trading nation, and its farmers rely on trade to sell their crops at a profitable return. Trump will retake office on Jan. 20, and has threatened to impose 25 per cent tariffs on all Canadian imports, including agricultural products.
The Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI) and Alberta Grains are collaborating with several central Alberta farmers to assess the viability of a new research method. Alberta Grains will contribute $40,000 of in-kind support and provide advice on its applicability and value to farmers.
Canada’s grain sector is celebrating a crucial legislative milestone with the recent passage of bills C-244 and C-294. Focused on equipment repair and interoperability, they remove key copyright barriers that have historically constrained Canadian farmers from repairing and enabling their own equipment.
The annual harvest assessments they conduct give the team a deep understanding of the quality and functionality of a new crop, said Dean Dias, Cereals Canada CEO. With this information in hand, one of the team’s most important tasks is to compile and release the New Wheat Crop Report.
Following China, the United States and Brazil, Mexico is the world’s fourth-largest beer-producing country and the largest beer exporter. Its annual brewing output of 140 million hectolitres (mln hL) and exports of nearly 40 mln hL are extraordinary for a country of 130 million people.
The Canadian Grain Commission’s (CGC) variety designation lists released this past summer include four newly trialled hulless barley varieties. These include two food varieties for human consumption, CDC Valdres and CDC Henrick, as well as two hulless malting varieties, CDC Pristine and CDC Armstrong.
Seasoned Prairie farm journalists Jay Whetter and Toban Dyck team up for an entertaining and informative podcast that draws upon their ag knowledge and considerable conversation skills. Every second week, the duo publishes a new episode of The Extensionists: Conversations with Great Thinkers in Agriculture.
Recent dry years have brought to mind the infamous Dirty Thirties, but this historical disaster was more than the product of drought, said Shannon Stunden Bower, an environmental historian at the University of Calgary.
Five new wheat varieties developed by LimaGrain Cereals Research Canada (LCRC) have been licensed to distributors this year following recommendation by the Prairie Grain Development Committee. Established in 2015, the private wheat breeder is a partnership between two farmer-owned co-operatives, France’s Limagrain and Canada’s Canterra Seeds. The variety recommendations represent a major success for the organization, which has marketed just four wheat varieties since its formation, including CS Accelerate and CS Daybreak.
