Farmers may soon be able to chat with an AI assistant for agriculture on their smartphones. This is the vision of Felippe Karp, an instructor and researcher at Olds College of Agriculture and Technology. He believes it could make farming easier by boosting efficiency and profits.
Price & Data Quotes (PDQ) is a Prairiewide daily cash bids website launched in September 2015 by the Alberta Wheat Commission. To celebrate the price discovery platform’s tenth year, Alberta Grains asks users to fill out a short survey located on the PDQ homepage at pdqinfo.ca. The survey will remain open until Sept. 30, and the responses will be used to improve the service.
With the help of a Nuffield Canada scholarship, Craig Lester is challenging mainstream media coverage of agriculture. Lester is the founder of Rural Roots Canada, an agriculture media company he launched in 2010. In 2022, he left his day job as a broadcast journalist to work full time on his own business.
This past fall, Northwest Polytechnic (NWP) in Grande Prairie launched its new two-year Agriculture Operations Diploma Program. “The program is unique because it focuses on preparing people to work in the ag industry on farms, in retail and in sales,” said NWP agriculture operations instructor Josefine Bartlett. The program’s curriculum balances agricultural theory with hands-on experience, and the school year aligns with the seasonal demands faced by students who live and work on family farms, she added. “It’s a one-of-a-kind program with nothing else quite like it across Canada.”
Robin Nikkel fondly recalls playing with toy farm equipment as a child at his family’s farm near Morden, MB. “I did a lot of carpet farming and making hay on the front lawn,” said Nikkel, who now operates an auto transport company in Delta, B.C.
When barley germinates prior to harvest or in the bin it can cause significant problems for the maltster to achieve a high-quality malt product. Maltsters generally reject barley that exhibits significant pre-harvest sprouting. The livestock industry also typically discounts pre-sprouted feed barley.
The Canadian agriculture sector understands the care and effort it takes to produce high-quality crops. We know this commitment is what sets Canadian malting barley apart. As sustainability becomes a top priority for end-users, Canada is uniquely positioned to meet these demands thanks to the stewardship and innovation of our farmers.
Cereals Canada welcomes the signing of the Canada-Indonesia Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement (CEPA). Set to take effect in 2026, an exact date has not been set. This groundbreaking agreement promises to usher in a new era of growth and innovation for the Canadian cereals industry and solidify Canada’s position in the Indonesian market.
Though the recent departure of the Field Crop Development Centre (FCDC) has affected its rating, Olds College of Agriculture and Technology remains highly ranked in Canada’s top 50 research colleges, according to Research Infosource Inc. In December 2024, the research, consulting and publishing firm placed the institution at No. 14.
When I became a market analyst 20 years ago, the world of agriculture seemed simpler. Today, I must admit to a deep frustration. My favoured method of analysis is so-called fundamentals. Calculating the difference between supply and demand is a matter of real-world mathematics. If this difference narrows, as measured by ending stocks, prices should respond favourably (bullish). If the surplus expands, prices come under pressure (bearish). A key component of fundamental analysis is having strong confidence in reliable data; the analysis is only as good as the underlying inputs. I have confidently relied on good data most of my career.
