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.
The 2024 growing season was a rollercoaster for farmers, with significant variations in yield and quality from region to region and even field to field. Drought conditions prevailed across Western Canada in April, but dry weather allowed farmers to seed early.
The recent work stoppages at Canada’s national railways yet again underscore a hard truth that Canadian grain farmers have grappled with for years: our transportation network is fragile and disruptions are all too frequent. This latest example isn’t an isolated incident but part of a broader pattern that has severely tested the resilience of our country’s agricultural supply chains.
From its current facility, located in a federal government-owned highrise in downtown Winnipeg, Cereals Canada focuses on market development, technical support and market access for Canadian cereal grains. While the organization’s current space has served its purpose for over half a century, the time has come to look ahead and envision the next 50 years for Canadian agriculture.
Marginal acres unsuitable or less suitable for crop production are common on cultivated farmland. To conduct conventional farming practices on such unproductive acres reduces profitability and increases deterioration of land.
Canada rarely gets the respect it deserves as a steady and dependable crop exporter. Despite this solid record, in the 2024/25 marketing year, export prospects for raw unprocessed canola, wheat and durum are mixed.
The University of Calgary’s Simpson Centre for Food and Agricultural Policy launched its three-year Alberta Digitalization Agriculture (ABDIAG) program project in October 2023. Thanks to $1.2 million provided by Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation, the research and farmer education initiative will examine how existing digital technologies can more broadly and effectively be used by the agriculture sector.
The annual growth rate of Canadian agricultural productivity stood at or near two per cent from 1991 to 2010, according to a Farm Credit Canada (FCC) report released in December 2023. Since 2011, productivity growth has slowed and stands at just one per cent where it is projected to remain for the rest of this decade.
A member of the Blackfoot Confederacy, the Kainai First Nation, also known as the Blood Tribe, is seriously committed to education, and agriculture is a main component. On a hot, late-July day, staff, students and community members gathered near Red Crow Community College in its expansive community garden.
