Present in this province for almost a century, stripe rust is not new to Alberta cereal farmers. However, disease outbreaks have been increasing in frequency and severity, creating a push for research into better management of rust.
For farmers puzzling over how to finance new high-efficiency heating systems for barns, solar power installations or other clean-energy upgrades legislation is being designed to assist home and business owners. Bill 10, An Act to Enable Clean Energy Improvements, was passed June 6, 2018, by the Alberta Legislature, and will enable individual municipalities to develop their own clean-energy tax bylaw for cost recovery of approved clean-energy upgrades.
As the recent debut of a new American pale ale called South Side smash revealed, getting to the launch stage with new malt varieties involves critical choices. This beer by Edmonton’s Town Square Brewing Co. is brewed using malt produced by Red Shed Malting and is
the first commercially available beer to feature SeCan’s CDC Bow malting barley.
The 2017 Alberta Weed Survey took two years to complete and was carried out by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) with funding from the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC), Western Grains Research Foundation, the Alberta
Pulse Growers Commission and the Alberta Canola Producers Commission. The previous Alberta survey was carried out in 2010.
Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC), Alberta Barley, Alberta Pulse Growers and Alberta Canola Producers have teamed up
with the university and Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF) to fund positions in agricultural entomology, soil health and a third chair now in development, the details of which have not been announced. Once candidates are hired, matching funding will be sought from the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council of Canada.
Barley was once a dominant crop on the Canadian Prairies, with farmers planting nearly 14 million acres of the golden grain in 1971. By 2017, however, the number fell to just under six million acres. Farmers, faced with depressed prices and slowly declining yields, have been switching to more profitable crops.
This is a time of heightened uncertainty in global agricultural trade, but the Canadian grain industry is well positioned to push through, given its strong international marketing apparatus.
Alberta agricultural products have a global reputation for high quality. Naturally, residents and visitors alike increasingly want to taste dishes and drinks made with locally grown ingredients. Published by Touchwood Editions, Food Artisans of Alberta by Alberta Food Tours owner Karen Anderson and Matilde (Tilly) Sanchez-Turri is a substantial guide to food industry entrepreneurs on-farm and off, as well as farmers markets and watering holes.
Most of us want to eat good food that’s grown responsibly. This natural impulse has spurred a growing hunger for information about farming and food production. As you indulge in sunny, backyard barbecue sessions this summer, you may wonder what the story is behind the craft brews so nicely iced in your cooler. Who grew the premium malting barley that gives these drinks the distinctly delicious qualities the brewers worked so diligently to capture?
Public interest in the origins of food crops is at an all-time high. Understanding the provenance of the wheat in your bread, the barley in your beer, the vegetables in your salad and the steak on your barbecue is certainly satisfying and somehow makes these foods taste just that much better. For the complete picture, visit the rural areas where our food is gown and meet the people who farm it. As you plan your recreational roadmap this summer, consider making Alberta farms and agricultural attractions part of your itinerary.
