Until his 2025 retirement from official duties after 13 years, Fawcett area farmer Gordon McCann oversaw shinny games and hockey practices and maintained the ice at the Fawcett Community Hall and Arena. Its schedule now includes men’s and children’s leagues, and its two curling sheets are central to the community’s annual cabaret and bonspiel to be held this year in late January. Nicknamed Iceman McCann by young skaters, he continues to take on occasional volunteer arena activities and will field a team in the bonspiel.

On the Olds College Smart Farm, data is rolling in from an ongoing research project that utilizes the Raven Augmenta Field Analyzer. This camera vision machine learning technology senses crop conditions using digital imagery to adjust input application during field operations. Unlike current methods that rely on pre-determined maps, the camera uses an algorithm to make instantaneous decisions about the rate of inputs to apply on crops.

For nearly a decade, Sexsmith area farmer and Alberta Grains region 6 director Greg Sears has opened his fields to researchers for pest studies. These researchers set traps, use sweep nets and record findings. During a routine sweep in 2022, the net captured a donkey click beetle (Dalopius asellus), an uncommon type.

In July, the Alberta government announced the intended launch of a permanent farm plastics recycling program but has instead renewed the province’s existing pilot project. The “Alberta Ag-Plastic. Recycle It!” pilot program will start its next two-year stretch in 2026 with an impressive record.

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada crop breeder Harpinder Randhawa has made impressive gains in soft white spring wheat breeding in recent years, and AAC Raymond is his latest success. “Soft whites are unique in their end-use potential,” said Randhawa, who works at the Lethbridge Research and Development Centre. “Historically, soft white wheats have been grown in southern Alberta and Saskatchewan for milling cookies, cakes and biscuits. Owing to their low protein and high starch content, however, they are also ideal for ethanol and brewing malt.”

A made in Alberta, barley-based nutritional supplement, NutraStat is manufactured by Camrose-based Sunny Boy Foods, known for its namesake hot cereal, flours and pancake mixes. NutraStat’s star ingredient is the soluble fibre beta-glucan, which has been proven to reduce LDL cholesterol, stabilize blood sugar, improve gut health and assist weight loss by increasing satiety.

On Oct. 16, 2025, the Premier of Alberta mandated Minister of Service Alberta and Red Tape Reduction Dale Nally to work with Alberta’s distilling industry to define standards for “Alberta whisky.” These standards would then be codified in an Alberta Whisky Act and legally protect the designation.

The board of governors of Westlock Terminals recognized that to thrive as a relatively small player in the grain handling business requires diversification. The independent elevator was established in 2002 when its mostly local shareholders purchased the former Agricore United elevator. This was done with the intent to maintain community control, provide local jobs and strengthen the regional economy. Westlock Terminals has since carefully expanded its product and service offering.

When Anna and Vladimir Posikera received three awards for their multicoloured perogy products at the 2024 Made in Alberta Awards ceremony, Anna found it hard to speak as she took the stage to accept. Just two years earlier in February 2022, the couple, their two young children and Anna’s mother fled Kostiantynivka, a city near the frontline of the Russo-Ukrainian war. Though thrilled to be honoured as grand winner, their difficult escape and the ongoing war occupied their thoughts. “It was very emotional for us,” said Anna.

Science has enriched the world in countless ways: the light bulb, penicillin, crazy glue. Speaking on the latter, research is the glue that holds the grain sector together. Alberta Grains annually approves funding for multiple studies that may benefit farmers.