Alberta Barley and the Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) are committed to ensuring their farmer members are represented in local, national and international matters that impact their livelihoods. Recently, the Government of Alberta announced Bill 6: The Enhanced Protection for Farm and Ranch Workers Act.
After years of sometimes-tense negotiations, a tentative Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) agreement was struck in October, with Canada as a founding member of the historic trade pact.
As technology for collecting on-farm data continues to grow, so too does the number of questions it raises. Where does the data go? Is it securely stored? Who owns it? And probably the most important question: Is all of this data collection really necessary?
Merle Good has a farm succession presentation titled, “The Impossible Dream?” That question mark says it all when it comes to the way most people feel about, and approach, the task of farm succession. While it’s most definitely a complicated task, it can be extremely rewarding and is by no means impossible.
In 2007, amid growing pressure to address mounting concern around climate change, the Alberta government created a system of agricultural carbon offsets designed to help farmers voluntarily lower their carbon footprint. The offsets were included as part of a broad government response to Alberta’s contribution to climate change, with the goal of reducing emissions from the province’s high-polluters, including oil and gas.
For many farmers, the idea of paying money for pictures of their fields seems a bit, well, crazy. If you can walk a field and see a problem, why would you pay money for a picture of that problem? What’s the point?
Before landing at the University of Lethbridge (U of L), I had always been impressed by the volume and quality of research that was being produced by a relatively small and traditionally undergraduate-focused institution. Upon closer inspection, I have gained an even greater appreciation for the impact this southern Alberta university has on its region, the country and, really, the entire world.
