Spring of 2023 will be a lively political time as Alberta’s general election pits the UCP and new Premier Danielle Smith against the NDP and former premier Rachel Notley.

“Is it really necessary to spray in all cases?” It’s a question posed by Brent Puchalski, a molecular plant pathologist. Up to 75 per cent of all fungicide application is either off target or worse, has no target, he warned.

The job of an agricultural analyst is to have an opinion on every topic and an answer for every question. And most of us prefer fundamentals—supply and demand. However, in 2022, macroeconomics and geopolitics held sway and muted some of the price movements that could have occurred if fundamentals dominated the market. Moreover, the variables needed for any model explaining potential price direction have expanded. To get my bearings at times like these, I resort to the Coma Test.

The smart agriculture and small plot crop research teams at Olds College of Agriculture and Technology have worked on an optical spot spraying project for the last three seasons. Carried out by the Olds College Centre for Innovation (OCCI), it aimed to assess the equipment and field performance of the WEED-IT Quadro system.

Canada is a world leader in the production of safe, high-quality, nutritious wheat and its value-added products. Continued investment in wheat research by the value chain helps to increase farm gate profitability and competitiveness as well as maintain a secure domestic and global food supply.

There’s no doubt 2022 was a record breaker. As the cost of living has risen, food prices and input costs reached all-time highs. As well, the monthly growth rate for input prices is three times higher than that of food. These inputs are critical to food production, and rising prices signal increased fragility within our global food systems.

Given consumers often know little about where food comes from, Medicine Hat area farmer Nichole Neubauer felt she needed to offer agricultural assistance to her local school system. 

Over the past two decades, the global brewing industry witnessed significant diversification in beer styles. Driven by rapid growth in the craft brewing sector, sophistication of consumer tastes and product awareness, this evolution has spurred interest among maltsters and brewers in the sensory attributes of malt and the varietals that make up malt blends.

At its Stettler station, as many as 24,000 passengers per year board Alberta Prairie Railway train excursions powered by its vintage diesel and steam locomotives. Winter and summer, trips include a stop at Big Valley or the line’s Country Hideaway, an old-time amusement park and meal facility. Not so long ago, the line transported grain as the Central Western Railway.