Bacterial leaf streak (BLS) is a subtle intruder, but given the right conditions, it can cause significant yield loss and affect future crops in wheat and barley. Most commonly transmitted through contaminated seed, the disease has the cereal industry pushing on all fronts to break the chain of transmission, starting with the development of an effective seed test to help farmers manage the risk and prevent it from spreading.
Over the last several years, dry conditions have led to lower wheat midge levels in Western Canada, but spring rains in 2020 appear to have sparked a potential outbreak in various regions of the Prairies. Details and confirmation of these nascent flare-ups await release of data from the annual wheat midge survey. In the meantime, greater attention to midge management may well be required in the run-up to the incoming crop year.
How best to approach value-added opportunities in the agri-food sector is a tricky question.
As part of the implementation of Results Driven Agriculture Research (RDAR), the Alberta Agriculture and Forestry (AF) Field Crop Development Centre (FCDC) in Lacombe will come under the management of Olds College.
With the initial projects recently announced, the first agriculture industry-related elements of the Alberta Recovery Plan are now up and running. From investment in irrigation infrastructure, to the opening of new international export offices, to new post-secondary research funding, the initiatives are intended to position agriculture and forestry as a part of the solution to Alberta’s economic woes.
The farming industry is taking the COVID-19 pandemic seriously. Obviously, there’s a lot riding on the continued good health of the farm community and the uninterrupted production of food.
Alberta Agriculture and Forestry’s (AAF) Green Certificate Program allows senior high students in the province to select an agriculture-focused career path. The program delivers apprenticeship-style agriculture production training that allows students to complete practical work placements in on-farm operations outside school hours.
Alberta crop and livestock commodity organizations are hoping the provincial government sticks to its plan to tighten agricultural spending while leaving key programs and services in place, if not enhanced.
The orange blossom wheat midge is a delicate, bright-orange fly. It’s half the size of a mosquito. Yet these little flies have been known to cause yield loss of more than 50 per cent in Alberta’s wheat fields.
