Now that combines are shut down for the season, western Canadian farmers have a pretty good idea of what they will be growing in 2016, say producers contacted for the November Farmer Panel. They all plan to leave a bit of room for last-minute decisions — depending on markets and spring seeding conditions — but […] Read more
Seeding decisions made, now waiting for spring
Farmers planning to hold their rotations steady with no major swings
Tip your hat (and spoon) to a great pulse crop in 2016
Pulse Canada is on the ball. They sent me food in the mail. As part of the promotion announcing that 2016 has been declared the International Year of the Pulses (IYOP) by the United Nations, Pulse Canada sent me an information package and it included a granola bar. Not just any granola bar — a Canadian […] Read more
Southern Alberta pheasants can rest easy
Lee Hart is leaving his gun in the cabinet this season, but he still has all those memories
This is the first October in about 40 years my phone hasn’t been ringing daily to see if I am ready to go bird hunting. Got your gun ready? Got your shells? Got your licence? When are you coming down? (That referred to me leaving Calgary and travelling to southern Alberta). This is upland game […] Read more
So much canola information, only so much room in my head
BY LEE HART Man, if I could remember everything I’ve heard about growing canola I’d be a shoe-in for that 100 bushel Canola Challenge prize, as long as it also rained on the right days during the growing season. I thought the now retired Alberta Agriculture canola specialist Phil Thomas had put everything you needed […] Read more
Life happens and it can be cruel
I certainly can’t and I hope many other people can’t really imagine what Roger and Bonita Bott of central Alberta are dealing with right now as they prepare to bury three of their kids Friday at a funeral service in Red Deer. Their three daughters, Catie, 13, and twins Dara and Jana, 11 died about a week ago from […] Read more
Now we can get back to talking about Liberal weeds
It is the honest truth, the first thing I saw this morning when I walked in my office was this photo from 100 years ago of me interviewing federal Conservative party leader Robert Stanfield during a campaign swing through Cranbrook, B.C. — and I am guessing it was 1974. Bob didn’t win that year either. (Just […] Read more
Harmony Beef processing plant in limbo pending approvals
Calgary pressing for a scientific environmental review of packing plant proposal
The long-anticipated opening of the Harmony Beef processing plant just north of Calgary remains in cold storage, as the company which was supposed to begin operations nearly a year ago awaits some final approvals from Rocky View County. The plant, which was supposed to be operational in late 2014/early 2015, processing between 700 and 800 beef […] Read more
Great day for a Hereford sale
Nothing kick starts the Thanksgiving holiday weekend like a good Hereford cattle production sale. I was out touring the country last Saturday with brother-in-law Joe — first a stop at Princess Auto, an amazing store that always has a fantastic stock of things I need, even though I didn’t know that walking in the door, then […] Read more
The fine print on grain contracts
Lee Hart talks to seven Prairie grain farmers about their experiences with grain contracts
Grain contracts: they appear to be a necessary part of doing business for most western Canadian farmers, but how many actually read them? The Canadian Canola Growers Association* has published a handy and informative booklet called, “A Practical Guide to Navigate Grain Contracts.” It is a quick and easy, 21-page read which covers many of the […] Read more
Devil may be in the contract details
A grain contract should work both ways to protect the buyer as well as the seller
It may seem like just a lot of fine print, but farmers are urged to read and understand the whole document before finalizing a contract when selling any commodity, says a manager with the Canadian Canola Growers Association (CCGA).* Farmers need to know their rights, and they also need to understand any clauses that may […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
