Alberta Premier Jason Kenney steps up to speak at Jumbo Valley Hutterite Colony on Oct. 3, 2019. (Video screengrab from Alberta.ca via YouTube)

Alberta proposes heavier penalties for on-farm trespassing

Alberta’s government proposes to discourage future on-farm protests — events in the style of an occupation held early last month at an Alberta Hutterite colony’s turkey farm — on pain of new penalties. Speaking Thursday at the Jumbo Valley colony near Fort Macleod, Premier Jason Kenney, Justice Minister Doug Schweitzer and Agriculture Minister Devin Dreeshen […] Read more




(JohnnyMad/Getty Images)

Late Canadian mustard crop facing quality downgrades

MarketsFarm — An early blast of snow and cold across the Prairies has delayed harvest operations for a mustard crop already running behind normal, with quality downgrades expected for any mustard still in the field. “It has to be absolutely flattened,” said mustard buyer Walter Dyck of Olds Products at Lethbridge on the effect of […] Read more


Alberta snow further delays canola harvest, boosts prices

Alberta snow further delays canola harvest, boosts prices

MarketsFarm — Canola futures finished up at Monday’s close, boosted by a weather premium after a low-pressure system brought considerable snowfall to parts of Alberta over the weekend. Snow was mostly concentrated in the southern region of the province. Calgary and surrounding areas received around 30 centimetres of snow, according to preliminary results from Environment […] Read more



(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Alberta to lift residency rule for public grazing lands

The Alberta government plans to remove a restriction on non-Albertans’ use of public lands for grazing, in a bid to smooth out paths for interprovincial trade. The province on Saturday announced it will do away with eight of its declared exceptions under the interprovincial Canadian Free Trade Agreement (CFTA). Of the eight, three deal with […] Read more



(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Feeder market experiences mixed tone

Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling prices traded $3-$5 on either side of unchanged. Auction market volumes are growing in Saskatchewan and Manitoba; however, central Alberta prices held a definite premium of $8-$10 over the eastern Prairie regions. Ontario orders are starting to surface in Manitoba but prices were out of reach with Alberta […] Read more

Clubroot galls on a canola plant. (Video screengrab from Canola Council of Canada via YouTube)

Clubroot able to beat resistant canola reaches Manitoba

A strain of clubroot able to club the roots of some resistant canola varieties has made its way east to Manitoba. Manitoba’s agriculture department reported Friday that clubroot pathotype 3A — a strain that can “overcome some first-generation sources of genetic resistance” in commercial canola — has been positively identified in the south-central rural municipality […] Read more