A well-known agronomist with Alberta Grains is taking on a new leading role in the commission’s research. Jeremy Boychyn, who’s worked with the former Alberta Wheat and Barley since 2018, will oversee the agronomy and extension portfolios under his new title of director of research, agronomy and extension. An Alberta Grains news release lauded Boychyn’s “significant advancements and contributions to the agricultural research and extension communities in Alberta.” “I’m super excited to be taking a role in the extension world,” said Boychyn, who calls the central Alberta town of Carstairs home ..read more

Ag in Motion is celebrating its tenth year. Building the show into the event it is today, has taken years of careful planning. “I felt like this was a once in a lifetime opportunity, to start something from scratch. It was very attractive to do that,” said Rob O’Connor, who has been the show director since 2014. O’Connor previously worked with the Regina Exhibition Association and acted as manager for Canada’s Farm Progress Show. He was working at the Manitoba Provincial Exhibition in Brandon, when he received the call to work with Ag in Motion. “I chose to come to Glacier FarmMedia. It was ea ..read more

Food and feed are the main sources of global demand for crops but climate-related policies could tip that apple cart. Governments are making legislative overtures to boost production of biofuels. In Canada, that includes the Canadian Clean Fuels Regulation, which lays out rules for fuel production and aims to encourage development of cleaner fuels and limit greenhouse gas emissions. Governments around the world are enacting similar mandates and the livestock feed sector expects spillover impacts from those shifts. According to Aaron Hanson, a senior economist with GlobalData’s agriculture divi ..read more

The Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute will have $5 million in public money added to its budget for the next five years. Funds were announced May 14 between the federal government and province of Saskatchewan and are provided under the $3.5-billion Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership agreement. PAMI has been one of the go-to sources for technical and mechanical research pertaining to agriculture on the Prairies for decades. “The Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute has a proud history of helping farmers adopt new technologies and practices,” said federal agriculture ministe ..read more

Workers at the Calgary Case Ready plant in Calgary will likely be going on strike. Workers have unanimously voted to strike, which is the first 100 per cent strike vote in memory at a large bargaining unit in Alberta. The initial strike votes were held June 4 and 5. “We had 84 per cent of the plant come out, so 341 of the people came out to vote on the strike ballot,” said Chris O’Halloran, executive director of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401, which represents workers at the plant. Another meeting was supposed to be held on June 12, but Cargill realized how strong the turnout was ..read more

Glacier FarmMedia – Lessons have been learned from the downturn in the plant-based protein marketplace, including what could have been done differently when it came to marketing, product development and consumer expectations. Attendees heard that message during a panel of industry representatives in the plant-based ingredient space at the recent Agri Tech Venture Forum in Toronto. “The problem is that there’s a lot of bad products in the market, you know, and I’m a chef by profession,” said Yves Potvin, founder of Konscious Foods, a plant-based protein company. “The first person that’s going t ..read more

Glacier FarmMedia — Calving is done, but producers should keep certain things in mind if they have to work with calves in the pasture and in the presence of a nervous mother cow. Why it matters: Working on calves on open pasture can be tricky with a thousand pounds of anxious cow in your face. Reg Steward, a range contractor and commercial beef farmer near Williams Lake, B.C., stresses vigilance. “Keep your eyes on that mom. Don’t get so preoccupied dealing with the calf that you don’t look up,” he said. “I like a three-in-one rule. I kind of look down for three seconds, I look up and make sur ..read more

Televised necropsies may be the next big thing in determining causes of death in cattle and other livestock, according to results of a proof-of-concept research project. Using video conferencing technology, researchers with the University of Calgary Faculty of Veterinary Medicine found that connecting specialized pathologists with in-the-field large animal veterinarians in real time delivered a definitive diagnosis for dead cattle 98 per cent of the time. Unassisted necropsies or post-mortems in the field only reached a definitive diagnosis 67 per cent of the time, so the video conferencing op ..read more

The 2024 federal budget’s promise to reduce “temporary immigration” could reduce the number of temporary foreign workers available to Canadian agriculture and agricultural businesses. The document states the government “will reduce the share of temporary residents in Canada to five per cent of the total population over the next three years,” which it estimates will result in approximately 600,000 fewer temporary residents compared to current levels. Many of Canada’s agricultural industries are reliant on temporary foreign workers. Janet Krayden, Canadian Mushroom Growers’ Association workforce ..read more

A possible strike at Cargill’s Case Ready Plant in Calgary is looming large, but it’s not yet clear if workers are headed to the picket lines Strike votes were held June 5-6. “We had 84 per cent of the plant come out, so 341 of the people came out to vote on the strike ballot,” said Chris O’Halloran, executive director of United Food and Commercial Workers Local 401, which represents workers at the plant. Results, however, have not yet been released. Cargill is objecting to votes cast by people on parental leave or those receiving benefits from the Worker’s Compensation Board, the union has sa ..read more