Rural Roots Canada

Percherons have a long history in Canada. Laura Drury is the Animal Care and Agriculture Manager at Heritage Park in Calgary. She takes on a look back at these beautiful and powerful draft horses in this Rural Roots Canada feature. This feature is powered by Proven Seed.

Fieldmen from municipalities across Alberta gathered in Calgary this past week to learn new skills, network and get updates on various ag programs. We have more from the Association of Alberta Agricultural Fieldmen's President about their annual in-service training conference For the full story go to Rural Roots Canada.com. This feature is powered by Proven Seed.

A new grazing program through ALUS Canada is showing promise in delivering support to producers implementing intensive rotational grazing system. Chad Ritter is the ALUS Coordinator for Parkland County. Ritter says the grazing forward program can help producers looking for support with their intensive rotational grazing systems. For more on this story go to ruralrootscanada.com This feature is powered by Proven Seed.

The Calgary Stampede launches the OH Branded Beef Youth Ambassador program. We learn more about this initiative to grow youths' animal husbandry skills from the Manager of Agriculture and Western Events Operations, Brett Warder. Find the full story at Rural Roots Canada.com. This feature is powered by Proven Seed.

Selecting a canola hybrid seed that fits your farm. Kassi Rinas is a Proprietary Representative for Nutrien Ag Solutions in Northern Alberta. She shares the questions farmers should be asking before making a selection. This feature is powered by Proven Seed.

Keeping your soil in tip-top shape is a year-round job. We talk to experts about what your soil health checklist should look like. For more on this story, go to Rural Roots Canada.com This feature is powered by Proven Seed.

Selecting silage corn hybrid seed that meets all of your farm's needs can be a daunting task. We get insight from Nutrien Ag Solutions' Kassi Rinas on all the considerations farmers should be considering. Find out more by going to Rural Roots Canada. This feature is powered by Proven Seed.

A national campaign from the Canadian Seed Growers' Association called Choose Certified Seed, aims to show farmers, food processors and consumers why certified seed makes a difference and delivers quality results. More on this campaign and how the CSGA wants farmers to participate can be found at ruralrootscanada.com. This Rural Roots Canada feature powered by Proven Seed.

In this RRC episode, we explore what farmers should consider when selecting a Canola Hybrid and a Silage Corn Hybrid. Kassi Rinas, Proprietary Representative for Nutrien Ag Solutions in Northern Alberta, shares her insights on what questions farmers should be asking themselves before making the selection. Rinas talks about: • Why farmers should write down what is essential on their farm when selecting a Canola Hybrid (2:00) • Considerations when selecting a Canola Hybrid (2:15) • Preventing Podshatter and Poddrop (3:10) • Selecting the correct herbicide resistance package for your crop (5:25) • Three biggest things farmers should consider when selecting a Silage Corn Hybrid. (9:00) This feature is powered by Proven Seed. For more information, go to Rural Roots Canada.com.

The Do More Agriculture Foundation is championing the cause of mental health and well-being within the Canadian agricultural community. It has partnered with the Walk With Me movement, a global initiative taking place from October 10th to the 20th. This initiative aims to raise awareness about mental health, honour those affected by mental illness, and remember those we've lost in the agriculture community to suicide. It's an opportunity for people within the ag community to come together, share stories and show solidarity with others around the world. There are many ways to participate in the Walk With Me movement, including donating. The Do More Agriculture Foundation has teamed up with BASF, a leading provider of agricultural solutions, which has generously committed to match every donation made to the Walk With Me campaign up to $10,000. That means every contribution you make will have double the impact in supporting mental health initiatives in the ag sector.

Educating the next generation about the endless job opportunities in agriculture and food is important for the sustainability of the industry and is an exciting opportunity the ag community needs to build on. Currently, we are seeing labour shortages across the industry. One of the organizations stepping up to fill the space is 10 PIX Innovation. Executive Director Dagmar Knutson and her team host a conference for students in grades seven to 12 where they talk about everything energy, environment and climate every fall in central Alberta. This year’s conference, which will be the third time they have done it, has made a big addition, adding several speakers who will focus on the opportunities in agriculture and food. This year’s event will be taking place at Red Deer Polytechnic on October 12. For more on the conference go to ruralrootscanada.com

You often hear it in weather forecasts or read it in weather reports: percentage of precipitation (POP). But what does that mean?  We find out the answer to that question with Meteorologist David Spence here on Rural Roots Canada. To find out more about POP and listen to more RRC features go to Rural Roots Canada.com.

Stanton Farms, a dairy farm in Ilderton, Ontario, strives to be on the cutting edge of sustainability, which often means working through the challenges of being ahead of its time. Because of this trailblazing work, the Stantons have been named 2023 recipients of Alltech Canada’s Planet of Plenty™ award. “Alltech is globally respected and a leader in its field,” Jeff Stanton said during a recent presentation at the Alltech ONE World Tour stop in Calgary. “To receive this recognition is a great honor.”

A dry growing season ended with more precipitation in some parts of the province in August. Looking back at August, Meteorologist David Spence says precipitation varied depending on the region. Central Alberta saw above average rainfall, while southern Alberta was extremely dry. Spence says it's important to have some precipitation in the coming months to ensure there is a good moisture base in the soil for the start of next year's growing season. The meteorologist also weighs in on when we can expect to see frost in the different parts of Alberta in this feature. For more on this story go to Rural Roots Canada.com. This feature is powered by Proven Seed.

Winter feeding systems can improve the efficiency of your farm. Dr. Breeanna Kelln is the Beef Industry Research Chair in Integrated Forage Management and Utilization and an Assistant Professor at the University of Saskatchewan. She says keeping livestock on your cropland during the winter months can help forage production in future years. Kelln and Melissa Atchison, co-owner of Poplarview Stock Farm as well as the Research and Extension Specialist with Manitoba Beef, presented at the Canadian Beef Industry Conference in Calgary in August. Kelln says winter feeding on cropland will create efficiencies on operations and, potentially, increase production of forage the following year.

Herd management is vital in improving sustainability. Ensuring you have the most up-to-date, accurate management information and regulatory reporting data requires time and effort.  Flokk aims to make that process as simple as possible. The Alberta-based company has developed a comprehensive digital integration system that gathers various herd information, allowing beef producers to be more efficient and providing more traceability reporting. The Flokk systems includes a handheld device designed to be a producer's constant companion in the field. Its robust software collects crucial herd data, provides real-time access to herd information, and allows complete Canadian traceability reporting.

The Wray family of Irricana, Alberta has been awarded the 2023 Canadian Cattle Association's Environmental Stewardship Award (TESA) for their stewardship and vision. "The biggest thing is that cattle ranchers and cattle are working alongside natural ecosystems. If managed carefully and attentively, cattle not only pair with many of our landscapes, they're actually part of its vibrancy." - Tim Wray This feature powered by Proven Seed. For more on this story go to Rural Roots Canada.com

Getting succession plans started can be difficult. RRC's Craig Lester and Dalke Law's Eric Dalke explore the hang-ups that keep families from having tough talks about a farm's future. They cover everything from how a third party in the room can lower the temperature of the dispute, how people are not alone with their family disputes, and what unique succession characteristics exist in the cattle industry amongst many other topics. For more on this story go to Rural Roots Canada.com.

Alberta Open Farm Day events took place across the province on Saturday and Sunday. Rural Roots Canada ventured down to Lethbridge to take in Farming Smarter's event. In this episode, RRC's Craig Lester chats with Jamie Puchinger from Farming Smarter about the importance of bridging the gap with consumers, Keshav Singh from Agriculture and Agrifood Canada on research he and his team are doing to advance technology in crop management. He also talks with agronomist Scott Gillespie, owner of Plants Dig Soils, about the skillsets required to have a career as an agronomist. For more on this story, you can go to Rural Roots Canada.com.

Farms across Alberta are opening their gates this week as part of Open Farm Days. We talk to Charlotte Wasylik of Chatsworth Farms near Vermillion, Alberta on what they have planned and how they have embraced telling their story to consumers year-round.  More information on Open Farm Days and the locations can be found at ruralrootscanada.com