Rural Roots Canada

Farm schools are on the rise. The latest kindergarten to Grade 9 school to adopt an agricultural-based curriculum and environment is in southeast Alberta. We'll talk to the principal and a student from the Rolling Hills Agricultural Academy soon.  Rolling Hills, Alberta, located about two and half hours southeast of Calgary, is the latest school to adopt a hands-on learning agriculture-based curriculum. Principal Mike Flieger says it is important that the school be reflective of the community. This feature is brought to you by the Canadian Agri-Business Education Foundation.

There was a time not long ago when agriculture technology wasn’t a big thing, but that’s since changed. "A decade ago, farming and ag tech wasn't a cool thing," observes John Hartnett, Founder and CEO of SVG Ventures. "Today, it's the cool thing because it matters—it's meaningful for people, families, and the future." It’s why SVG launched its flagship agri-food initiative called Thrive. The program brings agri-food tech entrepreneurs to the forefront. At its most recent Thrive Agri-Food Academy IV Demo Day in Calgary, the winner of the Judge's Award went to Calgary Health Laboratories, or Cohlab, an animal care start-up providing diagnostic care and animal health solutions. The People's Choice award went to Advanced Agriscience, a Canadian synthetic biology & public benefit company specializing in the development of biologicals for agriculture protection and enhancement.

Alberta is in for a difficult growing season as the risk of severe drought increases with each passing day. The province relies on melting snow and precipitation for much of its water. With a lacklustre winter in the rearview mirror and a dry spring ahead, water management areas have already been impacted by a shortage of water.  "It will be a rough situation this year," says Dr. Guillaume Lhermie, Director of the Simpson Centre for Food and Agriculture Policy at the University of Calgary. "We already know the forecast is quite depressing." Lhermie notes this severe drought is mostly limited to Alberta. Other large production areas like Europe and the United States, which contribute to the local food supply, will not be affected by what's happening here. That said, the drought can potentially cause some disruption in the global markets. This feature brought to you by CABEF. To read more go to ruralrootscanada.com.

Dealing with conflict on the farm. Disagreements and conflict on the farm are unavoidable; it's going to happen eventually. The difference between whether people move forward or the issue festers lies in how it is dealt with. Beverly Beuermann-King is a workplace culture and resiliency expert and has seen first-hand the importance of having healthy relationships. In this feature, she shares from her experience growing up on a dairy farm and what she has learned since. To read the full feature go to ruralrootscanada.com. This feature is brought to you by the Blue Book, Alberta's Crop Protection Guide.

The 2024 Women in Ag Awards shone a light on outstanding female leaders in the agriculture sector during a ceremony held alongside the AWC West 2024 conference. Among this year's winners was Charlotte Wasylik of Chatsworth Farm in Vermilion, Alberta. Wasylik was awarded the Rising Star award, given to a young leader under 40 who demonstrates a passion for the agriculture industry, shows exceptional promise, and advocates for agriculture. “It was such a thrilling moment to get the phone call," says Wasilyk, who expressed her gratitude for the win. "That AFSC is doing this to recognize women in agriculture, it's really important and very much appreciated." This feature is powered by the Blue Book, Alberta's Crop Protection Guide.

Confrontational to collaborative. The conversation around clubroot between farmers and rural municipalities in Alberta has evolved since it was declared a pest under the province's Agricultural Pests Act (APA) in April of 2007.  Aaron Van Beers is the President of the Association of Alberta Agricultural Fieldmen and Manager of Ag Services for Leduc County.  He says originally it was strictly a zero tolerance policy. Read the full story at ruralrootscanada.com. This feature is powered by the Blue Book, Alberta's Crop Protection Guide.

With the drought expected to persist into planting this year, an agronomist is encouraging farmers to get their crops in the ground early. Agronomist Scott Gillespie is the owner of Plants Dig Soil Consulting, an advice-based company in southern Alberta. He says with the drought the top of concern during the growing season this year growers should be thinking about seeding sooner rather than later. This feature is powered by the Blue Book - Alberta's Crop Protection Guide.

A new initiative out of Farming Smarter hopes to help southern Alberta farmers implement or change practices related to nitrogen management, cover cropping and grazing. Farming Smarter is participating in a new pilot project funded by Farmers for Climate Solutions. Ashley Wagenaar is the new Conservation Agronomist at Farming Smarter in Lethbridge. Her role is to help farmers implement or change - nitrogen practices, cover cropping, and grazing on their operation. This feature is powered by the Blue Book, Alberta's Crop Protection Guide.

Stavely, Alberta's Cudlobe Angus is the first Canadian farm to join Certified Angus Beef's Ranch to Table program. Certified Angus Beef's new initiative will allow Angus farmers and ranchers the option to market their beef directly to consumers as a CAB product. With the Ranch to Table program, licensed producers are responsible for working with a processor and CBGA grader to verify that brand specifications are met. A marketing plan is required for the application process, but upon being licensed, producers will have access to a tool kit and marketing resources to use in leveraging the brand's quality. Cudlobe Angus' Kaitlynn Bolduc says they are in the final stages of getting the program off the ground on their farm. For more on the program and why Cudlobe decided to be a part of it go to ruralrootscanada.com.

Southern Alberta farmer John Kolk has been honoured with the Orville Yanke award for Soil Conservation.  The Orville Yanke Memorial Award honours an early promoter of soil conservation in Alberta. John Kolk, who is the 2024 recipient, was presented with the award at the recent Farming Smarter conference last week. For more on Kolk and his sustainable cropping practices go to ruralrootscanada.com. This feature powered by the Blue Book - Alberta's Crop Protection Guide.

The latest brewing creation out of Origin Malting and Brewing in Strathmore has a distinct hockey flavour to it. The Sutter Six Shooters lager, named after the famous six Sutter brothers who played in the NHL, is brewed with Alberta-grown barley from Hilton Ventures. Four-time Stanley Cup winner Duane Sutter says work on the lager started last July after the Sutter family decided they needed to find a new funding initiative for their charity. The Sutter Fund is a non-profit charity that gives to causes across central Alberta and beyond. Hilton Ventures Director and Origin Malting and Brewing President Sterling Hilton says the partnership brings together two families that have a long history in agriculture. More on this feature at ruralrootscanada.com. This feature is powered by the Blue Book: Alberta's Crop Protection Guide.

From I-T military work in Afghanistan to brewing beer with Alberta-grown barley. How the quality of barley in Alberta helped brewing entrepreneur Graham Sherman get brewing regulations changed in the province, opening the door for so many. More on Sherman's unique journey from Afghanistan to being the founder of the highly successful Calgary-based Toolshed Brewery in this feature and at ruralrootscanada.com. This feature is powered by the Blue Book, Alberta's Crop Protection Guide.

The Canadian Seed Growers' Association is future-proofing its Blue-certified seed tag. Caroline Lafontaine is the CSGA's Chief Operating Officer.  She says they are currently piloting a program to allow producers to use digitally-enabled tags, moving away from a hand-written and printed patchwork.  More on the pilot project can be found at Rural Roots Canada.com.

Farmers from across the province will come together for the annual CrossRoads Crop Conference in Calgary. The 2nd annual event is set to take place Westin Airport Hotel in Calgary, January 29th to 31st. Farmers, ag-business reps and stakeholders will gather to network, knowledge share and gain insight to many ag-issues. FarmTech Foundation Chair Todd Hames says they are really trying to get into the bigger picture of agriculture. For more on this story go to Rural Roots Canada.com.

Real Garant was caught by surprise when a promotional video of his unique hitching system, called the Spider Hitch, went viral. “We were expecting hundreds of views,” says Garant, who posted the video on farming pages on social media. “Within 24 hours, we hit 1.2 million views. By the fifth day, we hit 13.5 million. That was a huge surprise.” In the rapidly evolving world of ag tech, Spider Hitch has proven to be a transformative hitching solution for farmers, making it easier to understand why the tech went viral as it did. The system helps solve a long-standing problem: the arduous and time-consuming task of aligning hitches and receivers. It also eliminates many of the safety concerns surrounding the task. Garant, now the president of Spider Hitch Inc., says hitching can require up to three people – one person to hold up the hitch, the combine driver, and someone to give directions. With that many people involved in the process, it can pose a safety threat.

Jeremy Boychyn, the Director of Agronomy and Extension at Alberta Grains, advocates for data-driven decision-making to remove any biases in farming. He stresses the value of its ability to mitigate biases and empower farmers with invaluable insights. To read more about the advantages of data-driven decision-making, go to ruralrootscanada.com.

The Canadian Beef Industry is looking for a current picture of the realities on farms and ranches to prioritize research and resources to benefit cow-calf producers. The Beef Cattle Research Council has put together a cow-calf survey to help them achieve this goal. For more on how to participate coming up on Rural Roots Canada. This feature brought to you by Proven Seed.

A family cattle operation in southern Alberta is named Avenue Calgary's 2023 Top 40 under 40. Daniel, Lorin and Barry Doerksen, who operate Gemstone Cattle Company in Gem, Alberta, have set up a successful farm-to-table operation. It includes a booth and kitchen at the Calgary Farmers' Market.

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.