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Dry conditions hitting Alberta crops
Governments’ funding focuses on diversity in agriculture sector
By Lori Larsen
The Governments of Alberta and Canada announced their intention on investing more than $300,000 over a two-year period (2021-2023) in support of the Alberta Hemp Alliance (AHA).
The one-time grant will be used to establish a provincial industry association for hemp processing) through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership.
The grant will help AHA build capacity to fulfil its mandate as the provincial association for the hemp industry in Alberta. AHA intends to be selfsustainable beyond its first years of operation by creating revenue streams from membership fees, an industry sales levy, education and training, webinars, conferences and trade shows.
“Supporting the burgeoning hemp industry is important because it will provide producers new market opportunities and a way to diversify their rotation with this alternative crop,” said federal Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Marie-Claude Bibeau. “From seed to straw, the opportunities to sell this crop are growing, with value-added products ranging from food to biofuel to bioplastics and construction materials.”
The Canadian Agricultural Partnership has also provided more than $950,000 in grants to BioComposites Group Inc. (BCG) in the past three years to support growth in the hemp fibre industry in Alberta.
“Emerging industries like the hemp fibre sector are creating full-time local jobs and driving diversification in Alberta,” said Alberta minister of Agriculture and Forestry Devin Dreeshen. “It’s great to see BCG and the Alberta Hemp Alliance committed to rural revitalization and supporting our ambitious targets for job creation, investment attraction and increased agricultural and value-added exports.”
BCG sources hemp straw, which was previously seen as waste, from Alberta farmers. Maximizing the potential of the entire plant will bolster farm income and will lead to a more resilient agriculture sector. Having expanded into all aspects of the hemp fibre processing stream, BCG is ensuring Albertans have access to high-quality and sustainable hemp products.
BioComposites Group CEO, Dan Madlung explained, “Hemp straw was previously just a waste product for growers. We have built the biggest hemp processing hub in North America, creating value-added products that we market internationally. I’m proud that BioComposites Group is an Alberta company working to find sustainable solutions in multiple industry sectors, increasing farm income and creating environmentally sustainable products.”
Alberta Hemp Alliance chair Corey Peebles said the grant will assist on continuing to build a diverse and collaborative community of like-minded individuals, businesses and organizations to facilitate the rapid growth of the hemp industry in Alberta. “We will continue to focus on facilitating market development and provide provincial networking, tools and resources.”
Alberta Hemp Alliance (AHA) is a non-profit association of stakeholders collaborating to create a strong, competitive and diversified hemp industry in Alberta.
AHA promotes market development and provides networking, tools and resources for Alberta hemp producers and processors.
Terrafibre products manufactured by BCG use Canadian-grown fibres that are decorticated, cleaned and manufactured in Alberta.
The company is planning to build a new facility to decorticate hemp and flax, and to manufacture insulation and green building products.
The project will take 18 to 24 months to complete, and will result in: • A $30-million investment. • 100 direct full-time jobs. • Crop diversification and income generation for farmers. • Using straw currently wasted by farmers. • 100,000 tonnes of carbon sequestration for the first phase alone.
There was a time when harvest was a time crunch. But the days of productivity moving at a snail’s pace are a distant memory. Because when you’re behind the commands of the all-new Fendt® IDEAL™ 10 combine, you experience a workhorse that takes harvest to task. And all that power is backed by a three-year full-machine warranty, plus all scheduled maintenance and a loaner guarantee to ensure your harvest doesn’t stop. That’s how you end a season growing bold.
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Dry conditions hitting Alberta crops
By Murray Green
Alberta Agricultural Minister Devin Dreeshen and Premier Jason Kenney toured the dry conditions facing cattle producers near Bassano on July 31.
From consistent water supply, to access to feed, to managing financial risk, Alberta’s ranchers can access the programs that make the most sense for their operation.
Agriculture and Forestry, along with Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC), have formed a joint incident management team (IMT) to coordinate the development and implementation of options for addressing the impact of the drought.
In response to concerns from cattle producers that the current drought and potential feed shortages will result in herd reductions, AFSC has analyzed the impact of doubling the Low Yield Allowance on moving marginal cereal and pulse crops to feed.
This change to AgriInsurance was approved by both provincial and federal governments.
In addition, the increasing of interim payments in AgriStability from 50 to 75 per cent has been approved.
AFSC has added tools and information to their website to assist producers (https://afsc.ca/).
One example of these tools is a Yield Estimation Calculator. It is posted on the AFSC main website under the heading “AFSC’s response to 2021 crop conditions”. The purpose of the calculator is to provide clients (or any producer) with a tool to help them estimate their yields prior to harvest.
They may use this estimate for the purpose of determining whether they want to combine it or sell it for feed, or estimating potential yield for production contracting.
AAFC has requested that CRA make early designation of eligible municipalities.
AAFC’s first assessment was based on conditions on June 30. Alberta’s list is likely to expand through subsequent updates to the designation list.
FarmingtheWeb.ca is an online marketplace to connect Alberta buyers and sellers of agricultural items, including hay, feed, and crops.
Under normal conditions, the confined feeding of cow-calf pairs during the grazing season may be considered a confined feeding operation that requires a permit.
The NRCB will not require producers to obtain permits, provided the following parameters are met: manure must be managed according to Agriculture Operation Practices Act requirements, areas used for cow-calf feeding must not pose a risk to surface water or groundwater quality, the cow-calf herd must return to grazing when grass is available in 2022, and the feeding area must return to its normal use.
Lori Larsen, Camrose Booster
