Alberta Open Farm Days is an annual 2-day summer event that presents Albertans with an opportunity to experience the farm firsthand from farmers and ranchers. The program started in 2013 and has encouraged Albertans to engage with their local communities and experience agri-tourism. In 2024, over 150 farms participated in Alberta Open Farm Day, welcoming over 52,000 Albertans to their farms and ranches. Host farms have included traditional farms, livestock (bison, cattle, alpaca, sheep, llama, goat, poultry) farms and ranches, organic operations, corn mazes, wineries, craft distilleries, meaderies, craft breweries, stables, petting zoos, along with honey, fruit, vegetable, grain and u-pick farms. Since 2013, Open Farm Days has seen over 235,000 people visit over 1,200 farms and ranches, injecting over $1.7 million into the rural economy through on-farm sales. In 2024, reported on-farm sales surpassed $300,000 for the first time. Over the years, Alberta Open Farm Days has also evolve
This article written by Dr. Reynold Bergen, BCRC Science Director, originally appeared in the March 2025 issue of Canadian Cattlemen magazine and is reprinted on BeefResearch.ca with permission of the publisher. Calves are born with a completely naïve immune system. Unlike other species, cows don’t pass on any immune protection to their offspring during pregnancy. That’s why it’s so critical for calves to consume at least two liters of high-quality colostrum soon after birth, to give them some protection while their own immune system develops. The calf’s developing immune system can learn to recognize and respond to disease-causing pathogens in two ways. It can learn the hard way – by being exposed to an infectious disease, surviving and responding more strongly the next time. But it’s better to learn in a safe environment. That’s what vaccines do. Vaccines teach the immune system to recognize what particular pathogens look like so that it can respond more quickly and effectively if
Updates to the Agricultural Operation Practices Act, if passed, would help reduce waste, allow farmers to supplement fertilizer with organic materials and help the province attract job-creating investment. The act and its regulations provide rules and standards for all agricultural operations that handle manure and organic materials. Biodigesters are already operating in the province, and this change will provide certainty for those who store and use biogas production byproducts as a nutrient source to grow crops and encourage investment in biodigester facilities. “Alberta farmers and ranchers work hard to put good food on tables here at home and around the world. Updates to this act would provide access to additional nutrient sources to grow crops. With access to abundant organic material near livestock operations, Alberta will continue to be seen as an attractive place for investment for the biogas industry. Changes would provide this emerging industry with regulatory certainty to d
The recent decision by the US administration to impose tariffs on Canadian and Mexican agri-food imports has raised concerns across North America.
China’s Ministry of Commerce (MOFCOM) has announced the outcome of its anti-discrimination investigation initiated against Canada in September 2024 as a result of the federal government’s tariffs on Chinese electric vehicles, steel and aluminum.
