A new opportunity for women looking to gain hands-on ranching experience is coming to Alberta this summer.

The first-ever Female Ranch Camp will take place June 18–22 in Yellowhead County. Organized by Business Wide-View, the camp is modelled after a successful U.S. program and aims to build confidence, skills, and a stronger sense of community among women in agriculture.

“We’re taking up to 12 women to the camp,” says B-J Fuchs, owner of Business Wide-View and host of the event. “They’ll be learning real-life ranch skills through a series of stations — from sorting cattle, operating a chute, branding, ear tagging, to administering vaccines. It’s an environment designed for women to try new things, learn ranch hand activities, and not feel intimidated.”

The camp has already attracted participants from across North America, including the United States, Eastern Canada, and Mexico. Interest has also come from as far away as Australia and Brazil, though visa issues have delayed some international participants until future camps.

In Alberta’s Peace Country, a farmer-directed research organization is helping producers improve their operations by testing new practices and technologies tailored to the region’s unique needs.

SARDA Ag Research, based in Falher, conducts unbiased research on a range of topics, from crop inputs to new farming methods. The goal is to help farmers make better decisions based on data from their region, without the cost or risk of trying unproven methods themselves.

“SARDA Ag Research is an organization that does non-biased research to help our local farmers come up with new ways, new things that are out there, bring the truth to it,” says Simon Lavoie, a St. Isidore-area farmer and chair of SARDA. “We can see firsthand what works, what doesn't work. SARDA is the groundbreaker for the new stuff for the north.”

Lavoie says one of SARDA’s strengths is that it’s farmer-controlled, meaning local producers determine the direction of the research based on the challenges they face, rather than relying solely on industry trends.

Farmers across North America are riding a wave of economic uncertainty, thanks in large part to the ongoing global trade war & tariffs and shifting interest rates.

Christian Lawrence, head of Cross-Asset Strategy at Rabobank, says the effects of the Trump administration’s trade strategy are hitting the agriculture sector hard.

“We’re seeing a lot of volatility right across markets, particularly in currency markets, which tend to be a bit of a relief valve for tariffs,” says Lawrence.

Soil stewardship has long been a cornerstone of Kevin Auch’s approach to farming, a legacy passed down through generations. That dedication was recently recognized when the Carmangay producer received the prestigious Orville Yanke Award for soil conservation at the Farming Smarter Conference.

The 2025 edition of the Alberta Blue Book has arrived.

For over 20 years, the Blue Book has been a trusted resource of farmers and agronomists, helping them make decisions during the growing season.

The book, which is collaboratively produced by Alberta Canola, Alberta Grains and Alberta Pulse Growers, has over 700 pages of valuable crop protection information.

A program bringing research to the farm is again looking for farmers to participate.

Alberta Grains is accepting applications for its Plot2Farm program, which aims to allow producers the opportunity to trial practices.

The Plot2Farm program, launched in 2020, has helped producers test agronomic practices under real-world conditions. 

Agronomy Program Specialist Lara de Moissac says the number of producers who are interested in participating continues to grow.

"They are curious about certain practices that maybe they hear about in a conference like Prairie Cereals Summit. If there was a Spotlight on Research and they thought, oh, I would like to try that, but I don't want to go all in, of course. So Plot2Farm is a good way to try something out," says de Moissac

Farmland values across Canada continued their steady upward trend in 2024, with the average price of farmland increasing by 9.3 per cent, according to Farm Credit Canada’s latest Farmland Values Report.

While the pace of growth slowed slightly compared to the 11.5 per cent increase recorded in 2023, FCC Chief Economist J.P. Gervais says the market remains strong despite some pressures.

“The increase in Canadian farmland values in 2024 reflects an enduring strength in demand for farmland amid some pressures on commodity prices,” Gervais said. “The limited supply of farmland available for sale combined with lower borrowing costs resulted in an increase in the average price of farmland across the country.”

As Canadians prepare to head to the polls, grain growers want to make sure their voices are heard.

The Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) has launched Vote for Grain, a national campaign to help farmers engage with candidates and push for policies that impact their livelihoods. It gives grain farmers a direct way to engage with local candidates and understand where the parties stand.

The GGC says this election comes at a critical time, with farmers facing mounting challenges, everything from rising costs to the carbon tax to trade uncertainty with the U.S. It also highlights the needs for plant breeding investments, extended interswitching, and the right to repair, issues that directly impact farmers’ competitiveness and profitability.

For women in agriculture, balancing farm duties, business management, caregiving, and community leadership can leave little time to build strong bonds or rekindle family connections.

At the AWC West 2025 conference, Carlamay Sheremata, speaker and author of Youth Truth: Engaging in Conversations That Can Change Lives, says small, intentional moments, or what she calls “micro-minutes,” can have a significant impact.

“It’s just the little things each day,” Sheremata explains. “It could be a five-minute check-in, driving home from school, or a simple good morning hug. Those little things all of a sudden build that connection with the kids.”

The Canadian Cattle Association (CCA) is disappointed and frustrated by tariffs imposed by the American government, saying a prolonged trade war between Canada and the United States will result in major challenges for cattle producers across the country.

"We've put a lot of time and effort into advocating against the tariffs," says Tyler Fulton, Vice President of the Canadian Cattle Association. "We advocated directly with our U.S. counterparts to make sure they understood the consequences to their industry and the U.S. consumer as well."

"It's frustrating that we find ourselves in this position, and I can't help but think that, at some point, all of this pain could have been avoided."

Fulton notes the cattle industry is deeply intertwined across North America, with cattle frequently moving between Canada and the U.S. for grazing, feeding, and processing. The sudden tariffs have left many producers scrambling.

"I can't think of a more risky time to be in the cattle business than what we've got right now."