Water deliveries in the St. Mary River Irrigation District end Thursday, Oct. 8, as the district wraps up its 2026 irrigation season.Irrigators are asked to ensure their dugouts are filled before the end of the day Thursday and to check that their valves and works are shut off before the start of the 2027 water season....

Alberta Grains is inviting farmers from all six growing regions in the province to either nominate themselves or another producer, to be a director or delegate for the commission. Scott Jesperson is the chair of Alberta Grains...To be eligible, farmers have to be growing wheat or barley in their home region and have pa...

It's hoped a two-day conference planned for late November will help the Lethbridge & District Cultural Society to re-shape its direction and future."Really, the Ag Society, right now, is trying to engage the community as much as we can and improve public ag literacy. Get the non-agricultural public, potentiall...

Prairie Rose Public Schools is expanding its agriculture education programming through an apiary project that is giving students hands-on experience with bee health, pollination and agricultural research.On Thursday, Sept. 17, students and guests gathered at the Prairie Rose bee yard at Neubauer Farms to see agricultur...

After a very wet start to September, it looks like producers here in the South will be getting a bit of a break with harvest time coming up fast. The Weather Network's senior meteorologist Doug Gillham is predicting a warmer than normal and drier forecast, starting late this week. "Of course, normal is rapidly fal...

Scientists with Lethbridge Polytechnic's Mueller Irrigation Research Group have created a new tool that measures evaporation and transpiration.The easy-to-use, web-based program will help producers growing crops and hay know exactly how much water is needed in their fields.Dr. Michael Kehoe, with the research group, co...

The Alberta government says it's restoring private property rights by removing Water Act approval requirements.Right now, producers say they're facing unnecessary barriers when it comes to how they manage water on their own cropland.That can include everything from pooling water to having a seasonal wetland on their pr...

The Canadian Grain Commission is updating grading procedures for amber durum, wheat and lentils for the 2026-27 crop year, which begins August 1.In a release Wednesday, the CGC said the revisions will include updated procedures, definitions, and photo reference material. New grading factors will include: darkened and s...

New traceability requirements for beef cattle proposed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency have been shelved. The move followed a large influx of industry opposition with producers calling the new rules too burdensome. Heather Brown, the CFIA's national manager of humane transport and livestock traceability programs...

The first window of time for farmers in Alberta and Saskatchewan to obtain strychnine to deal with burgeoning ground squirrel populations is about to run out, and many producers are now hoping for better luck next spring.Wade Nelson, who farms near High River, Alta., about 66 kilometres south of Calgary, said it's best...

Culvert replacement work this week will result in one-day road closures in Lethbridge County and, in each case, between the hours of 7 a.m. and 5 p.m. Tuesday, crews will shut down Range Road 24-2 between Township Road 11-4 and 12-0 . On Wednesday, it'll be Township Road 12-2 between Range roads 24-3 and 24-4.Thursday ...

It appears producers in Southern Alberta were able to get most, if not all, of their seedings finished ahead of our recent five-day rainstorm.The first weekly crop report of June from Alberta Agriculture shows a 100 percent completion rate for durum, mustard, flax, potatoes, chickpeas, lentils, and corn, and only a fra...

New traceability requirements for beef cattle proposed by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency have been shelved. The move followed a large influx of industry opposition with producers calling the new rules too burdensome. Heather Brown, the CFIA's national manager of humane transport and livestock traceability programs...

While southern Alberta currently goes through a major rain event, some good news coming in from the province's latest crop report for Region 1.A May 26th survey of producers in the Lethbridge, Medicine Hat, Strathmore, and Foremost areas found that close to 95 percent of seeding was complete, a jump of about 15 percent...

The Lethbridge-based group, Farming Smarter, is in its final year of a project that helps farmers measure moisture in their fields.The Smart Irrigation project provides specialized sensors to producers to track the conditions of their soil, but also offers up a five to seven-day model instructing the farmer on the best...

With significant rainfall and strong winds expected this weekend, Lethbridge County is urging residents to be prepared for whatever Mother Nature brings our way.Among its suggestions: to move downspouts away from foundations, clear gutters and eavestroughs, check culverts and ditches for blockages, and make sure sump p...

The latest Alberta Crop Report from the Ministry of Agriculture & Irrigation shows below five and ten-year averages in seeding, except here in the South, where it's slightly above.Provincially, about 53-percent of seed is in the ground, down from the five-year average of 61% and 59%, when compared to the past ten y...

The reeve with the MD of Willow Creek is optimistic that 2026 will be a good year for producers in her neck-of-the-woods.Maryanne Sandberg believes the current Spring conditions are aligning nicely for a successful Summer."Given that our dams are full. We still have a great snowpack up there," Sandberg reiter...

The Lethbridge Raging Grannies are holding a rally on April 10 to protest coal mining in the Eastern Slopes of the Rocky Mountains.Raging Grannies administrator Barb Phillips says the impact mining can have on the environment is an important issue to the rallygoers."Whatever happens in those mountains affects us, ...

Local nonprofit Farming Smarter is seeking the public's help as they launch their 2026 season. The organization held a media event Tuesday, March 31, to showcase their past efforts while looking at upcoming and ongoing projects. "There's a lot of change here," says executive director Ken Coles. "There's ...

The St. Mary River Irrigation District (SMRID) has allocated 14 inches from the farm gate for irrigation this season.Chairman Cory Nelson says the board carefully considers a number of factors when deciding on allocation."Based on modelling and snowpack data supplied by Alberta Agriculture and Irrigation, we are v...

Farmers and producers in and around Lethbridge County are being invited to two free agriculture workshops this spring, hosted through the county's Agriculture Extension Program. The Growing Opportunities Workshop runs on Wednesday, March 25, 2026, from 9 a.m. to 2 p.m. at the Lethbridge Trade and Convention Centre. Let...

Canada's Premier Food Corridor (CPFC) is hosting a three-day delegation from Invest Quebec, bringing together 10 companies specializing in processing automation and digitization.The delegation aims to explore opportunities with Southern Alberta agri-food processors.According to CPFC, the event is part of its effort to ...

The provincial government says it is putting $250,000 over two years into an idea meant to get veterinary students to stay in rural Alberta.This money is for the Veterinary Student Recruitment and Retention Pilot Grant Program. It is intended to get rural clinics to hire summer students and to get those students to pra...

Excite Lethbridge is excited to announce that this year's Ag Expo was the biggest yet. The organization says it was both the highest-attended and the one with the most vendors. Running from Feb. 25-27, a total of 313 agricultural exhibitors, represented by 1,700 people, showcased the latest equipment, technologies and ...

The campaign to raise $30 million to build a new cardiac care centre in Lethbridge has received yet another major donation. The Witdouck family has contributed half-a-million dollars. The family has farmed in the Iron Springs area for more than 70 years. Dale Witdouck says they have long been guided by hard work, stewa...

Farmers dealing with dry and eroding soil can turn to Lethbridge County for help.The County's Agriculture Services team can help landowners identify options to prevent further loss and reduce impacts.They say that, with high winds and limited snow cover, some producers are already noticing topsoil move off fields.This ...

Southern Alberta's largest gathering of agriculture industry representatives is officially underway. Ag Expo kicked off Wednesday morning, Feb. 25, 2026, at the Lethbridge Trade & Convention Centre, which continues on Thursday and Friday. Paul Kingsmith, Director of Event Development at Excite Lethbridge, says he i...