Food & Farming

01 Where Does Alberta Food Really Come From? Alberta produces an extraordinary amount of food, but the path from farm to plate is rarely as simple as a picture of a red... → 02 How to Buy Food Directly From an Alberta Farm Buying directly from a farm can be as simple as stopping at a roadside stand or as organized as reserving a quarter of beef... → 03 What Does Farm Fresh Actually Mean? Farm fresh is one of the most appealing phrases in food marketing, but it can create more certainty than it actually provides. The phrase... → 04 Understanding Alberta's Growing Season Alberta does not have one growing season. A gardener near Edmonton, a grain farmer east of Calgary and an irrigated vegetable producer in southern... → 05 Why Soil Health Matters Soil is not simply dirt holding a plant upright. Agricultural soil stores and moves water, supplies nutrients, supports roots and organisms, and forms the... → 06 What Is Regenerative Agriculture? Regenerative agriculture has become a popular way to describe farming intended to improve soil and ecosystem function while producing food. The idea can be... → 07 Organic Farming in Alberta Explained Organic farming in Alberta operates within Canada's regulated organic system. Certified organic does not simply mean local, small-scale or pesticide-free. It means the operation... → 08 Organic, Natural and Conventional: What Is the Difference? Organic, natural and conventional are often presented as three competing kinds of food. In reality, they are not equivalent categories. Organic has a regulated... → 09 How Irrigation Supports Alberta Agriculture Much of southern Alberta agriculture exists in a dry climate where reliable water can transform what farmers are able to grow. Irrigation does not... → 10 What Farmers Mean by Crop Rotation Crop rotation means deliberately changing what is grown on a field over time instead of planting the same crop continuously. The rotation a farmer... → 11 Why Farmers Use Fertilizer Every harvested crop removes nutrients from a field. Farmers use fertilizer, manure, legumes and other nutrient sources to replace or supplement what crops need.... → 12 Why Farmers Use Pesticides Farmers use pesticides to manage weeds, insects, plant diseases and other organisms that can reduce yield or quality. The subject deserves more than either... → 13 What Is Integrated Pest Management? Integrated pest management, usually shortened to IPM, is a way of managing pests with multiple tools rather than relying automatically on one pesticide or... → 14 How Weather Affects the Food We Grow Farmers plan carefully, but weather retains a veto. Temperature, rainfall, snow, wind, hail and extreme events affect planting, crop development, livestock, harvest and food... → 15 What Is a Family Farm Today? The family farm has changed. It can be a small mixed farm selling at a market, a large grain operation using sophisticated machinery, a... → 16 Farm Gate Sales Explained Farm-gate selling means consumers buy directly from the producer rather than through a conventional retail chain. The sale might happen at the farm, through... → 17 Farmers Markets and Direct Food Sales Farmers markets bring producers and consumers together, but Alberta has a specific Approved Farmers' Market Program and not every event using the words market... → 18 Why Local Food Costs What It Does Local food is sometimes assumed to be cheaper because it travels a shorter distance, or more expensive because it is small-scale. Neither rule is... → 19 Food Traceability: Following Food Back to Its Source Traceability is the ability to follow food, animals or ingredients through parts of the supply chain. For consumers, the idea often sounds as simple... → 20 Questions Worth Asking Your Farmer Buying directly from a farmer gives you something a supermarket shelf cannot: the opportunity to ask the person who produced the food. Good questions... →