Alberta business climate should be more open and welcoming

Doing business in Alberta is becoming harder and harder in recent years due to the economic downturn without adding social licence concerns into the equation. Add the digitus dei, “the finger of god,” which is social licence, and it is becoming darn near impossible to start any type of intensive business operation in modern day Alberta if you are not in the energy industry.

 

Agriculture seems to be particularly hard done by in this respect. Try to establish any kind of feedlot, dairy farm, greenhouse, etc., and you will quickly find people coming forward to complain about every little aspect of it. The smell, the unsightliness, the lighting, the standards of hormone and chemical usage, the disturbance to landscape or the potential for property devaluation. Valid concerns, but not grounds for the hysteria we sometimes see when these things come up for public hearing and debate. After all, we all like to eat, don’t we? Would you rather be eating your veggies off a three-day old boat from China at the sufferance of an American multinational, or from a responsible local grower?

 

Agriculture built this country, and it might be the only saving grace in the Alberta economy right now. Time for some people to get off their high horses and take a broader view. That is, if they know one end of the horse from the other in the first place.

 

Even on a much smaller scale within the city itself, the business climate is not as conducive as it could be. High taxes, uncertainties about the permitting process, and questions about provincial and federal government wage and taxation policies are big issues. 

 

Video: Dicamba Returns for Georgia Farmers: What the New EPA Ruling Means for Cotton Growers

After being unavailable in 2024 due to registration issues, dicamba products are returning for Georgia farmers this growing season — but under strict new conditions.

In this report from Tifton, Extension Weed Specialist Stanley Culpepper explains the updated EPA ruling, including new application limits, mandatory training requirements, and the need for a restricted use pesticide license. Among the key changes: a cap of two ½-pound applications per year and the required use of an approved volatility reduction agent with every application.

For Georgia cotton producers, the ruling is significant. According to Taylor Sills with the Georgia Cotton Commission, the vast majority of cotton planted in the state carries the dicamba-tolerant trait — meaning farmers had been paying for technology they couldn’t use.

While environmental groups have expressed concerns over spray drift, Georgia growers have reduced off-target pesticide movement by more than 91% over the past decade. Still, this two-year registration period will come with increased scrutiny, making stewardship and compliance more important than ever.