Seeding Progressing Well in Central Alberta

Just before we got that large amount of rain at the end of last week, many farmers around the Drumheller area wrapped up seeding for this year.

 

Timing for those that finished couldn't have been better.  According to the Alberta Crop Report put out by the Province of Alberta, nearly 62% of farmers in the province were finished seeding as of May 19.  In the Central region which goes from Rimbey across to Consort, over 71% of farmers had seeding complete.  That was an increase of 32% from the week before. Nearly 80% of spring wheat, 65% of barley and canola, 87% of dry peas, 85% of chickpeas and 79% of lentils are reported as seeded.

 

There were some farmers in the central zone that were unable to get last year's crop off until this spring.  As of last week, only 1.9% of spring wheat from last year was yet to be harvested.   

 

Before the rains we received last week, the soil moisture was rated as good for just under 60% of farmers in our region.  With the rain we received, things will have improved substantially.

 

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.