Rural Roots Canada

Prairie Weather this Week report for Lloydminster for the week of Jan 12 - with RRC Meteorologist David Spence.

Prairie Weather this Week report for Vegreville and Bonnyville for the week of Jan 12 - with RRC Meteorologist David Spence.

Prairie Weather this Week report for the Olds area for the week of Jan 12 - with RRC Meteorologist David Spence.

Prairie Weather this Week report for Lethbridge for the week of Jan 12 - with RRC Meteorologist David Spence.

Prairie Weather this Week report for the B.C. Peace for the week of Jan 12 - with RRC Meteorologist David Spence.

The Canadian Cattle Association has announced Andrea Brocklebank as its new Chief Executive Officer, with the transition set to take place in early March. Brocklebank currently serves as Executive Director of the Beef Cattle Research Council, a role she has held since 2009. She has been part of the Canadian Cattle Association since 2004, working across research, funding, and knowledge transfer wit...

Happy New Year! On the new season of the Rural Roots Canada podcast, powered by Alberta Canola, it’s a busy start to 2026 for RRC! Craig Lester is heading back on the road, preparing for the Alberta Seed Producers Conference, the Ag Services Board Conference, and Crossroads as farmers gear up for new season of growing. Meanwhile, Tim Parent dives into some of the biggest stories shaping Canadian a...

UK researcher and Nuffield scholar Sharon May is bridging the gap between farm life and mental health care, helping ensure that when farmers reach out for support, they’re truly heard.

This week, dry areas stay dry, and wet areas get more snow. It's not promising for the agricultural south, where badly need snow is not forecast this week.

This week, dry areas stay dry, and wet areas get more snow. It's not promising for the agricultural south, where badly need snow is not forecast this week.

This week, dry areas stay dry, and wet areas get more snow. It's not promising for the agricultural south, where badly need snow is not forecast this week.

This week, dry areas stay dry, and wet areas get more snow. It's not promising for the agricultural south, where badly need snow is not forecast this week.

This week, dry areas stay dry, and wet areas get more snow. It's not promising for the agricultural south, where badly need snow is not forecast this week.

On this RRC podcast, hosts Tim Parent and Craig Lester look back on a busy year in Canadian agriculture. From their trip to the Yukon, where farmers like Leona Watson are forging their own path in the North (2:44), to celebrating the Perry Family Farm, winners of the inaugural PepsiCo Global Farmer of the Year Award (11:24), the team covers a lot of ground. They also talk changing perceptions arou...

After four consecutive record harvests, Canadian potato production fell slightly in 2025 as drought conditions affected eastern growing regions, according to new Statistics Canada data. Production dropped 0.9 percent from 2024 to 125.8 million hundredweight, with Prince Edward Island and New Brunswick seeing the biggest declines. PEI saw production drop 15.9 percent to 21.8 million hundredweight a...

In this spotlight on research, we take a look at University of Alberta Master's Student Erica Prins work on soil health under different crop rotations on the prairies.  

In this spotlight on research, we look at University of Alberta Master's Student Sydney Wong's research into Tanspot - a fungal disease that primarily affects wheat.  "Specifically, I'm looking for chemical and genetic resistance, and hopefully using the information found to inform farmers about the types of management methods they should be applying,” says Wong. Wong is picking up research that w...

Alberta Open Farm Days continues to grow both in size and impact. The province-wide initiative invites Albertans to step through farm gates and experience agriculture firsthand while learning where their food comes from. The 2025 edition was a record-setter. According to Alberta Association of Agricultural Societies CEO Tim Carson, this year’s event welcomed more than 52-thousand visitors, with se...

From devastating drought to a destructive storm that tore across the Prairies, 2025 was a year that tested Canada’s farmers and rural communities. In this episode of the Rural Roots Canada podcast, powered by Alberta Canola, hosts Tim Parent and Craig Lester sit down with Rural Roots Canada meteorologist David Spence to unpack the biggest weather stories of the year, from bone-dry fields throughou...

A destructive summer storm that blew through three provinces caused almost a quarter of a billion dollars in insured damage, according to the Insurance Bureau of Canada . The August storm brought large hail, strong winds, and torrential rain, and included confirmed tornadoes in both Alberta and Saskatchewan. In all, it's estimated that the storm resulted in over $235 million in insured damage. Alb...

Canola growers saw strong yields in 2025, but the year was overshadowed by the trade uncertainty and the financial impact of Chinese tariffs, according to Andre Harpe, Chair of the Canadian Canola Growers Association. 

Prairie Weather reports from RRC Meteorologist David Spence.

Prairie Weather reports from RRC Meteorologist David Spence.

Prairie Weather reports from RRC Meteorologist David Spence.

Prairie Weather reports from RRC Meteorologist David Spence.