I was at Farm Tech last week in Edmonton and some topics covered included farm management and transition planning, grain drying, pest control, marketing consumer trends farmers will need to address and more.
Drew Lerner was there and is predicting a later spring in S AB, and some showers in late May or early June. He is not saying we will break the drought in S AB though. Drew thinks the season will be similar to 2005 and I have attached a picture of his presentation below showing temperatures and precipitation. 



Faba Bean Varieties & Contracts
Faba beans like moisture and can be seeded early. They can be challenging to seed but are an easy crop to grow and fix more nitrogen than any pulse crop we grow because they fix nitrogen all season.

Snowbird - Low Tannin Faba Bean
Snowbird is a good choice where season length is a concern, or tolerance for risk is low. It sells into some export markets as well as feed markets. Price can be lower than tannin varieties but if there is a problem with lygus bug damage from bites though the pod or frost the feed market will accept Snowbird readily. Many buyers and brokers will buy Snowbrid.

FB 9-4 (Malik) - Tannin Faba Bean
FB 9-4 is a large seeded faba bean making it more difficult to seed and 5 bu per ac is needed to get 4 plants per square foot. It has tannins so it is more challenging to sell if it does not make grade but we do have a flour company who has used it recently. Lygus damage may be lower in tannin varieties because it is thought they don't like the tannin plants as much. Yields on the FB 9-4 faba bean can be equal to snowbird in our experience.
A few pulse buyers may be contracting this variety or Vicki Dutton a broker we have worked with for a few years has at or over $10 per bu delivered Strathmore but she has possibility to use to multiple locations across Ab and Sk. For info on discounts and fine print please call Vicki: 306 441 6699

Fabelle - Tannin & Low Vicine / Convicine Variety
This variety is the highest yielding one we grow with 5-10% advantage over the other varieties. It has a fit in the food markets as its low vicine / convicine makes it less of a risk in human food applications. Seed size is medium / large and is between between a Snowbird and a FB 9-4. It is a tannin variety.
We have a few buyers and end users interested in this one but no new crop contracts yet. A few farmers are growing it on spec to sell in the fall.
I am working on a new crop program now. 

We have two new faba bean varieties launching next season if you want to look at them now: DL Rico & CDC 219-16