The Olymel hog processing plant in Red Deer has temporarily closed after more than 300 cases of COVID-19 have been connected with workers at the plant. In a statement issued Feb. 15, Olymel said the surge of cases among plant employees makes normal operations impossible to conduct in a safe and efficient manner. Management informed […] Read more
Barb Glen
Stories by Barb Glen
China pork estimates hard to gauge
China’s claims that it has regained 90 percent of the hog production lost during an outbreak of African swine fever are not gaining traction among North American hog and livestock market analysts. Through disease losses followed by precautionary slaughter beginning in 2018, China is thought to have lost more than 40 percent of its herd, […] Read more
U.S. beef demand stands up during pandemic
Increased grocery store sales that resulted as consumers began cooking more at home offset decline in restaurant trade
The wild rodeo of beef demand in 2020 appears to be over, at least in the United States. While many table-service restaurants have closed or offer limited service due to pandemic restrictions, the total impact on beef demand has been minor because supermarkets increased their sales based on consumers’ need to buy food and cook […] Read more
Alta. ag research agency approves first round of funding
Results Driven Agriculture Research project recipients range from precision irrigation to on-farm grain drying to soil health
The first recipients of funds through Results Driven Agriculture Research, the organization that has largely replaced Alberta Agriculture government research, have been selected and notifications to those who provided project proposals are underway. RDAR issued a call for proposals Oct. 20, with $4 million in provincial and federal government funding at its disposal. It drew […] Read more
Covid found at beef, hog plants in Alberta
Cases at Olymel pork facility in Red Deer include one death while Cargill beef workers in High River are also infected
Alberta meat processing plants are again the sites of outbreaks of COVID-19 among workers. Alberta Health has reported that 156 cases are linked to the Olymel pork processing plant in Red Deer as of Feb. 5, with 79 of them active, and one man in his 30s died from the virus on Jan. 28. The […] Read more
Research group welcomes funding
The new plot combine is on site at Chinook Applied Research Association headquarters in Oyen, Alta., and more equipment will be ordered now that the applied research group has received $266,942 from the Western Grains Research Foundation. In addition to the combine, CARA plans to buy a tractor, three-quarter-ton truck, GPS unit, cargo trailer and […] Read more
B.C. introduces mandatory premises ID
British Columbia farms and ranches will have mandatory premises identification when the province implements a regulation under the B.C. Animal Health Act, which is expected in early 2022. Premises identification is designed to better equip livestock producers and rural communities for emergencies and help responders locate sites. It can also be useful in managing outbreaks […] Read more
Cows for Grain program generates money for foodgrains bank
Alberta producer raises calves on his farm, and the proceeds from their sale go to help feed the hungry around the world
Proceeds from a sale of 11 calves that was scheduled for Feb. 2 at the Olds Auction Mart will benefit people in other countries who need food and help. This year’s sale is the third time Al Rand of Bowden, Alta., has organized and contributed volunteer labour to the Cows for Grain project, part of […] Read more
Tiger trout coming to Alberta fishing ponds
The province has been stocking lakes since 2015 and is now making the species available to private fish hatcheries
The eye of the tiger and the thrill of the fight can be seen and felt in Alberta. Tiger trout, a sterile hybrid of Brown and Brook trout, are being made available to the province’s private fish hatcheries, which will in turn have them available later this year and future years to farmers who want […] Read more
Alta. researchers put fertigation to the test
Subsurface drip fertigation is being studied in the lab after two years of field experiments on durum and pinto bean crops
Subsurface drip irrigation systems have been installed on about 2,700 acres in Alberta, and research is underway into fertilizer application through subsurface drip systems. Rezvan Karimi Dehkordi, research associate in the irrigation science department at Lethbridge College, has completed two years of in-field experiments on durum and pinto beans conducted near Lomond, Alta. Now she […] Read more
