Organizers had to scramble to stay ahead of the rain as they prepared to harvest barley for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank
Months had passed in southern Alberta with no rain. Growing projects for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank throughout the region saw the crops ripen early amid relentless heat and smoky skies. But as luck would have it, rain was in the forecast on the very day the Coaldale-Lethbridge project planned to harvest its 180 acres of […] Read moreAuthor Archives
Tour highlights importance of irrigation to southern Alta.
Two Canadian senators learned the importance of southern Alberta’s irrigation system Aug. 12 when they toured a portion of it in the company of various municipal officials. Doug Black from Alberta and Rob Black from Ontario flew in that day over fields greened by irrigation and fields browned by ongoing drought conditions where irrigation is […] Read more
Assistance needed for fire-affected B.C. ranchers
A fire has been burning for at least a month in the region where Ben Albietz ranches near Lillooet, B.C. It continues to destroy range for his cattle and he knows he has already lost about 20 percent of his herd. Without help to obtain feed and reseed burned grazing land, his outlook is as […] Read more
CCA prepares to push environmental plan
Bob Lowe, a cattle producer from Claresholm, Alta., was recently re-elected as president of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. Reg Schellenberg of Beechy, Sask., was re-elected as vice-president. Newly elected to the board are Linda Allison of British Columbia, George L’Heureux and Kelly Smith Fraser of Alberta and Matthew Atkinson of Manitoba. Departing board members include […] Read more
Pork group gets board
The Pork Promotion and Research Agency, a federal entity established in November, has now selected the 12 members who will represent Canadian pork producers, importers, retailers and the restaurant sector. The group’s first meeting, held March 15, identified the following slate of personnel: Terry Beck, Pork Nova Scotia Rick Bergmann, Manitoba Pork Council Olivier Bourbeau, […] Read more
Sugar beet growers finalize contract
Alberta sugar beet growers have finalized a new contract with Lantic (Rogers) Sugar. ASBG president Gary Tokariuk said April 1 that the two-year agreement will see 28,000 acres of sugar beets planted in southern Alberta this year and next and there will be differences in how payment to growers is calculated. “We got more security […] Read more
Lethbridge Ex starts expansion
A ceremonial sod turning March 31 marked the construction start of a Lethbridge and District Exhibition project 18 years in the making. The $70.5 million project involves building a 268,000 sq. foot building dubbed the Agri-food Hub and Trade Centre. It is expected to create about 400 construction jobs in the short term and 50 […] Read more
Alberta research project focuses on improving queen bee health
Shelley Hoover of the University of Lethbridge receives a grant to examine ways to re-queen hives and store locally produced queens
The queen bee is crucial to honeybee hive production, health and pollination activity. A funding grant of $496,513 from Alberta’s Results Driven Agricultural Research (RDAR) will allow bee researcher Shelley Hoover to undertake a four-year project on queen bees and their colonies. Hoover is a biological sciences researcher at the University of Lethbridge. Her project […] Read more
Ability to make decisions rapidly called rural strength
Rural politicians point to ‘nimble’ municipalities being able to ‘pivot’ to do what is needed for survival and mitigation
Necessity is the mother of invention, and rural Canada knows about both necessity and invention, a group of rural panelists agree. It has to be agile and innovative to get things done. “Rural municipalities have this great advantage and that is that we’re nimble,” said David Mitchell, mayor of Bridgewater, N.S. “We tend to be […] Read more
Farm gets communications award
Chatsworth Farm of Vermilion, Alta., has won the communications award from the Alberta Farm Animal Care council. The award recognizes those who take an active role in communicating livestock issues and the farm animal care message in a factual and honest manner. “Chatsworth Farm has risen to the challenge of using digital media to promote […] Read more
