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
Author Archives
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
Feedlot growth overtakes herd size
Western Canada has become a net importer of feeder cattle as domestic production falls short of what feedlots need
Feedlot capacity continues to grow in Alberta and Saskatchewan at the same time as the domestic cattle herd continues to shrink. Yet the markets have not been kind of late to feedlots. Many have been in a money-losing situation for nearly three years and suffered even further because of the pandemic, when they had to […] Read more
Flight cancellations threaten bee supplies
Eighty percent of the bees honey producers expected this year from New Zealand won’t arrive due to Air Canada changes
Changes to airline flight schedules have jeopardized Canadian honey production and pollination services. Commercial beekeepers and hobbyists have pre-ordered 50 pallets of bees from New Zealand, enough to supply about 30,000 hives, but Air Canada flight alterations and cancellations could mean only seven or eight pallets arrive in time for use this year. Instead of […] Read more
Wildfires sweep across southern Alberta
One residence was destroyed and several other homesteads affected after fires burned more than 15,000 acres of land
Things to be thankful for in southern Alberta on March 29: snow, emergency services, good neighbours, no loss of life. Those were on Josh Fankhauser’s list after grass fires burned more than 15,000 acres of land in the Claresholm, Fort Macleod, Stavely and Blood Reserve regions of the province. Whipped by winds in the 100 […] Read more
