Long-time readers of this newspaper, particularly those in the cattle business, know Barbara Duckworth’s name. As the Western Producer’s primary livestock reporter, her byline appeared thousands of times in these pages over a 32-year career that ended with her retirement in 2020. Barbara Duckworth Thompson died Oct. 7, from cancer, at the age of 70. […] Read more
Barb Glen
Stories by Barb Glen
Let us always know water’s worth
In August 2022, a friend offered a boat ride on the Oldman Dam reservoir. It was a hot, sunny day with minimal wind — uncharacteristic at the aptly named Windy Point on the reservoir’s eastern edge. It was an ideal day for such an excursion. We enjoyed the breeze created from the motorboat’s speed and […] Read more
Potash train derails
A train carrying fertilizer derailed at about 8:15 a.m. May 22 along the Canadian Pacific Railway main line east of Fort Macleod, Alta. RCMP say about 43 cars left the track on the westbound train. RCMP say the accident occurred along Highway 3, between Range Road 251 and Range Road 252, and that there were […] Read more
Growing project gets jump on Mother Nature
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 more
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
