Alberta Sugar Beet Growers have signed a two-year contract extension with their processor, Lantic Sugar Inc., which they expect will provide stability through to the 2020 growing season. The current contract allows for 28,000 acres of sugar beets to be planted in 2018, but information about acreage for subsequent years was not available at press […] Read more
Author Archives
Harsh weather takes toll on calves
Some dry spots finally free of snow were just beginning to appear in David Cervo’s calving pasture. Then came another 10 centimetres of overnight snow. That’s how it’s been during calving season in southern Alberta and across much of the Prairies, resulting in higher calf losses, shortages of hay and straw, and increased stress on […] Read more
Feds propose vet drug fee hike
Initial Health Canada proposals to increase service fees for veterinary drug approvals and reviews could drastically increase the cost of products for livestock producers, a recent study indicates. Fees charged to veterinary drug makers could increase 39 to 500 percent if current fee proposals go into effect as planned in April 2019, according to a […] Read more
Debate over land use plan focuses on OHV use
Province looks for public input on draft plan for Livingstone-Porcupine Hills region in southwestern Alberta
Supporters of a draft plan to manage and protect the Livingstone-Porcupine Hills region of southern Alberta made their views known April 9 at a news conference where they articulated the benefits. Albertans have until April 26 to provide feedback on two plans tabled earlier this month by the provincial government: the land footprint report and […] Read more
Young Alberta family returns to farm roots
On the Farm: Jenny and Andy Vandersteen met at a firebase and eventually worked their way back to the farm

BEAVER MINES, Alta. — A winding gravel road through the foothills west of Pincher Creek, Alta., brings visitors to a ranch where the scenery fosters two families, a 60-head cow-calf herd and a photography business. Jenny and Andy Vandersteen and their children Leena, 7, and Brady, 5, ranch with Jenny’s parents, Ron and Terry Watrin. […] Read more
Veterinary-client plan soon required for antibiotic access
Livestock producers who don’t have a regular veterinarian may want to get one before December so they can retain access to livestock antibiotics. As of Dec. 1, a veterinary prescription will be needed to obtain any. A move toward this scenario has been in the works for several years as Health Canada moves to address […] Read more
More farms, ranches sought for Open Farm Days
This year will be the sixth Open Farm Days event in Alberta, and public participation grew from 17,800 visitors in 2016 to 20,000 last year
Agricultural groups often talk about the widening gap between urban and rural people and public misunderstandings about how food gets from field and pasture to table and plate. Alberta farmers and ranchers can do something about that gap. They can open their properties to the public during Open Farm Days, this year scheduled Aug. 18-19. […] Read more
Cultural divide separates farmers, Indigenous workers
Sage Shade rides his horse through the feedlot pens at VRP Farms, checking for cattle that need treatment. It’s spring and the pens are muddy from melting snow and ice, so the job of pen rider isn’t at its most pleasant. Still, Shade says he likes the job and the variety it offers. He is […] Read more
Farmers urged to protect beneficial insects
Farmers’ arsenal against insect pests in crops can easily include weapons of mass destruction that are free and require little maintenance. They come in all shapes and minute sizes and their presence contributes to ecosystem stability. These weapons are otherwise known as nature’s array of beneficial insects, those that battle pest species that reduce crop […] Read more
Click beetles, wireworms focus of new Alberta field study
Research on wireworms lagged when effective pesticides came into wider use in Canada. Now that those same pesticides, notably lindane, are no longer in use, wireworm research is being revived. Haley Catton, research scientist and cereal crop entomologist with Agriculture Canada in Lethbridge, is in year two of a three-year study designed to see how […] Read more
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