Canadian dairy farmers will be paid approximately $315 per kilogram of quota in the first year of mitigation payments that the federal government will make for concessions in two trade agreements. The payments come from $345 million in federal funds earmarked to compensate dairy farmers for market access traded to Europe through the Comprehensive Economic […] Read more
Author Archives
Alberta to start consultations on ag research
Applied research groups are concerned about future funding availability from the province and from commodity groups
The future of agricultural research in Alberta is under review. After campaigning to increase focus on farmer-led research, the provincial UCP government will undertake consultations in coming months with the goal of getting “better research outcomes for farmers.” So said Alberta Agriculture Minister Devin Dreeshen, who plans a series of meetings with commodity associations, applied […] Read more
New livestock trucking regulations a concern
FORT MACLEOD, Alta. — Aspects of the new federal livestock transportation regulations, scheduled to take effect Feb. 20, continue to concern the cattle industry. The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association has asked the Agriculture Canada to delay enforcement of the new rules for two years so the results of livestock transport research still underway can be incorporated […] Read more
Alberta announces plans to tackle rural crime
The Alberta government plans to take a harder line against rural crime and today announced measures to begin that process. Provincial justice minister Doug Schweitzer said a Rural Alberta Provincial Integrated Defence Force (RAPID) will be created that will train about 400 sheriffs, fish and wildlife officers and commercial vehicle enforcement personnel to respond to […] Read more
Farmers welcome charges in barn invasion
Four of the protesters who entered an Alberta turkey barn this fall are charged with break and enter to commit mischief
Mark Tschetter, the minister at the Jumbo Valley Hutterite Colony near Granum, Alta., has never been in court. But he will be in a courtroom in nearby Fort Macleod in late November to see what happens to people accused of a Sept. 2 break and enter at the colony’s turkey operation. Tschetter and others in […] Read more
Distributor aims to replace supply-and-demand model
PINCHER CREEK, Alta. — Much of traditional agriculture involves growing as much as you can and then hoping to sell it for as much as you can. Dan Berezan figures there is a better way. “Hope is not a good business model,” said the founder and chief executive officer of Cultivatr, an online farmers market […] Read more
Lethbridge school opens new science facility
Building will be home to chemistry, biochemistry, biological sciences, neuroscience, physics, astronomy and psychology
There wasn’t the slightest vestige of triskaidekaphobia at the University of Lethbridge Sept. 13. Far from superstitious fears associated with Friday the 13th, luck and good fortune were on the minds of dignitaries, who officially opened the U of L’s $280 million Science Commons building, a state-of-the-art facility. The building will house the chemistry, biochemistry, […] Read more
New Alta. potato plant opens
Gleaming equipment, pristine surfaces and the rumble of machinery are initial impressions of the new Cavendish Farms potato processing plant that officially opened Oct. 3 in Lethbridge. The $430 million plant sits on 80 acres in the city’s northeast industrial park and covers 346,000 sq. feet. It is the length of seven football fields and […] Read more
U.S. group wants country-of-origin labelling reinstated
The spectre of mandatory country-of-origin labelling in the United States has raised its ugly head again. That’s how Canadian livestock producers view a recent social media effort in the U.S. with the Twitter handle of #faircattlemarkets. The suggestion by some American cattle groups that COOL be reinstated is only one part of a campaign critical […] Read more
Heavy snow leaves southern Alta. farmers scrambling
Snowfall that fell on southern Alberta Sept. 28-30 — up to 55 centimetres in some parts — is gradually leaving a muddy mess in its melting wake. The resulting field conditions were already creating problems last week for farmers trying to complete harvest. About 90 percent of silage corn was still standing when the snow […] Read more
