TABER, Alta. — Potential trade negotiations with the administration of United States President Donald Trump could affect Canada’s sugar business. Though small in the global scheme of sugar production, which comes mostly from cane, Canada’s sugar trade also involves the southern Alberta sugar beet industry. Canada’s access to the United States under existing rules comprises […] Read more
Barb Glen
Stories by Barb Glen
Record sugar beet crop challenging for factory
TABER, Alta. — There is sweetness all over this southern Alberta town because storage for sugar and thick juice from the 2016 sugar beet crop is at a premium. The Lantic (Rogers) Sugar factory in Taber had to find extra storage space and slow down the processing of last year’s crop at the end of […] Read more
Alberta gives $60 million to bioenergy sector
The Alberta government announced funding for 31 bioenergy companies Feb. 9 totalling $60 million. The grants are part of a plan for a lower carbon future in the province that will reduce emissions and diversify the energy sector, said Environment and Parks Minister Shannon Phillips. Several agriculturally related ventures are the beneficiaries of the 18-month […] Read more
Foreign animal disease: we’re better prepared than the past
BANFF, Alta. — The title of Dr. Chris Byra’s talk at the Banff Pork Seminar last month begged an answer — Foreign Animal Disease Preparedness: Is the Swine Industry Ready? “To answer the question, I guess I have to say no, or at least we’re better off than we were a few years ago, but […] Read more
CWD confirmed in Suffield elk
Dr. Margo Pybus heads Alberta’s surveillance team for chronic wasting disease. And “heads” is the operative word. As of mid-February, Pybus and her team had tested about 4,800 heads from mule deer, white-tailed deer and elk, and there are about 1,000 more to test before she issues her 2016 surveillance report at the end of […] Read more
CCIA all ears to ideas for improved cattle tag retention
Radio frequency tags required for Canada’s national cattle traceability program don’t necessarily last until the cows come home. The final report on the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency’s tag retention study, released Jan. 31, showed good tag retention in young cattle but poorer results in mature cows. That matches the general cattle producer experience, said CCIA […] Read more
Time to revisit Daylight Saving Time
The practice of springing forward in spring and falling back in the fall, the handy memory trick for transition to Daylight Saving Time (DST), does not sit well with Alberta NDP MLA Thomas Dang. He wants to abolish it and keep Alberta on one time all year, just as Saskatchewan does. The member from […] Read more
Baby food recalled
The recall of one brand of PC Organics baby food Feb. 3 has been expanded to all varieties of the brand as of Feb. 8. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said the voluntary recall by Loblaw is due to risk of botulism in the food. It said excess water in the products, present because of […] Read more
Experts excited but puzzled by hairy midge discovery
It’s bigger and it’s hairier than Swede midge, but there’s a lot more to be learned about a new species of midge recently identified in Saskatchewan and Alberta canola fields. Researchers know the midge can damage canola flowers, but more study is planned to determine whether that damage is economically significant and whether the insect […] Read more
Ranchers fear park grazing in jeopardy
Ranchers in southwestern Alberta say they want details on the future of grazing in the new Castle Provincial Park and Castle Wildland Provincial Park, an area where grazing leases have been held for a century in some cases. The Alberta government finalized the boundaries of the two parks Jan. 20 at an announcement in Pincher […] Read more
