Technology has made life more convenient on the farm, but fitness levels often suffer from sedentary days in the cab
MEDICINE HAT — Farmers often take better care of their livestock and machinery than themselves. That’s the finding of Jordan Jensen, who is now in a position to help remedy that problem. Jensen administers the Sustainable Farm Families program that operates out of the Farm Safety Centre in Raymond, Alta. The program involves farmers and […] Read more
Barb Glen
Stories by Barb Glen
Weevils wobble but they won’t go away
Alfalfa weevils resistant to the most commonly used insecticides have been confirmed in the Rosemary area of southern Alberta, where many alfalfa seed crops are grown. The wily weevils have been found to survive even after being treated with 50 times the recommended rate of Matador, a synthetic pyrethroid in the Group 3 chemical family. […] Read more
New municipality plan for central Alberta well received
Flagstaff County and the eight towns and villages within it are considering the formation of a single regional governance model. The area southeast of Edmonton has a dwindling population of about 8,000 people. If a proposal proceeds, Flagstaff County, the towns of Daysland, Hardisty, Killam and Sedgewick and the villages of Forestburg, Heisler, Alliance and […] Read more
Loblaw responds to customer survey
Animal welfare among top concerns, and retailer says it plans to work with food industry and farmers
OTTAWA — Animal welfare is one of the top issues for customers of Loblaw stores, but in the past it hasn’t been on the list at all. Sonya Fiorini, senior director of corporate social responsibility for Loblaw, said the company conducts annual customer surveys, and the latest results indicate consumers’ top five concerns are workers’ […] Read moreGroup working to develop no-stun slaughter standards
Public consultation is being sought on the practice of slaughtering animals without stunning them first. Animal slaughter processes for the halal and kosher markets do not allow stunning to comply with religious belief. The market for such meat is growing, but there is no national standard in Canada for acceptable practices. “What is acceptable can […] Read more
Preparing for next disease outbreak
OTTAWA — Porcine epidemic diarrhea, Seneca Valley virus and bovine tuberculosis won’t be the last livestock disease outbreaks seen in Canada. That much is known. Preparing for the unknown — the next disease, weather disaster or even bioterrorism that affects farmed animals — is the task at hand. That is what led the National Farmed […] Read more
Go, fish
Innovations in aquaculture:
In the 2015 movie The Martian, an astronaut stranded on Mars is forced by necessity to grow his own food. The potato crop doesn’t work out so well for Nick Watney, played by Matt Damon in the movie, but Dr. Nick Savidov believes growing food on Mars is quite possible. The bigger opportunity, however, is […] Read more
Aquaponics next stage of development for fish farm
NOBLEFORD, Alta. — Justin Den Toom stands in a vast building under construction, as the sun shines brightly through the plastic-lined roof. The whine of a saw splits the air on this day, but soon the building will be full of lush plants floating placidly in fish-fertilized water. Den Toom operates Current Prairie Fisherman Corp., […] Read more
Growers relish supplying new plant
Cavendish’s proposed processing facility in Lethbridge will require another 9,700 acres of potatoes
Another 9,700 acres of potatoes will be needed in southern Alberta to supply the new Cavendish plant in Lethbridge that was officially announced Dec. 12. Greg Nakamura, whose family has been growing potatoes in the region for more than 45 years, said it might be a challenge to find those additional acres, but it can […] Read moreResearchers target aphanomyces
MEDICINE HAT — Root diseases that are fairly widespread in Alberta in pea and lentil crops are the focus of extensive research at Agriculture Canada. Aphanomyces, first confirmed in Saskatchewan in 2012 and Alberta in 2013, is a mould that damages plant roots and stunts or kills the host plants. Syama Chatterton, a research scientist […] Read more
