Helpful insect eaters | Little brown bats can eat their body weight in insects every night
Bram Stoker has a lot to answer for when it comes to the reputation of bats as scary beasts associated with Halloween spooks. The author of Dracula was the first to include bats in his description of Transylvanian legend, and the flying mammals have been damned by association ever since. That is gradually changing, said […] Read more
Barb Glen
Stories by Barb Glen
South Dakota ranchers rescue sheep from snow
Storm fallout | Couple saves 24 sheep buried in snow following an early October storm that killed thousands of animals
When a massive South Dakota storm abated after dropping a wind-driven four to six feet of snow, Tom and Karen Seaman of Newell, S.D., ventured out to find their sheep. They’d been virtually housebound from Oct. 3 to 6 after the blizzard closed roads and knocked out power in the western half of the state. […] Read moreFarming for the love of it
Fourth generation | Zelenka family continues to farm on dryland
TABER, Alta. — From their yard and front window, Robert and Carol Zelenka can see traffic whizzing by on busy Highway 36 south of Taber. They can both remember a time when traffic was minimal but now oilfield vehicles, grain haulers and equipment steadily make their way to and from the United States border crossing […] Read moreCourse teaches truckers on livestock
Public face of industry | Program has worked with 1,700 livestock truckers since it was started in Alberta in 2007
Livestock truck transport is a common sight on prairie highways and one of few fleeting connections many consumers will ever make with animal agriculture. That’s one reason it is important to ensure livestock truckers are well trained in proper transport of their live cargo, says one industry expert. But the most important reason is the […] Read moreAlberta offers fertile ground for greenhouse
Bedding plant production Wind is the biggest production challenge at deVry Greenhouses
PICTURE BUTTE, Alta. — The colourful bracts on poinsettias that will brighten Canadian homes during the coming holiday season have yet to appear on this sea of green plants. Once they do, nearly 13 acres of them now developing in a greenhouse near Picture Butte, Alta., will be shipped to retailers in Alberta, Saskatchewan and […] Read moreSugar beet quality down, but yields remain positive
Frost concerns | Processing is already underway at Taber, Alta., facility
The Alberta sugar beet harvest was half finished as of Oct. 10 as growers dig about 30,000 acres of the crop. Andrew Llewelyn-Jones, agriculture superintendant for Lantic Sugar in Taber, Alta., said harvest began Oct. 1 and is proceeding well. “We’re going to get good yields again,” he said. “It does vary because some areas […] Read moreLivestock deaths from freak storm being tallied
Two South Dakota livestock groups are organizing fundraising to help ranchers who lost thousands of cattle in a severe blizzard Oct. 5-6 that also hit Colorado and Wyoming. Some parts of South Dakota saw as much as 48 centimetres of snow. The number of cattle lost was still being calculated as drifts began to disappear […] Read more
Report evaluates health, vitality of communities
Vital Signs analysis | Community Foundations of Canada board measures success and improvement in several areas
Oct. 1 was report card day for 25 communities across Canada. They are the ones that released analyses called Vital Signs, which measure various aspects of community health from literacy to employment to volunteerism. Among the 25 were five cities and regions in Alberta and five in British Columbia. “The reason it’s valuable is because […] Read more
Oldman River contaminants puzzling
A university augments education and knowledge, but in the case of the Oldman River, the University of Leth-bridge and its environs also augment the number of nutrients, coliforms and pesticides in the water. Claudia Sheedy, a researcher with Agriculture Canada in Lethbridge, said researchers have no explanation for the higher concentration of contaminants found in […] Read more
Study explores elk, human conflict
Keeping elk out of livestock feed | Fences, highways act as boundaries to keep animals at bay
Some elk roam and some elk take up residence. Conservation biologist Dale Paton of Anatum Ecological has studied elk movements for six years and has learned the ways and routes of southwestern Alberta’s seven elk herds. His research will contribute to general knowledge about elk behaviour and may help lessen human-elk conflict and vehicle collisions […] Read more
