Fat content as low as four percent | Less fat means less energy, but the price remains steady
Lower fat content in corn-based dried distillers grains imported by Canadian livestock feeders has caught many by surprise. Feed suppliers and feedlot operators who use the ethanol production byproduct have become accustomed to DDG fat content of 10 to 12 percent and have based their rations on that level. Energy content provided by fat is […] Read more
Barb Glen
Stories by Barb Glen
Alberta farmland for sale: $13 million
Farmland prices climbing | Financial experts predict prices will plateau as interest rates start to rise
BARONS, Alta. — The price tag was $9 million when Barry Allen’s 13 quarter sections of farmland were first listed six years ago. Now the price is $13 million, and realtor Brian Patterson says it’s a gift at that. The big number is posted on a billboard along southern Alberta’s Highway 23, where it attracts […] Read moreAlta. town celebrates beef sector rebound
BROOKS, Alta. — More than 500 people gathered in Brooks Sept. 7 to celebrate the beef industry one year after E. coli contamination at the local processing plant rocked the Canadian industry. The largest meat recall in the country’s history originated Sept. 16, 2012, at what was then the XL Foods plant on the city’s […] Read more
Decision soon on halt to COOL changes
Changes worse than original | Allowing the injunction would give the WTO time to rule on revised wording
A decision on a request to halt implementation of U.S. country-of-origin labelling legislation could be announced as early as this week. After a court hearing Aug. 27, U.S. district court judge Ketanji Brown Jackson said her decision could be expected within 14 days. If granted, the injunction would delay implementation of COOL legislation, which the […] Read more
Antelope Creek Ranch: conservation to the max
Environmental interests work together to show wetland management, cattle grazing, energy activities and research can co-exist
BROOKS, Alta. — It’s mixed prairie in more ways than one. On the Antelope Creek Ranch, it’s a mix of the Alberta government, the Alberta Fish and Game Association, Ducks Unlimited Canada and Wildlife Habitat Canada that work together to manage a 6,000-acre piece of mixed grass prairie and wetlands. The site, dedicated to livestock […] Read moreChildless by choice
Stigma attached | Couples forgoing ‘bundle of joy’ considered selfish
Co-workers call her “baby-hater,” said one woman in Gillian Ayers’ study. Another worried that her photography business would suffer if her child-free status became known. Still other women who have chosen to remain childless have found themselves pitied, assessed as less feminine or accused of selfishness. Yet statistics show more women are choosing that path […] Read morePotato growers seek to increase potato eaters
Consumption is down 18.9 percent since 2007
TABER, Alta. — Per capita consumption of potatoes continues to drop in Canada and that is having effects on Alberta potato growers. North American acres of potatoes are down five to six percent this year and Alberta growers planted about 3,000 fewer acres as processors reduced their contracts. “We are eating a lot less potatoes,” […] Read more
Heritage site honours ancient
HEAD SMASHED IN BUFFALO JUMP, Alta. — Humbling. That’s how Alberta bison producers described their Aug. 10 visit to the world heritage site that has preserved the artifacts, culture and lore surrounding bison and their use by First Nations people. Designated as a world treasure by UNESCO in 1981, Head Smashed In Buffalo Jump was […] Read more
Dairy tackles its most pressing questions
Why is milk so expensive? Why are dairy cows so skinny? Ask and you shall be answered, says Alberta Milk. The industry group launched a website feature Aug. 13 called Ask a Dairy Farmer. Conrad Van Hierden, a dairy farmer from Fort Macleod, Alta., likes the idea of using social media more extensively to answer […] Read more
Bacterial disease spreads to Alberta
A corn disease common in the U.S. Midwest and more recently in Manitoba has made its appearance in Alberta. Goss’s wilt is a bacterial disease that can kill corn by clogging its vascular tissues, causing wilting and premature death. “It was found in Manitoba in 2009 and has become quite extensive there,” said Alberta Agriculture […] Read more
