The project near Taber is one of 39 in Alberta this year raising money for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank
TABER, Alta. — Twelve combines and assorted tractors, grain carts and grain trucks made short work of 150 acres of spring wheat Aug. 16 in a field east of Taber. Proceeds from the irrigated crop will go to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, which will use the funds to help feed the hungry in other countries. […] Read moreStories by Barb Glen

Breakfast on a Dairy Farm a big hit
The three events held across Alberta every year educate the public about the milk industry and those who work in it
FORT MACLEOD, Alta. — Breakfast on a Dairy Farm, as promoted by Alberta Milk, became Breakfast in a Dairy Barn at Airport Dairy Aug. 11 when a tent didn’t co-operate after collapsing in a gust of wind before the event began. About 1,100 people didn’t seem to mind eating their breakfast instead within arm’s length […] Read more
Feed and water shortage hammers ranchers
Every day without rain brings more worry to Alberta and Saskatchewan cattle producers. Pastures across wide areas in both provinces are parched, hay yields are generally below average and, in some places, livestock water sources have dried up. Potential feed shortages this winter are on many producers’ minds, which might result in sale of breeding […] Read more
Swift foxes found in southeast Alberta
At least five swift foxes are now resident in southeastern Alberta, a species that was declared locally extinct within Canada in the 1930s. Cameras erected on property managed by the Nature Conservancy of Canada photographed the foxes in an area south of Medicine Hat and about 50 kilometres west of the Saskatchewan border in late […] Read more
Alta. feeder sale attracts 18,000 head; dryness a concern
One of the first big feeder sales of the year Aug. 10 saw 18,324 head sold by the Southern Alberta Livestock Exchange via video at Chain Lakes, Alta. “It was kind of right on where the market was, maybe a little bit higher,” said SALE sales agent Darren Shaw. Prices for 700 to 800 pound […] Read more

Irrigators co-operate on solar power
STAVELY, Alta. — Three separate farming operations east of this southern Alberta town have co-operated on a 313.56 kilowatt project that will use the sun to power pumps for their irrigation pivots. Lamb Farms Ltd., Roemmele Farms Ltd. and Lilybrook Herefords Inc. turned the key last week on an installation designed and erected by Western […] Read more

Volunteers collaborate to keep crimson in countryside
PINCHER CREEK, Alta. — It’s a lot of paint — 150 gallons of it — and it was all needed to cover the 14,500 sq. feet on the Zoeteman barn during a painting bee Aug. 9-10. Most of the paint did indeed end up on the barn itself, which is noteworthy considering the job was […] Read more

Mapping soil beneath the surface has benefits
LANGHAM, Sask. — The session at the Ag in Motion farm show near Saskatoon was titled “Uncover the secrets below your soil’s surface.” Mark Kuehn, project manager with Trimble’s Ag Business Solutions sector, was tasked with explaining how that can be done and how Trimble has done it for various clients. The company uses a […] Read more

Strychnine ban for gophers pondered
Health Canada proposes to end the use of strychnine to control ground squirrels and is seeking public input on the matter until Sept. 27. The proposal stems from a regular review of pesticides under the Pest Management Regulatory Agency. In its consultation document, Health Canada said strychnine kills ground squirrels, also commonly called gophers, but […] Read more

Wasp may take sting out of lygus damage
Researchers in Alberta are studying if a parasitic wasp will attack lygus bugs and protect canola and alfalfa crops
Lygus bugs can adversely affect many types of crops and work is underway to see if a parasitic wasp called peristenus can become a natural control for the pests. Hector Carcamo, research scientist at Agriculture Canada in Lethbridge, said peristenus successfully attacked lygus in laboratory-grown canola and alfalfa. Now he is studying how and whether […] Read more