Vendors in Alta. are required to take and pass a home study course and post the certificate at their booths
There are newcomers every year to Alberta farmers markets, and for many, it is their first experience with food product sales. That’s where the regulations governing farmers markets come into play. A true farmers market is one that is approved by Alberta Agriculture and has been issued a food handling permit by Alberta Health Services. […] Read more
Barb Glen
Stories by Barb Glen
Sugar beet tonnage sets record in southern Alta.
Ideal weather, improved varieties and production management get the credit for stellar yields last year
A “wow” year is how Alberta Sugar Beet Growers president Arnie Bergen Henengouwen summarized 2017. “The combination of glorious southern Alberta sun, water, soil, improved seed varieties and producer management has resulted in sugar beet yields this past year that no one ever thought possible in the great white north,” he told those at the […] Read moreSugar beet sector decides on ground rules for next contract
There’s no need for anyone to get beat up — or beet up — in contract negotiations between Alberta sugar beet growers and Lantic, the company that contracts beet acres and processes the crop. With that acknowledgement, beet growers and Lantic have signed a memorandum of understanding designed to avoid the vitriol spewed during the […] Read more
Sugar beet growers keep eye on NAFTA
Current talks surrounding renegotiation of the North America Free Trade Agreement are lacking sweetness. So far as the Alberta Sugar Beet Growers know, sugar and Canada’s access to the U.S. market have not come up at all in the talks. At first blush, that might be considered a good thing, given the quixotic nature of […] Read more
Hog farms make extra effort to keep employees
The Keirsey Sorter defines people as being one of four general types: artisan, guardian, idealist and rational. Here are some of the traits displayed by each:
BANFF, Alta. — Large agricultural operations are putting more emphasis on human resources in efforts to find and keep employees amid a country-wide shortage of farm labour. Among those is Sunterra Farms, and Trish Hyshka, human resources manager in the company’s Acme and Trochu hog operations, said it remains difficult to find enough people to […] Read more
Water-efficient Israel has lessons for Canada
The country, which is 60 percent desert, can grow 85 percent of its food on 555,6000 acres of irrigated land
If Canadians had to pay the full cost of water — its collection, sanitation, delivery and recycling — what would that mean? Big bills, certainly, but it might also mean they would use less than the 300 cubic metres per person that they now average. Terrence Lazarus, general manager of the St. Mary River Irrigation […] Read more
Forgoing antibiotics comes with a cost
Hog producers told they can expect higher piglet mortality and costs of production if they move to an antibiotics-free system
BANFF, Alta. — Hog producers who plan to convert to a raised-without-antibiotics production model can expect higher piglet mortality, higher costs of production and market premiums that will level off as more operations convert. Given those factors, conversion might not seem overly attractive, but a push for meat from animals raised without antibiotics is increasing, […] Read moreBright prospects for pork, if NAFTA proceeds
BANFF, Alta. — New hog processing plants in the United States are bullish for the Canadian pork industry, says agricultural consultant Larry Martin. Figures he provided at the Banff Pork Seminar Jan. 11 show this is the fifth year of hog herd expansion in the U.S., which now has 73 million hogs and indicates pork […] Read more
Antibiotic regulations tighten, but drugs will still be available
BANFF, Alta. — Pork producers have questions about access to antibiotics as rules change in Canada aimed at mitigating the effects of antimicrobial resistant bacteria. Swine veterinarian Dr. Egan Brockhoff said he fields many queries, but he assured producers at the Banff Pork Seminar Jan. 11 that antibiotics will continue to be available for swine […] Read more
Pain relief mayhelp after calving
Cows and calves might benefit from pain relievers after calving, and consultation with a veterinarian can guide cow-calf producers to the best options for their cattle. Though there are no drugs registered in Canada that are specifically labelled for pain related to calving, there are several generally labelled for pain relief, said Dr. Claire Windeyer, […] Read more
