Recommendations from the World Health Organization that farmers stop using antibiotics to prevent illness are not sitting easily with all livestock producer groups. WHO released its recommendations on antibiotic use Nov. 7 with the goal of helping to preserve effectiveness of the drugs in the face of growing bacterial resistance that could pose a threat […] Read more
Barb Glen
Stories by Barb Glen
Drought reduces wheat disease risk
MEDICINE HAT, Alta. — There may be a silver lining in the cloud of the 2017 drought in much of southern Alberta and Saskatchewan. It has probably reduced the likelihood that wheat streak mosaic virus will be a problem in 2018. Mary Burrows, a plant pathologist at Montana State University and an expert on the […] Read more
Policy paper gives alternatives to feedlot tax
A per-animal-unit tax imposed by Lethbridge County last year has the potential to harm the feedlot industry and is not as fair as other options to raise money for roads and infrastructure. That’s the assessment in the University of Calgary School of Public Policy report on the “head tax” that applies to confined feeding operations […] Read more
Wildfire assistance plan in works
Several rural municipalities that experienced wildfire damage this fall plan to discuss options for assistance at this week’s Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties meeting in Edmonton. Fires around Bindloss, Acadia Valley, Hilda and Schuler caused extensive damage to grassland, fences, farmsteads and stored feed and killed several hundred head of cattle. Cypress County […] Read more
Pink may be the panther in future mussel tussle
MEDICINE HAT — Invasive zebra and quagga mussels have not reached Alberta’s waters yet, but the nasty species’ steady spread north from the United States and west from Lake Winnipeg has Alberta’s water users on edge. The mussels propagate quickly and can clog water systems, destroy lake and river ecosystems and cause millions in damage. […] Read more
Alberta’s irrigation growers warned to watch for wheat midge
MEDICINE HAT — Alberta’s insect management team is still compiling data for the 2018 forecasts, but specialist Scott Meers revealed his early predictions Oct. 26 at the Farming Smarter Cypress Conference. Forecast maps for wheat midge and wheat stem sawfly are expected to be posted in December, and maps for the other five insects regularly […] Read more
Diamondback moth numbers extreme in some areas
MEDICINE HAT — Diamondback moths didn’t look like a problem in the early part of this year’s growing season. Then they became a big problem. “Diamondback moth really was a massive issue for canola growers in southern Alberta and a little bit of a surprise because we’ve never, ever seen anything like that in Alberta,” […] Read more
New midge with an appetite for canola not serious yet
Insect specialist says the unnamed species that attacks the flowers has only been confirmed in central Alberta
MEDICINE HAT, Alta. — Alberta canola had a smidge of new midge this season. The new species of midge was first identified in 2016 and is still so new that it doesn’t have an official name. Although it has a liking for canola flowers, it doesn’t seem to be doing much damage. Alberta Agriculture insect […] Read moreFeds give ranch operations hit by TB added tax deferrals
MEDICINE HAT — Alberta and Saskatchewan ranchers affected by the discovery and investigation of bovine tuberculosis last year will see an improved set of income tax deferrals. Federal agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay announced Nov. 6 that no tax need be paid in 2016 and 2017 on compensation received for animals destroyed in the tuberculosis investigation. […] Read more
Sheep researchers ask for deer poop
Do deer defecate in the woods? Yes, and they also do it on other parts of the landscape. When they do, researchers want some of the material. A study underway at the University of Calgary’s faculty of veterinary medicine is aimed at learning about gastro-intestinal parasite diversity in Alberta’s deer. Researchers intend to compare parasite […] Read more
