Proceeds from the Feb. 2 sale of 11 calves at the Olds Auction Mart will benefit people in other countries who need food and help. This year’s sale is the third time Al Rand of Bowden, Alta., has organized and contributed volunteer labour to the Cows for Grain project, part of the Canadian Foodgrains Bank’s […] Read more
Barb Glen
Stories by Barb Glen
Lethbridge’s Ag-Expo rescheduled
Ag-Expo in Lethbridge, the long-running and largest agricultural trade show in Alberta, has been rescheduled from its usual time slot. The event, held at Lethbridge Exhibition Park, is now scheduled for March 17-19 instead of the previously planned dates of Feb. 24-26. The change results from Alberta health restrictions on indoor gatherings that were implemented […] Read more
Alta. cuts crop insurance premiums
Alberta farmers will see their crop insurance premiums reduced by 20 percent this year, the Alberta government announced Jan. 25. The reduction is expected to save farmers more than $55 million on their premiums in 2021. For a farm with 2,000 insured acres, the provincial agriculture department and Agriculture Financial Services Corp. estimate it will […] Read more
Insect forecast shows pest potential
Wheat midge and wheat stem sawfly are among the crop pests likely to cause problems in Alberta this year, according to recently posted data and maps from the Alberta Insect Pest Monitoring Network. Although nothing replaces personal field monitoring or “boots in the field,” as the network regularly states, forecasts based on a 2020 fall […] Read more
Hog sector changes approach
Dr. Scott Dee vividly remembers a day in early January 2014 that found him head first in a hog feed bin, scraping material off the sides. He was getting samples because pigs in some barns in Pipestone, Minn., thought to be “bulletproof” from disease due to strict biosecurity, had contracted porcine epidemic diarrhea virus. The […] Read more
Award-winning bracelet hopes to make pressure washing safer
The device developed by a Quebec hog supply company won the 2021 F.X. Aherne Prize for innovative pork production
Anyone who has used a pressure washer for any length of time has likely experienced hand and forearm fatigue or tennis elbow from the need to grip and engage the spray gun. It is a factor for hog barn workers with duties to clean and disinfect barns and various facilities within the operation. The process […] Read more
Blueberry sector faces retaliation
British Columbia’s blueberry growers are facing a United States trade investigation that could threaten their industry. The U.S. International Trade Commission (ITC) wants to see whether American farmers are being hurt by berry imports from B.C. growers, who produce about 86,000 tonnes of blueberries annually and export 70 percent of the crop, mostly to the […] Read more
Pork’s affordability may create opportunities
Industry told it can capitalize on COVID-19 austerity by providing consumers with cheaper meat and more convenience
Sylvain Charlebois sees opportunities for pork, and by extension hog producers, amid trends emerging from the pandemic. The Dalhousie University professor and researcher, who has become known as The Food Professor, told participants in the Jan. 5 online Banff Pork Seminar that the hog industry should find new ways to present pork to capitalize on […] Read more
B.C. beef plant gets to work
The beef plant that is a key part of plans to establish a branded British Columbia beef program has been processing about 15 head per week in recent weeks to assess operations and gear up for a full launch anticipated later this year, possibly as early as March. B.C. Beef Producers (BCBP), a producer-owned corporation, […] Read more
Research truck hits the highway in U.S. to test virus viability
Veterinarians set out to learn more about animal disease survival in common transportation situations and feed types
The truck carrying one-ton totes of soy-based pig feed is travelling a not-uncommon commercial route this month from Minneapolis to Des Moines, Denver, Albuquerque, New Orleans, Jacksonville, Washington D.C., Buffalo and Chicago. It will take 21 days to cover 9,660 kilometres across 14 states and its journey and purpose had to be approved by the […] Read more
