Towns rebuilding | Money will assist with erosion control and infrastructure projects
The Alberta government has set aside $20 million to help restore damaged lands in flood-ravaged communities. The money is directed at municipalities to implement erosion control and restore land for structural and public safety. Specific details on what kind of work is needed will be finalized later this summer. For many rural municipalities this mitigation […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Battles over COOL rules heat up as U.S. files motion
The battle over mandatory country-of-origin labelling is heating up as American attorneys filed a late motion Aug. 9 asking a U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to refuse to issue an order that would block implementation of COOL regulations. The judge set Aug. 27 to hear oral arguments on the motion to block the rules, […] Read more
Biotechnology conference to take practical approach
The word biotechnology is often associated with genetically modified organisms but the industry is out to show it is more than that. The Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference planned for Sept. 15-18 in Calgary hopes to draw about 300 scientists, agribusiness and farmers who want to learn more about how to feed the estimated nine billion […] Read more
U.S. cattle herd promising, but expansion not in cards yet
Better pastures and a promising corn crop are good news for the United States beef industry, but there is little appetite for herd expansion says an agricultural economist at the University of Kansas. “There is reason for some renewed optimism in the cow-calf sector compared to maybe six to nine months ago,” said Glynn Tonsor […] Read more
COOL battles heat up in U.S. court
The battle over mandatory country of origin labelling is heating up as American attorneys filed a late motion Aug. 9 asking a U.S. District Court in Washington, D.C., to refuse to issue an order that would block implementation of COOL regulations. The judge set Aug. 27 to hear oral arguments on the motion to block […] Read more
ABIC to take practical approach
The word biotechnology is often associated with genetically modified organisms but the industry is out to show it is more than that. The Agricultural Biotechnology International Conference planned for Sept. 15-18 in Calgary hopes to draw about 300 scientists, agribusiness and farmers who want to learn more about how to feed the estimated nine billion […] Read more
Straw Man strategy aims to unite beef industry players
For more than a century, players in the Canadian beef industry have often ridden separate trails, but as the world’s food demands change, they say it is time to ride together. The Straw Man Canadian Beef Industry Strategy was born at a meeting in Calgary last spring to get people talking about how to seize […] Read more
Canadian Beef Breeds Council gets new executive director
Michael Latimer is the new executive director of the Canadian Beef Breeds Council. Latimer is a fifth generation purebred cattle producer having been a partner with Remitall Cattle Company at Olds, Alta. For the last four years he was general manager of the Canadian Angus Association where he was responsible for breed promotion and strategic […] Read more
Proper grazing mimics nature: expert
Preventing desertification | ‘Rested grasslands tend to die,’ says a soil specialist who admits an about-face in his thinking
The father of holistic grazing management admits he started out fanatically opposed to livestock roaming the grasslands of his native Rhodesia. “I was one of the people who opposed cattle ranching because as a wildlifer, I had seen the damage they were doing to wildlife,” Allan Savory told a recent Calgary meeting sponsored by the […] Read moreTyson says no to Zilmax feed supplement
Meat processing giant Tyson Fresh Meats will no longer accept cattle fed the supplement Zilmax as of Sept. 6. The United States based company sent a letter to cattle feeding operations earlier this week, stating there have been recent problems where cattle entering processing plants were lame or could not move. It based its decision […] Read more
