Conditions in Alberta are ideal for lygus bugs and grasshoppers
LACOMBE, Alta. — Scott Meers filled a glass jar with bertha armyworm moths and invited people to count the insects and win a prize. The moths had been collected from insect traps across Alberta. Meers, the government’s provincial entomologist, said finding that many worms means the insect could be a bother this summer. A warmer […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Fast food company seeks greater participation in sustainable beef pilot project
McDonald’s Canada is offering up to $20,000 per project to involve more ranchers and feedlots in its verified sustainable beef pilot project. Veterinary clinics, producer organizations, genomics companies and other allied groups are invited to develop projects to get more people involved, said a news release from the fast food restaurant company. Potential projects could […] Read more
Researchers look for alternatives to antibiotics
Bovine respiratory disease probably costs the North American beef industry $500 million a year. Its prevalence in feedlots is the main reason calves receive a dose of antibiotics upon arrival to prevent sickness, but that practice is coming under intense scrutiny with the rise of antimicrobial resistance. “Antibiotics are primarily used to treat and prevent […] Read more
Funding for food safety training
The Canadian sheep industry has received a major funding boost to implement a national food safety program. The federal government has provided $348,090 through Growing Forward 2 to combine food safety, a code of practice for handling sheep and biosecurity standards into one program. Further farmer training is also coming, said Corlena Patterson, executive director […] Read more
Cattle helping to finance rural hospice
CHEADLE, Alta. — A small service club with big ideas wants to build a hospice in its rural community. The Cheadle Lions Club just east of Calgary decided last fall to feed a pen of 18 steers and auction them this spring to start a building fund. “We understand the enormity of it for our […] Read more
Canadian researchers seek BSE resistance
Fewer researchers are probing the mysteries of BSE, but new discoveries about the fatal disease continue. One of those findings is possible genetic resistance among some animals, said Stefanie Czub, research manager at the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s prion unit in Lethbridge, which detected Canada’s first BSE case in an Alberta cow 12 years ago. […] Read more
U.S. senators suggest keeping COOL in some form
Defenders of the U.S. country-of-origin labelling law are seeking some compromises. While many detractors of the mandatory labeling of a wide range of commodities want the law removed from the books or face huge tariffs from Canada and Mexico, others, including a ranking senator on the agriculture committee, have suggested maintaining some form of it. […] Read more
Market operator enters cattle business
Electronic cattle sales are not new, but a new web-based concept is offering more security and a broader connection for buyers and sellers across North America. AgriClear was launched June 16 and operates through the TMX Group Ltd., which runs Canada’s main stock exchange. Registered participants can view pictures and video, make offers, seal the […] Read more
Prairie survey finds higher weaning weights
This year has been an economic bonus for western beef producers, which may encourage them to invest more in their cattle herds. “As an industry we are doing pretty good,” said Kathy Larson, beef economist with the Western Beef Development Centre. The centre recently led a western Canadian cow-calf survey, which provided data from more […] Read more
Fancy hotels give bees a home
If pleased with accommodations, bees will return from year to year
A new, exclusive hotel chain complete with butler service is opening at select sites across Canada. These are bee hotels created in a partnership with Fairmont Hotels and Resorts, Burt’s Bees and Pollinator Canada. The Wild for Bees partnership started in five locations last year with the first being on the rooftop of the Fairmont […] Read more
