Learning how diseases travel through the body from the gut to the brain to cause BSE is one of many research projects supported with $15 million from PrioNet Canada and the Alberta Prion Research Institute. Other projects include finding new uses for specified risk materials and studying the effects of chronic wasting disease on aboriginal […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Daines rodeo legacy flourishes
INNISFAIL, Alta. – A passion for rodeo and the cowboy life is a 49-year-old legacy for the Daines family of Innisfail. The Daines Ranch Rodeo has been running at the family ranch since the early 1960s when a young Jack Daines wanted a place to practice the sport with his six brothers. “My dad’s real […] Read more
Drought prompts feed options
CLARESHOLM, Alta. – Cattle producers facing drought this summer are urged to think about alternative feeding plans. “Remember, you are in survival mode,” Bill Chapman of Alberta Agriculture told a drought meeting in Claresholm June 16. Greenfeed barley or oats are options when pastures run dry. Producers are encouraged to check with crop insurance to […] Read more
Bell brand still rings
AIRDRIE, Alta. – An Alberta ranching family is celebrating the 100th anniversary of its brand. For the Hansons of Airdrie, the Bell L mark is part of their history. Five generations have used it since it was first registered by Louie Hanson in 1909. Hanson, who homesteaded in the Vulcan, Alta., area, was granted the […] Read more
R-CALF seeks end to imports of older cattle
A new salvo in R-CALF’s ongoing war of words against Canadian cattle imports is probably harmless but should be taken seriously, says the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. The CCA believes most U.S. producers are more concerned about national animal identification, the influence of animal rights activists in Washington and carbon taxes than they are about a […] Read more
Mobile abattoir proves viable
A mobile slaughter plant tested in Alberta last year was expensive to run but served those needing a meat processor. “It’s not cheap,” said Bert Dening of Alberta Agriculture, who drove the semi-trailer-sized unit around the province last year. “It is not going to replace a provincial abattoir in a town. It is just too […] Read more
Vet dedicated to animal welfare
RED DEER – There were no veterinarians near Grande Prairie, Alta., when Ray Fenton was growing up on the family farm. Farmers usually called a neighbour with a talent for handling calving problems, trimming feet, castrating horses or draining abscesses on draft horses. Fenton’s father was one of those individuals, but when his saddle horse […] Read more
B.C. family tackles waterway repairs
LUMBY, B.C. – Joe and Shona Huwer dream of building a house on a hill with a panoramic view of the restoration work they have done on their British Columbia ranch. They have worked with government agencies and environmental mentors to repair their grazing land, plant trees, restore water channels and provide habitat to fish […] Read more
Weevil bites into benefits of growing peas
LETHBRIDGE – A tiny, dirty brown weevil is reducing the advantage of growing peas in southern Alberta. A European native, the pea leaf weevil was first spotted in southern Alberta about 10 years ago and probably migrated from the U.S. Pacific Northwest, said entomologist Hector Carcamo of Agriculture Canada. Scientists at Agriculture Canada’s research centre […] Read more
Purebred price list could help at bank
Purebred beef producers are invited to take the bull out of sales reports and submit their annual auction or private treaty results to the Canadian Beef Breeds Council. “We are encouraging them to share some of the final sales data so we know where the industry is going,” said Doris Rempel of the council, an […] Read more
