PONOKA, Alta. – A cow at the de Gier dairy farm can be milked at any time of the day or night. Brothers Poul and Hendrik de Gier of Ponoka have installed a robotic milker in a new barn and have another on order for a barn under renovation. Poul de Gier said the cows […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Bacteria levels increase in Calgary
More bacteria is being detected in Calgary’s water supply as land shifts from farmland to acreages. The higher bacterial load is attributed to agricultural runoff, country residential septic tanks and contaminants left behind by swimmers, boaters and anglers who use the increasingly popular Bow and Elbow rivers. “The E. coli in the upper Elbow is […] Read more
Alta. water quality under scrutiny
Researchers collect buckets of water a year from Canada’s rivers looking for contaminants that could make people and wildlife ill. Yet few know the work is being done, say researchers gathered at the recent Bow River science forum held at the University of Calgary. Rob Kent of Environment Canada said 50 percent of Canada’s surface […] Read more
Horse trainer advocates gentle methods
RED DEER – As a long-time student of horse behaviour, trainer Jerry Tindell advocates gentle methods he has practiced all his life on his Missouri farm. At a horse show in Red Deer earlier this spring, Tindell put horses, donkeys and mules that he had never met through basic training steps before large crowds to […] Read more
4-H on Parade largest achievement day
An aspiring drummer and an apprentice welder were the big winners at Calgary’s 4-H on Parade May 30-June 1. More than 800 young people from the Calgary region poured into the city for Canada’s largest achievement day, showing off a year’s work that covers everything from the traditional market steers and lambs to bunnies, photography […] Read more
Western history comes alive
FORT MACLEOD, Alta. – Many prairie residents may not realize that their disaffection with Ottawa and frustrations with transportation and water quality issues date back to the 1870s when the West was settled. A new program at the North West Mounted Police museum in Fort Macleod wants to teach children that slice of Canadian history […] Read more
Cattle show targets youth
OLDS, Alta. – For 10-year-old Kathryn Dolliver, it was an opportunity to hone her cattle skills, while for 21-year-old Stacey Young, it was her last hurrah in the show ring. They were among 98 people aged 10 to 21 from British Columbia, Alberta and Saskatchewan who entered the first holding of Canada’s richest youth steer […] Read more
E. coli vaccine gets tentative OK
Canada and the United States have granted conditional approval for an E. coli vaccine for cattle. Both governments want more tests to prove it works before full licensing is approved. Testing the drug’s effectiveness is difficult because it does not protect animal health. Instead, it prevents the spread of E. coli O157:H7, which has the […] Read more
Bluetongue protection available
A voluntary insurance program is available to protect sheep producers against bluetongue. Coverage is available for deaths and production losses. The Canadian Sheep Federation and Agriculture Canada developed the program because of increased bluetongue risk now that Canada doesn’t require American cattle imports to be tested for the disease. The insect that carries the virus […] Read more
Is water the next big cash crop for farmers?
RED DEER – Water could become a bigger cash crop for farmer-run irrigation districts than the crops they grow on their land. Len Ring of Alberta Agriculture’s irrigation division says the demand for fresh water and storm drainage is growing, particularly in the Western Irrigation District that butts up against the more than one million […] Read more
