A laissez-faire relationship exists between Australian farmers and their government. “Government has the view that industry should be structured so it stands on its own two feet,” said Craig Conkey, a program director with the federal department of agriculture in Canberra. When the agriculture industry took control of its own business affairs more than 10 […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Standing guard
As an island continent reliant on export markets, Australia stubbornly guards against imports of zoonotic disease. It has remained free of BSE and foot-and-mouth disease, which has opened doors to more than 100 markets around the world. Keeping out trade-halting diseases was more by chance than good planning, said one agriculture department official. Australia banned […] Read more
Best bunch of beef
HIGH RIVER, Alta. – The cattle on display at the fed beef expo are the closest thing to the real deal at the Calgary Stampede. Shown loose in pens of five without washing, clipping or polishing, the commercial steers and heifers look like the millions of cattle seen in pens and pastures throughout Alberta. This […] Read more
Winning makes trip worthwhile
For nearly 20 years the Stewart family has made the cross prairie trip from Russell, Man., to the Calgary Stampede. It has been worth it for Brent and Dale and their 17-year-old daughter, Kelsey, who have stood in the winners’ circle at the Stampede Steer Classic three times. “It’s been good to us. We’ve done […] Read more
Rescued horse tops at Stampede parade
A black Shire stallion has made the journey of a lifetime after being rescued from abuse and neglect to become a champion show horse at the Calgary Stampede. Last July, Wendy Cristante, a Langley, B.C., Clydesdale breeder, accepted the starving animal found with a group of 20 mares after the RCMP and SPCA confiscated the […] Read more
Prized dairy cow scooped up
COCHRANE, Alta. – The folks at Rocky Mountain Holsteins once said they would never part with their prize cow, Irwindale Leduc Macy, because they admired her too much. But on July 5 the champion cow named All Canadian twice in a row was put up for bids by its three owners, Rocky Mountain of Cochrane, […] Read more
Canadian beef heads for Taiwan
Eight container loads of Canadian beef left for Taiwan almost as soon as it announced June 23 that trade would resume with Canada after a four year ban. “Multiple containers are already booked by our major importers of the past,” said Ted Haney, president of the Canada Beef Export Federation. Taiwan is one of Canada’s […] Read more
Alberta family has long 4-H history
BOW ISLAND, Alta. – For the Sereda family of Bow Island, Alta., 4-H is not just an hour-a-week commitment. It is a lifestyle choice that extends from the father to the youngest son. “I’ve been in 4-H training for nine years,” said 11-year-old Nevin Sereda. As a baby, his parents Peter and Lori packed him […] Read more
Irrigation district tempted by urban demands
STRATHMORE, Alta. – The fate of a $1 billion development next to a tiny Alberta community rests with 400 irrigation farmers. Farmers in the Western Irrigation District east of Calgary control a 160,400 acre feet water licence eyed by the Municipal District of Rocky View that surrounds Calgary on three sides. The municipality has offered […] Read more
Cattle producers squeezed by tighter feed ban
Added costs for the beef industry are expected when Canada’s enhanced feed ban comes into effect July 12. West Coast Reductions announced it will add a surcharge of 2.5 cents a pound to the existing cost for pickup of bovine remains and separation and disposal of specified risk materials when the feed ban becomes law. […] Read more
