Western Producer reporter Barbara Duckworth recently travelled to Australia to gauge the state of agriculture there. BENDIGO, Australia – John Hutt scuffs the concrete floor with his boot as he tries to describe how dry Australian farmland has become in the last five years. Recent showers across most of the southern regions of the arid […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Parched soil takes beating
CANBERRA, Australia – Australian soil is so dry that when rain falls, none of it runs off into rivers and reservoirs. The land absorbs it all. Water quality is also diminishing, say government officials monitoring Australia’s worst drought in a century. “When there is less water, there is more sediment,” said Megan Scott at Australia’s […] Read more
Cattle show going strong despite drought
BENDIGO, Australia – It’s a frosty Friday in Australia when a show judge has to count the rings on the bulls’ scrotums to assess testicles in a cold barn. None of the exhibitors at the Bendigo National Beef Show complained because the cold weather also brought much needed rain throughout the southern part of the […] Read more
Canada’s BSE status improves
The world animal health organization, the OIE, has categorized Canada as a controlled risk country for BSE. Canada and the United States were among six countries to receive this status at the OIE’s general session in Paris May 22-25. “It’s very positive to have it to validate what we have been doing as an industry,” […] Read more
Aussie town builds high tech auction mart
The Australian cattle industry has boomed recently, due in part to the discovery of BSE in North America, which shut Canada and the U.S. out of Asian markets. Yet all is not rosy. Scorching drought has taken a toll on cattle, grazing lands and crops. Western Producer reporter Barbara Duckworth recently travelled to Australia to […] Read more
Network crosses rural-urban divide
DIDSBURY, Alta. – Busy farmers often find it’s not easy being green as they struggle to make a living off the land they are committed to protect. For Murray Walsh of Carstairs, Alta., the desire to speak up for agriculture led him to a life-changing decision. He opted to keep his cow-calf operation and rent […] Read more
Ultrasound helps pick market date
PICTURE BUTTE, Alta. – A steer crashes through the chute and in less than five seconds its back fat, muscle depth and marbling score analysis have been captured. These measurements tell a producer how that animal’s carcass should grade and how much more time it needs to be on feed before it is slaughtered. All […] Read more
Australian rancher battles drought
MANDURAMA, Australia – A kangaroo leaps out of the ditch in front of Guy Fitzhardinge as he turns out of his driveway. The scene is thrilling for visitors, but the Australian rancher is grateful the dusty brown creature did not wreck his car. Herds of kangaroo are common on his beef farm in west-central New […] Read more
Alberta firm in market for carbon credits
An Alberta company is in the market for carbon credits. Bill Letondre, a spokesperson for Flatlanders Environmental Services of Clyde, said offset aggregator companies such as his are the only way farmers can take advantage of the new market in carbon credits. “It is impossible for a single producer to get enough,” said Letondre. “We […] Read more
Residents try to save Rockies’ eastern slopes
DIDSBURY, Alta. – When Francis Gardner was a boy he could study at night by the light of the flares from Turner Valley oilfields 30 kilometres from his family’s ranch. Over the years the Alberta rancher has become a spokesperson for environmental protection in the southwestern part of the province, where his family has operated […] Read more
