A new animal health policy may allow American feeder cattle to enter Canada year round, but with poor markets on this side of the border, no imports are expected until trade normalizes. Economics will dictate whether anyone actually imports U.S. cattle this year, said Glen Thompson, a feedlot owner in Iron Springs, Alta., and chair […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
School looks to horses for helping hand
A small Alberta town wants to promote its western ambience by adding a horsemanship component to its elementary school. Manyberries, located in the southeastern corner of Alberta, is in the same boat as many other rural schools where school divisions are hard pressed to keep a facility open for a handful of students. “We’re trying […] Read more
Feedlot opponents plan to appeal
A community group fighting a feedlot expansion near Didsbury, Alta., is considering whether to appeal the expansion’s approval. On April 21 the Natural Resources Conservation Board gave the AAA Cattle Co. the go-ahead to expand to 18,200 head. Murray Marsh, who farms near the site and belongs to the Committee for Lone Pine, says the […] Read more
Processing method a factor in wasted feed
A new study suggests that the long-standing practice of chopping poor quality forages more finely to aid cattle digestion may not be as beneficial as once thought. Barry Yaremcio, who is leading the study at Lacombe, Alta., to measure feed loss when feeding cows during winter, said the data found that more good quality feed […] Read more
Horses teach leadership
BALZAC, Alta. Ñ Nancy Lowery says everything she ever needed to know about being a better leader, she learned from her horses. She has taken her experience training horses and matched it with her 15 years in the Calgary business world to teach leadership techniques to executives in a riding arena near her Balzac area […] Read more
CFIA urges birth date registration
Cattle producers are encouraged to start entering birth dates of calves with the Canadian Cattle Identification Agency. Several thousand producers have already entered birth dates from their 2004 calf crop on a voluntary basis, said Mabel Hamilton, chair of the agency and a beef producer from Innisfail, Alta. Producers can correlate the tag number with […] Read more
Goat breed not for faint of heart
NANTON, Alta. Ñ The first time Susan White saw a goat faint she called her vet, convinced something was wrong. He laughed and told her she had a fainting goat. A goat enthusiast who has owned several breeds, White has since become a dedicated breeder of these rare animals on her Faint Hope Acres farm […] Read more
Border beef up to lawyers
Lawyers have taken over the fight to reopen the United States border to Canadian cattle and beef. The activity stems from the preliminary injunction granted by U.S. judge Richard Cebull March 2 to keep the border closed. Based in the Billings, Montana, division of the Ninth Circuit, he also instructed R-CALF and the U.S. Department […] Read more
Controversial Alberta feedlot gets NRCB approval
After three and a half years of applications and appeals, an Alberta feedlot has won the right to expand. The Natural Resources Conservation Board granted an approval for AAA Cattle Co. of Didsbury to expand to 18,200 head in a decision handed down April 21. Simon Cobban, who owns the feedlot, first applied to expand […] Read more
Foreign species invasion catches public napping
RED DEER Ñ Invasive weeds have devastating effects on real estate values, as well as the health of forests, wetlands and agriculture, yet public awareness remains low. “People in B.C. didn’t see the problem with invasive plants. They thought of them as pretty flowers. They didn’t look beyond the dandelions on the lawn,” said agrologist […] Read more
