BALZAC, Alta. Ñ When city councils approve new subdivisions, the impact on agriculture is often the furthest thing from their minds. “No voter has ever talked about disappearing farmland,” former Edmonton city councillor Allan Bolstad said during the annual meeting of Action for Agriculture on Feb. 25. He was one of 100 people who attended […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Irrigation cheaper than cost of drought
Drought remains a constant threat across the Prairies, even with extensive irrigation in Alberta, says the president of the Regina-based Organization of Western Economic Co-operation. “In Saskatchewan alone, the last six droughts cost $6.7 billion in taxpayers’ assistance,” Graham Parsons said during the Alberta Irrigation Projects Association meeting in Calgary Feb. 28. The cost is […] Read more
Options may expand with school, college link
OLDS, Alta. Ñ Working smarter to keep rural kids in school is part of the philosophy behind a proposed community learning centre based in Olds. By tapping into video conferencing, internet education and sharing physical resources, the Chinook’s Edge school division and Olds College want to hold students’ interests at the high school and post-secondary […] Read more
Poultry industry hatches avian flu crisis plans
RED DEER Ñ Poultry producers are writing detailed disaster plans for the next time avian influenza strikes. “We need to be better prepared to cope with this type of situation or heaven forbid, one that is even worse,” said David Fuller, president of Chicken Farmers of Canada. The poultry, egg and primary processor groups are […] Read more
More to turkey than granny’s Christmas dinner, says processor
RED DEER Ñ For the current generation of cooks, preparing a turkey dinner is something grandmothers do at Christmas. A major western Canadian poultry processor wants to change that, shifting beyond the traditional turkey meals to something more convenient and interesting for modern consumers. Doug Hart, product manager for Lilydale Foods, said one idea is […] Read more
Chicken producer wraps up career
RED DEER Ñ The last birds leave Aaron Falkenberg’s farm on May 22, closing a chapter in his 35 year career in the broiler business. The retiring chair of the Alberta Chicken Producers has sold his chicken quota and plans to remain on the farm on the eastern outskirts of Edmonton where he and his […] Read more
Alta. feedlot wins right to keep pens
Owners of the first Alberta feedlot to apply for expansion under new provincial guidelines continue to fight for approval after more than three years. The AAA Cattle Co. east of Didsbury has submitted applications and faced review boards and the Alberta court of appeal in its quest to build an 18,000 head feedlot. On Feb. […] Read more
New entrants in spotlight at bull sale
Don and Wanda Wilkie took a chance and entered the Calgary Bull Sale for the first time ever and came away with one of the top sellers. Their 16-month-old full French polled Charolais bull brought them $20,500 from an Alberta syndicate of buyers led by Tyler Bullock, Elizabeth McAttie and Roy Mulkay. Wilkie usually sells […] Read more
Canada angry, but not surprised
On March 2, Greg Appleyard learned the meaning of the word fortuitous. “I sold 800 fat cattle three minutes before the announcement came,” he said from his feedlot near Strathmore, Alta. A noon-hour announcement that day told Canadian producers the U.S. border would remain shut following a preliminary injunction issued by a federal court judge […] Read more
Canada shares uneasy cattle trade with U.S.
RED DEER Ñ Canada’s beef exporters must be more sophisticated and savvy in their plans rather than relying so heavily on the United States to absorb the surplus, says a former manager of the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association. The Canadian beef industry took the world by storm starting in 1987, becoming the third largest exporter of […] Read more
