CLEARWATER COUNTY, Alta. – More livestock producers are installing pasture pipelines to deliver water to their animals, and that has some worried about how exposed pipes could affect consumption. “The water is so warm they were concerned it was affecting the cattle and their water consumption,” said Ken Williamson, water specialist with Alberta Agriculture. There […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Cattle devour turnips down to the roots
ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE, Alta. – When Rick Kwantes agreed to try turnips on his ranch near Rocky Mountain House, he didn’t realize what a treat he was offering his cows. “I turned 80 cows into it and the next day they turned everything into black dirt,” he said during a farm tour of producers from […] Read more
Tempers flare over proposed packing plant
When Leona DeKoter faced a rowdy crowd to defend a proposed slaughter plant in northeastern Calgary last week, she felt like a candle in the wind. Yet the stay-at-home mother believes the farmer-owned Ranchers’ Beef proposal could benefit the northeastern side of the city. She has done her own research to assess how much odour […] Read more
Beef group prods Ottawa for slaughter investment
The Beef Initiative Group wants Ottawa to finance a 1,500 head slaughter plant for Western Canada. As international markets remain closed to Canadian cattle because of a BSE discovery, which has caused a surplus of cattle in Canada, the organization’s chair said producers must operate their own processing facility to export beef to Asia if […] Read more
American packer group opposes actions to block cattle imports
An American meat packers’ association is requesting intervener status in a lawsuit between the U.S. Department of Agriculture and a U.S. group fighting to keep Canadian cattle out of the United States. The National Meat Association is opposed to legal actions taken by R-CALF-USA to stall a rule that would expand the list of Canadian […] Read more
Rancher experiments with direct seeding into sod
ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE, Alta. – Two years of drought have forced one west-central Alberta rancher to alter his grazing management program. John Reid ranches in the Rocky Mountain House region and converted his operation to intensive rotational grazing in 1996. All that changed in 2002 when a fearsome drought arrived and the grass stopped growing […] Read more
Alberta planning to offer hog feeder associations
Hog feeder associations for Alberta producers are close to a reality. A steering committee is expected to review final regulations and policies Sept. 3 and forward the plan to agriculture minister Shirley McClellan for approval. Feeder associations borrow money from commercial lenders and then buy animals that are fed and sold, under contract, by local […] Read more
Calgarians to rally against meat plant
A proposed slaughter plant on Calgary’s northeastern outskirts is facing unexpected opposition from the suburbs. Residents opposed to the plant are planning a rally to show their displeasure during a public hearing before city council on Sept. 13. Residents have petitioned the city asking that the plant locate elsewhere. They are concerned that odour from […] Read more
NCBA supports quick re-opening of border to cattle
Resuming live trade between Canada and the United States would benefit beef producers on both sides of the border, says the president-elect of the U.S.-based National Cattlemen’s Beef Association. “Let’s get it done and let’s get it over with,” said Jim McAdam in an interview while attending the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association convention Aug. 18 in […] Read more
Others support cattle NAFTA trade challenge
Support is growing for a beef producer-led trade challenge against the United States. The National Farmers Union and Alberta Beef Producers are offering moral and financial support to the Canadian Cattlemen for Fair Trade. The group of 84 is seeking damages from the American government under the North American Free Trade Agreement for loss of […] Read more
