KAMLOOPS, B.C. – A shower of tiny squirrel bones rained on ranchers’ shoulders as they rode through burned-out forests following last summer’s wildfires in the British Columbia interior. Firefighters saw deer standing up to their necks in river water but no one knows their fate once their cover was lost in the fires. The landscape […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Logging is ‘saving our bacon’ – AFTERMATH: The agricultural impact of the 2003 fires on British Columbia’s interior
HEFFLEY CREEK, B.C. – Craig and Kim Yungmeyer had planned a getaway on the August long weekend last year but had to stay home and fight a fire that threatened to destroy everything they owned. Smoke and heat disoriented people and animals. The Yungmeyers used all-terrain vehicles to move cattle and horses to safe areas. […] Read more
Cattle industry leader makes run for Liberals
The only thing tougher than being a Liberal in Alberta is being a Liberal candidate in Calgary during the Stanley Cup playoffs, when all attention is focused on the hometown hockey team. While the underdog Calgary Flames lost the trophy, the team’s campaign to glory was all that mattered to many southern Alberta voters. Candidates […] Read more
Inventors wage war on winged insurgents
CHESTERMERE, Alta. – Two former Saskatchewan farmers have found there is life after leaving the land. Now living in Calgary, Brian Gall and Ray Gjesdal’s inventions have scooped up broad interest from as far away as Florida and as close to home as Calgary. Working out of Gjesdal’s Chestermere shop, the two built and developed […] Read more
First-time winners shine at Calgary 4-H show
This year’s 4-H on Parade in Calgary became a special memory for two first-time grand champion winners. It was Adam Nixdorff’s first year in 4-H so winning the grand champion market lamb was a big accomplishment for the nine year old from the multi club in Irricana, Alta. The day got even better when Sunterra […] Read more
World BSE rules changing slowly
Beef producers sit on pins and needles as the world organization responsible for animal health moves at a snail’s pace in its efforts to change international BSE rules. A proposal for three tiers of BSE risk were presented to the annual meeting of the Office International des Epizooties’ international committee at the end of May. […] Read more
Canadians ate up their beef
The Canadian consumer’s support for the beef industry has resulted in increased consumption for 2003. “We were the first country to have an increase after an incident of BSE,” said Glenn Brand, merchandising manager for the Beef Information Centre. Last year was the first time Canada broke the one million tonne mark in total beef […] Read more
Border closure fuels uncertainty
American borders remain closed to live Canadian cattle and producers face an uncertain fall as steers and heifers reach market weight. Statistics Canada reported nearly five million calves were on the ground as of Jan. 1 as producers postponed sales hoping for the border to reopen. “A lot of the calves under one year are […] Read more
Group keeps up fight to block Canadian beef
No further trade in Canadian beef or live cattle should occur until the United States has done a full scientific risk analysis on the status of BSE in Canada, says the Ranchers-Cattlemen’s Action Legal Fund, or R-CALF. But a spokesperson for the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association said more risk analysis of Canada’s beef is unnecessary. “It […] Read more
Leaked Canadian beef a mistake, says USDA official
Allowing shipments of banned Canadian beef into the United States may have been a mistake but posed no risk to public health, say American government officials. Reports of millions of pounds of processed and ground beef entering the U.S. raised questions on the first anniversary of BSE closing the border. However, U.S. Department of Agriculture […] Read more
