RED DEER – Like so many others in the livestock industry, Ann Marie Hauck remembers exactly what she was doing on May 20 when she heard Canada had a single case of bovine spongiform encephalopathy. The Alberta goat breeder was in Monterry, Mexico, attending a livestock show and business meetings to finalize purebred exports. Now […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Alta. youth dairy show popular
RED DEER – As a founding member of the Western Canadian Classic dairy show, Carol Wright has seen this junior event grow from a modest affair into five days of fun and education for young dairy enthusiasts. The event is offered to specially selected young people from western Canadian junior dairy breed programs and 4-H […] Read more
Keep better records, cattle producers urged
The Canadian Charolais Association wants members to beef up their record keeping. “Record keeping is always a hard sell amongst producers. We’ve got a lot of people who keep good records and we’ve got some people who are a little bit sloppy in their record keeping,” said association manager Neil Gillies. Following a case of […] Read more
Alta. animal disease lab coming
Alberta is spending $15 million on enhanced surveillance and laboratory facilities to detect livestock diseases. About $10 million is designated to build a level three lab capable of holding biological organisms in a high-level biosecure system. Rapid testing for diseases like bovine spongiform encephalopathy can also be handled. The new facility is under construction and […] Read more
Beef industry evolves and adjusts (80th supp)
As Alberta feedlot owner Rick Paskal delivered 10 pound packages of frozen ground beef for $1 a lb. to eager customers, he took a moment to explain why he and his colleagues were driven to such desperate measures. “We’re in hard times right now,” he said. At the end of June 2003, that terse explanation […] Read more
Border Collies: King of the herd
OLDS, Alta. – A wee bit o’ Scotland creeps into Randy Dye’s voice as he calls his favourite stock dog. Using one of five basic commands for the black and white dog to move sheep into a pen, his voice and whistle commands are the universal language of those who love and work Border Collies. […] Read more
Beekeeper, canola grower union flourishes
FORT MACLEOD, Alta. – A unique partnership is humming between southern Alberta beekeepers and certified canola seed growers. For more than a decade, hybrid canola growers have rented thousands of beehives for pollination and seed set. It is a good-paying sideline for honey producers such as Alberta Beekeepers Association president Jerry Poelman of Fort Macleod, […] Read more
Lenders design cattle solutions
Lenders are plotting this fall’s financial strategies for the beleaguered cattle industry as market prices remain critically low. American and Mexican beef importers have agreed to accept limited amounts of Canadian boneless beef, but Reg Schmidt, chair of the Alberta Feeders Association, says the industry still needs help. “The market will take at least six […] Read more
U.S. rancher in pinch
Montana rancher Bill Murdock has 175 bred heifers grazing in southern Saskatchewan and since May 20 he has been wondering about their future. He typically sells them at auction in Canada but now he is worried about poor prices and the inability to export. “I’m thinking I might have to buy some land up there,” […] Read more
Seeds of success – Risk pays off for southern Alberta pulse plant operator
LETHBRIDGE – Ken Getty knew he was taking a risk when he converted a former seed cleaning facility into a state-of-the-art pulse plant. The southern Alberta grain merchant decided if local farmers had a modern processing plant nearby, they would be inclined to grow more peas, beans and lentils. Located south of Lethbridge at Wilson […] Read more
