Every year, armies of children hit city streets to paint pictures of fish beside storm drains. This is not grafitti but a reminder for urban people to watch what they pour down the drain. Many urbanites don’t realize soap residue from car washing, oil from leaky vehicles or unwanted paint poured down storm drains go […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Cool temperatures aid Alberta firefighters
Exhausted firefighters are praying for rain as 16 forest fires burn over more than 189,500 hectares in northern Alberta. Dry weather has made the forests a giant tinder box. However, temperatures remained below 20 which helped slow the fires’ movement, said Kevin Gagne of the Alberta forestry service at Slave Lake. In cooler weather the […] Read more
Sell feed barley now in Alberta market, traders urge
Farmers seeking the best market for their barley need look no farther than their own backyards. Alberta has been a premium market for three years and anyone with barley to sell should deliver for cash now, say industry analysts. “The southern Alberta marketplace has been at a premium to the world market for the last […] Read more
Olds College farm grows with times
Olds College is revamping its campus farm. A new, specialized beef production course starting this September will see a 200-head feedlot opened for the fall semester and a cow/calf component starts in January, said course instructor Dennis Kennedy. The agricultural production program has always had a strong beef component but as the industry changes, the […] Read more
Massage therapist works her magic on horses
OLDS, Alta. – When Judy Patry goes to work, her tools are a stool and a bag of carrots. The diminutive equine sports massage therapist from Olds travels central Alberta giving horses relief from aching backs, sore shoulders and pulled muscles. The need to nurture is a major part of Patry’s life. When she isn’t […] Read more
Microchip provides information from within
CROSSFIELD, Alta. – If it walks, crawls or flies, it’s possible to track an animal or bird with a microchip embedded somewhere in its body. That kind of technology is under investigation as a way to identify beef animals as they grow from wobbly legged calves to animals in the slaughter house. Doreen Tischer of […] Read more
Australian chute easy and safe
OLDS, Alta. – An easier-to-use cattle chute has come to Canada. Built and sold by Australian Graeme Finn, the cattle squeeze is easy to use regardless of a person’s strength. The chute is based on a system commonly used in Australia. It was modified for Canadian weather conditions so ice and water don’t collect on […] Read more
Improper egg storage, cooking cause rise in salmonella
BANFF, Alta. – More cases of salmonella enteritidis linked to eggs has scientists scouring for causes and cures. “Poultry salmonella problems tend to rise and fall independent of what people try to do,” said poultry specialist Richard Gast. In the last five years, the majority of reported salmonella cases were linked to eggs, said Gast, […] Read more
County of Lethbridge proposes livestock halt
COALDALE, Alta. – A wide band of red cutting across the middle of a county of Lethbridge map has farmers there worried about their future. That red band represents a strip of land called Feedlot Alley, where the county has proposed a halt on further intensive livestock development. Other jurisdictions are watching to see how […] Read more
Ag-in-the-classroom value difficult to track
When a farmer visits a Grade 4 classroom no one really knows if it makes a difference in young children’s attitudes about agriculture. There are agriculture-in-the-classroom programs across North America with budgets ranging from zero to $1 million, but the only evidence of effectiveness is purely anecdotal, say program co-ordinators. Unless a market study is […] Read more
