Workers at the Lethbridge, Alta. Maple Leaf Potato plant have reached a collective agreement that provides improved benefits and an hourly wage increase. A spokesperson for the United Food and Commercial Workers, local 401, said the 27-month contract offers a starting wage of $9.95 and with wage increases ranging from 60 to 77 cents. There […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Sexy satin or cosy flannel: lingerie secrets revealed
After half an hour with Jan Bones, the average home sewer goes away convinced she can make her own undergarments that will fit properly and look feminine as well. “Lingerie is sometimes a forgotten area of garment construction,” the Winnipeg designer said at the recent creative sewing and needlework festival in Calgary. Bones designs and […] Read more
Renderers stand to lose millions in beef tallow ban
A ban on beef tallow exports to Europe could cost the North American rendering industry millions of dollars in lost sales. Implemented by the European Union, the ban takes effect Jan. 1, 1998. North American gelatin and bull semen are included in this prohibition. The European cosmetics industry and the industrial sector depend on tallow […] Read more
American beef co-op gains 50 percent of packing company
A marriage between a producers’ co-operative and a large-scale beef processor is poised to overturn the way beef is produced and sold in the United States. The co-operative, U.S. Premium Beef, has signed an agreement to buy 50 percent of Farmland National Beef Packing Co. based in Kansas City, Missouri. With packing plants in Dodge […] Read more
Health threatening bacteria found in Alta. water
Elevated levels of bacteria and parasites are showing up in some Alberta water supplies. A four-year study of the effects of agriculture on Alberta water quality revealed pockets within the province have high levels of E. coli and fecal coliform. These bacteria can cause problems for people like upset stomachs and diarrhea. “We are seeing […] Read more
Puratone buys Alberta feed company
Puratone Corporation has purchased a controlling interest in Bassano Feeds. The Manitoba-based company is adding a swine feed component to the southern Alberta company formerly owned by Meadowlark Feeds Ltd., said chief executive office John Kroeker. Bassano Feeds sells 40,000 tonnes of beef and dairy feed each year. Puratone Alberta Ltd. plans to introduce swine […] Read more
Border rules relaxed for cattle imports
The final hurdles have been cleared to allow feeder calves from Montana to enter Canada without health tests. Only licensed feedlots in Canada are allowed to receive these cattle and strict handling rules apply, said Ben Thorlakson, Canadian Cattlemen’s Association vice-president. “The whole program is set up to maintain the integrity of the Canadian herd,” […] Read more
Special places are special pain: ranchers
Finding out part of his ranch was nominated as a special place is no honor for Norm Ward. The Granum, Alta.-area rancher and president of the Western Stock Growers Association recently received written notice that a portion of the crown land he rents for pasture has been selected for environmental protection. The nomination came through […] Read more
Worried residents raise stink over Lethbridge hog plant
Construction of a hog processing plant in Lethbridge, Alta. is going ahead despite a lawsuit under way in Court of Queen’s Bench. The suit, filed Aug. 29 by four local citizens, claims the city failed to follow proper procedure when it changed a local zoning bylaw to allow construction of a hog plant on the […] Read more
Livestock boom is bane for some
The approval of a large hog processing plant in Lethbridge, Alta. has added to concerns about the growing livestock industry in southern Alberta. Complaints about odor and worries over feedlot runoff into water supplies could be just the tip of the manure pile as far as some residents are concerned. Ed Ryan, a retired school […] Read more
