PINCHER CREEK, Alta. – The view from Barney and Anne Zoratti’s living room window sweeps over miles of mountains and pastures. From their home near Pincher Creek, they retrace the miles they have traveled as ranchers raising cattle, buffalo, yaks and now llamas. Keeping up a pace that would tire many people years younger than […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Farm shows pros and cons of minimum-till farming
RED DEER, Alta. – Protecting vulnerable prairie soils is a growing farm movement that saves a little more farmland each year. About 37 percent of Alberta farmland is direct seeded, says Peter Gamache. He administers a three-year soil conservation initiative program that started in 1994. Another three years are planned to start Aug. 31. The […] Read more
Rattling chains scare wildlife away from hay equipment
RED DEER, Alta. – A simple device attached to the front of a tractor has turned out to be a lifesaver for nesting birds. The wildlife flushing bar warns birds and fawns to clear out when haymaking equipment is coming. It is provided by Ducks Unlimited to protect vulnerable nesting birds during the spring and […] Read more
Ear tag traces beef from cow to carcass
Following a beef animal’s life cycle from weaning to the carcass stage just got easier with an electronic ear tag. The Canadian Simmental Association is the first breed organization to buy electronic technology to gather data. Breeders can use the information to track carcasses back to bloodlines so they can choose sires with the ability […] Read more
Southern Albertans see troubled waters
PICTURE BUTTE, Alta. – The water pouring out of the taps at Lily Mann’s Turin coffee shop looks like weak tea. The particles floating in the water eventually settle to the bottom but the brown color remains. She’s hesitant to serve it to customers and she buys bottled water for personal use. “I’d like to […] Read more
Livestock dilemma: Does Success have to Smell? (about)
For its promoters, dreams of a dramatic expansion in the prairie hog industry come complete with fantasies about money in the bank. For increasing numbers of prairie people who may end up living downwind from one of those pig barns or packing plants, it sounds more like a nightmare of water contamination and some not-so-sweet […] Read more
Livestock dilemma: Does Success have to Smell?
PICTURE BUTTE, Alta. – At first glance, this area is a vision of tidy, prosperous looking farms surrounded by green fields of alfalfa. But soon, the smell of pungent manure from intensive livestock operations surrounding this southern Alberta community mars the pastoral vision. The smell of manure is so overpowering that some locals don’t care […] Read more
Present concerns before it’s too late
Local governments are front- line soldiers in the battle to regulate the expanding livestock industry, and a senior municipal official in Alberta has some advice. Municipalities should understand the issue and have clear rules, says Roelof Heinen, president of the Alberta Association of Municipal Districts and Counties. Bylaws should state exactly how manure must be […] Read more
Odor control an ongoing goal
Livestock producers used to tell their city cousins that manure doesn’t stink. It smells like money. For many people, that smell is no longer a joking matter. Rural and urban people have joined forces demanding strict environmental controls on manure storage and spreading so they don’t get a whiff of it every time they step […] Read more
Problems arise when city meets country
In British Columbia’s Fraser Valley, the expansion of manure-producing hog operations is not the main problem at the root of the waste management controversy. The problem is the sprawl of human settlement. When ritzy country homes are built beside farm fences, conflicts are inevitable, said Margaret Crowley, director of policy development with the B.C. Federation […] Read more
