RED DEER, Alta. – Last fall Triple 7 Ranches received 22,000 calves and almost all of them were bawling for their mothers. As owners of a backgrounding lot near Ponoka, Alta., Miles and Joyce Crandall say a calf’s ability to thrive is determined within 14 days of its arrival at the feedlot. Miles agrees with […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
SPCA’s model breeder believes extra care saves time and money
AIRDRIE, Alta. – Last winter when Hazel George received a call from the SPCA she assumed the worst. “I thought oh-oh, is there something dead out there I didn’t see?” Instead the caller told her she was Alberta SPCA farmer of the year for 1996. Taking good care of the stock goes back to her […] Read more
Winter takes toll on American beef
South Dakota cattle producers have lost as many as 200,000 head of livestock in the worst winter in recent memory. The final blow fell April 4 when a three-day blizzard swept into South Dakota and southeastern Montana. Entire cow herds lost their calves because of exposure from -30 C wind chills and 100-kilometre per hour […] Read more
Growers consider appeal; vow to continue fight
A group of barley growers and their lawyers are in the midst of strategy meetings to decide whether to appeal a court ruling over barley marketing. The farmers say they will likely appeal Federal Court justice Francis Muldoon’s decision to dismiss their charter of rights challenge against the Canadian Wheat Board. The Alberta Barley Commission, […] Read more
AgPro enters Alberta as part of $195 million expansion
VULCAN, Alta. – It will be an historic crossing when Saskatchewan-based AgPro Grain moves into Alberta and expands in Manitoba within two years. Owned by Saskatchewan Wheat Pool, AgPro has opened an office in northeast Calgary to oversee construction of six major grain facilities in Alberta. Vulcan, Wilson Siding, Crossfield, Trochu, Killam and Lavoy are […] Read more
Albertans reaching for lighter milk
Every time a grocery shopper buys another litre of skim milk off the shelf, it tells dairy producers that nutrition is in and fat is out. Albertans drink more than 289 million litres of milk each year. That high consumption rate is good news for the province’s 1,100 dairy farmers but the trend has shifted […] Read more
Charter challenge against CWB dismissed
A farmer-led legal challenge against the Canadian Wheat Board based on the Charter of Rights was dismissed in a judgment handed down April 11 by Federal Court Justice Francis Muldoon. Costs were also awarded to the defendants, but the amount has not yet been determined. The case was heard at the end of last year […] Read more
Abundance of beef will make prices tantalizing
Even though pork and beef compete for consumer dollars, they face similar challenges in today’s market place. Meat production is up and markets are straining to get consumers to buy more. This is especially true for beef. Between Jan. 1 and March 29, Agriculture Canada reported 199,467 slaughter cattle were shipped to the United States. […] Read more
Canadian food inspectors get China’s OK
Canada has achieved a major trade breakthrough by becoming the first country to sign a food safety agreement with China. Within the agreement, Agriculture Canada’s inspection and certification system for beef meets all the food safety and sanitation standards laid out by the government of China. Officials say an agreement of this type should further […] Read more
Knowledge sprouts at seed school
OLDS, Alta. – When agriculture students visit Bob Wood’s certified seed farm, they’re put to work inspecting equipment, testing grain samples and answering questions from an experienced farmer. Wood, who farms north of Olds, is one of several pedigreed seed growers who welcomes grain and seed technology students from Olds College to his farm to […] Read more
