Registered Aberdeens The Canadian Aberdeen Association reports a seventh straight year of increased registrations. In a year-end report, Doug Fee, general manager of the association, said Aberdeen Angus were up three percent to an all-time high of 33,338 animals. As well, the association reported pedigree and performance information on an additional 9,253 animals. Transfers of […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Wheat board cases still in court
BANFF, Alta. – Testing the boundaries of individual civil rights is a new experience for Canadians. And a case like the recent challenge to the Canadian Wheat Board by 21 farmers and the Alberta Barley Commission could set a precedent in trade and commerce. According to Calgary lawyer Keith Groves, Canadians are somewhat naive about […] Read more
No praise from ag critic
Sitting on the opposition bench, Alberta MLA Ken Nicol sees changes by the Conservative government as less than perfect. The Liberal agriculture critic said he sees government’s role as educator, compromiser and negotiator, not antagonizer that marches apart from other provinces. Campaigning for re-election in Lethbridge East, Nicol brings 30 years of farm experience to […] Read more
Goodale not popular with barley growers
BANFF, Alta. – A resolution to have Ralph Goodale fired as federal agriculture minister shows the displeasure the Western Barley Growers Association feels with a bill to reform the Canadian Wheat Board. “I can’t think of a minister who has done more to divide farmers,” said Wayne Kriz of Rimbey, Alta. During the barley growers’ […] Read more
Rail car ownership not feasible: barley growers
BANFF, Alta. – Farmers owning a fleet of rail cars will not guarantee that service would improve on the grain lines. That’s not news for Sinclair Harrison but the farmer coalition he represents still wants to put in a bid on the 13,000 government-owned grain cars up for sale. “Ownership of the cars guarantees us […] Read more
Cold takes big toll on cattle in U.S.
& Reuter News Agency news This winter may go down as one of the meanest years prairie farmers and their livestock have experienced. For cattle producers in North and South Dakota the death losses are climbing due to mountains of snow and bone-jarring cold. There is no figure on how many animals have died from […] Read more
Alberta Craft Council gets grant
A $723,000 grant to the Alberta Craft Council could give a cottage industry a boost into the big time. The money comes from the federal Western Economic Diversification program and will be used for specific promotions of made-in-Alberta arts and crafts, said Susan Abells, executive director of the craft council in Edmonton. A wholesale marketing […] Read more
U.S. grocer details the beef with beef
KANSAS City, Mo. – Dave Young’s words of criticism were sobering for cattle producers listening to his analysis of the falling retail beef market. “Every cut of beef should look like your commercials, or you should stop making commercials,” said Young. The beef industry has failed to understand the rise of consumer power, Young told […] Read more
New canola contract pays for oil content
A new canola contracting program will pay farmers for increased oil production. And it will supply an international grain company with an identity preserved source of non-genetically altered canola. Farmers Co-op Seeds Ltd. in Rivers, Man. is offering the program with Louis Dreyfus Canada Ltd. Don Kostesky of Farmers Co-op Seeds said his company this […] Read more
Mad cow disease would cost American industry billions
KANSAS CITY, Mo. – If mad cow disease struck the American beef industry, producers fear their losses could be in the billions of dollars. An outbreak of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in the U.S. such as the crisis experienced in Britain could cost about $4.5 billion for destruction of cattle and another $9 billion in annual […] Read more
