RED DEER, Alta. – Alberta is re-examining how it will distribute farm safety net money since the federal government said it will pick up the province’s share of the Net Income Stabilization Account. Ottawa plans to redirect money from Alberta’s share of a safety net fund to cover farmers who choose to stay in the […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
New markets require new crops, growing methods: Hehn
TABER, Alta. – A smooth sales job directed at Iran earned the Canadian Wheat Board a new customer last year. Iran never bought durum before but after meeting with wheat board officials, visiting farms and working with the Canadian International Grains Institute, the Iranians asked for 600,000 tonnes of durum in 1996. Durum is used […] Read more
Baker praises quality of wheat, but wants more variety
LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – Buying Canadian wheat first is the goal of one domestic flour buyer in spite of regulations that he says inhibit competition. Gordon Love, president of the Toronto-based firm GKL Commodities Inc., buys flour for 26 bakeries in North America. He wants to buy Canadian wheat because he believes it to be the […] Read more
Pool fills vacant elected positions
Marvin Schauf, of Stoughton, Sask., has been temporarily appointed as second vice-president of the Saskatchewan Wheat Pool. Schauf, a member of the executive committee since 1993 and a district director since 1989, was elected to his new position by the pool’s board of directors earlier this week. He replaces Barry Senft who recently accepted an […] Read more
Canada marks first test tube Charolais
How to earn the status of super-cow may be one of the best kept secrets in the beef industry. In the cattle business, some cows qualify because of their ability to produce more than the usual number of calves in a lifetime. It’s possible with reproductive technology involving the retrieval of dozens of eggs from […] Read more
Thoroughbred profits are spotty
RED DEER, Alta. – The sport of kings is a risky one at best and for those thoroughbred breeders raising lower-priced horses, it’s been a tough decade. Walter Robertson of Lexington, Ky., president of the auction company Fasig-Tiptons and a thoroughbred owner, described the ups and downs of the industry at a recent horse breeders […] Read more
Casinos bad for the track
RED DEER, Alta. – Having a casino move next door to a racetrack is one of the worst things to happen to the thoroughbred business. Legalized gambling in casinos, video lottery terminals in bars and riverboat casinos are having a huge impact on the racing industry, says a thoroughbred owner and auctioneer from Lexington, Kentucky. […] Read more
Alberta grower treats pasture as a vulnerable resource
RED DEER, Alta. – When people ask Don and Randee Halladay what they do for a living, they say they’re marketing sunlight. The Halladays are cow-calf operators 42 kilometres northeast of Rocky Mountain House in west-central Alberta. Since 1985 they have been strong proponents of holistic management and have the healthy pastures to prove it. […] Read more
Maple Leaf opens Calgary bakery
A bakery employing 100 workers that aims to serve fresh bagels, buns and breads to restaurants and food service companies is expected to be running in Calgary by this summer. Operated by Corporate Foods, the bakery is 69 percent owned by Maple Leaf Foods. Company chair Archie McLean said the bakery will produce a variety […] Read more
Wild Rose fears cattle commission will block much-needed checkoff
EDMONTON – Members of Wild Rose Agricultural Producers say they know the way out of their financial crisis, but fear the Alberta Cattle Commission will stymie their efforts. “If we don’t get it, it’s going to be very difficult,” said Taber farmer Paul Thibodeau about the organization’s call for a refundable checkoff. “Our finances are […] Read more
