LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – Alberta pork will soon carry a written guarantee of quality. The Alberta Quality Pork Program will start as a six-month pilot project within two weeks. It involves about 50 producer volunteers, Fletcher’s Fine Foods, Gainers Inc., Alberta Agriculture and the province’s single-desk hog marketing agency the Pork Producers Development Corporation. The first […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Storms hurt attendance, prices at Alberta bull test station sales
CALGARY – An ugly spring snowstorm took its toll on two recent bull test station sales. With spring bull sales already caught in the whirlpool of a downturn in the cattle cycle, miserable weather keeping potential buyers away during calving season doesn’t help. However test station operators point out good breeding stock always pulls in […] Read more
Animal rights radicals bomb, steal, destroy for the cause
RED DEER, Alta. – Anyone who keeps a pet or uses animals for entertainment, food or research could be a target for radical animal rights activists, according to two men tracking their movements. Alan Herscovici, a Montreal consultant who studies the animal rights movement, and Cpl. Scott Dawson of the RCMP’s national security investigation section […] Read more
Pork producers to get U.S. duty refund
LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – Canadian pork producers should expect a refund of more than $11 million in countervail duties paid between 1992 and 1994 on live hogs exported to the United States. The Americans have charged duties on Canadian hogs since April 1985 with the inception of the tripartite red meat stabilization subsidy. U.S. farmers said […] Read more
Dairy growth hormone side effects not fully known
RED DEER, Alta. – Injecting dairy cows with growth hormones to increase milk yields is gaining international acceptance, yet some researchers say they still don’t know enough about the side effects of supplements like bovine somatotropin. Australian animal scientist Ian Lean from the University of Sydney said there’s considerable unpublished research on supplements like BST […] Read more
Herbs lucrative, but farmers must choose plants carefully
OLDS, Alta. – Herbal medicine is experiencing a renaissance as a new generation discovers the healing power of plants. For farmers, growing herbs can be lucrative if they educate themselves before growing. British Columbia’s provincial horticulturalist Al Oliver said one of the main problems he sees in B.C. is that people mistakenly identify plants or […] Read more
Spices, medicinal herbs are suited for Prairies
OLDS, Alta. (Staff) – The Prairies may be the world’s ideal garden for growing aromatic plants and herbal medicines. During an Olds College conference on herbs, more than 200 interested farmers were shown the value of a market where they’re encouraged to grow plants many of them consider weeds. Researchers gave an overview of some […] Read more
Ginseng crops expand to Prairies
RED DEER, Alta. – Ginseng, a $30 million a year crop for British Columbia, could be successfully grown on the Prairies despite cold weather and constant wind. With some tender-loving care, plots are springing up in Manitoba, Saskatchewan and Alberta where some growers are expected to dig up their first harvest of the high-priced roots […] Read more
Scientist sets out to preserve Indian medicine traditions
OLDS, Alta. (Staff) – Centuries ago aboriginal people knew the healing power of wild plants but as elders in the native community die, much of their knowledge dies with them, says a Manitoba researcher. Robin Marles of Brandon University led a research project in the northern areas of the western provinces to document the medicinal […] Read more
Agriculture Notes
New soft wheat executive The executive of the Alberta Soft Wheat Producers’ Commission includes: President Art Eckert of Duchess; vice-president John Nikkel of Coaldale; secretary Peter Pepneck of Vauxhall; treasurer Everett Tanis of Picture Butte; and directors John Van Trype and Gerard Oosterhuis, both of Bow Island, Harry Brummelhuis of Vauxhall, Barry Grain of Taber, […] Read more
