CALGARY – Talk radio is going country. Starting March 16, Calgary’s all talk station QR 77 will open the phone lines every Saturday night at 7 p.m. for an hour of agriculture programming hosted by Jim Fisher. “Every time there were agriculture topics (on the talk programs), the lines lit up,” said Fisher, who is […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Buyers get selective with dollars at Calgary Bull Sale
CALGARY – Tough times in the cattle industry were evident at this year’s Calgary Bull Sale although prices were still respectable for the first of the spring bull sales. Total sale volume was $1,462,225 on 486 head for an overall average of $3,008. In total, 216 bulls were not sold compared to 24 being passed […] Read more
Growing Asian affluence expected to keep grain prices up
VULCAN, Alta. – History is repeating itself in the world grain trade. The current scenario of low grain stocks and high prices is similar to the 1973-75 period. The major difference is that an additional one billion people, mostly in Asia, are hungry for grain. Farmers attending the Canadian Wheat Board’s annual grain day in […] Read more
Charolais group first to put cattle records on-line for members
CALGARY – The only thing that seems to stay the same in the cattle business is how calves are born. The rest of the story reads like science fiction where almost every move the animal makes for the rest of its life is monitored by computer. The newest wave for the Canadian Charolais Association is […] Read more
Southern Alberta farmers take shots at CWB monopoly
VULCAN, Alta. – It is frustrating for some southern Alberta farmers when they scan their satellite market services and see farmers across the line quoted $1 a bushel more for wheat and barley. Even though Canadian Wheat Board officials say few customers actually pay those higher prices, it still stings. For farmers attending a wheat […] Read more
New Calgary-based CP Rail puts itself on a lean diet
BANFF, Alta. – The company that helped open the West has come full circle. By relocating 730 people this summer to its new Calgary headquarters, CP Rail plans to be a leaner, more efficient operation. Dan Stirling of CP unveiled some of the corporation’s new strategies at the recent Western Barley Growers Association meeting. Staff […] Read more
Multinational food company sees bright agricultural future
BANFF, Alta. – The chair of ConAgra International sees a positive future for agriculture, with a few bumps along the way. In Truxton Morrison’s view, this is a time of rapid change with downsizing in some areas and rapid growth in others. During a career in the grain business that spans three decades, he’s watched […] Read more
Barley tries to widen its audience
BANFF, Alta. – There’s more to barley than livestock feed and beer. Finding those additional uses is one aim of the research projects funded by the Alberta Barley Commission. The commission is considering giving $500,000 toward building a growth facility at the barley breeding centre at Lacombe. The Alberta government has been asked to help […] Read more
Undercover force nabs poachers
CALGARY – He jokingly calls his work “secret squirrel stuff” but Craig Hockley of the fish and game special investigations unit has a serious message. Buying fish or wild game from a poacher is as wrong as buying a hot compact disc player or a camera. The amazing thing is, most people don’t realize they’re […] Read more
Cattle ‘superstars’ created with modern technology
CALGARY – Getting cows pregnant is no longer a matter of simply walking a neighbor’s bull down the road to the pasture every spring. With modern technology, a whole new lifeform is being created through invitro fertilization and in the future, gene transfers will almost guarantee an animal’s color, make it polled or ensure marbled […] Read more
