BANFF, Alta. – When it came to debating wheat board reform, agriculture ministers from Alberta and Saskatchewan couldn’t get much farther apart. With Alberta’s Walter Paszkowski stressing dual markets and and Eric Upshall of Saskatchewan staunchly defending the board’s monopoly position and reputation, barley growers gathered in Banff got an earful. At this convention of […] Read more
Barbara Duckworth
Stories by Barbara Duckworth
Drug abuse not surprising in modern drug culture
CALGARY – When Sharon Johnson speaks about drug addictions she’s not just talking about a bloody-nosed cocaine addict or an emaciated heroin victim. As an educator with the Alberta Alcohol and Drug Abuse Commission, Johnson includes in her list of troublemakers prescription drugs, caffeine, nicotine, alcohol and painkillers. In a culture that doesn’t tolerate discomfort, […] Read more
Drugs more potent and dangerous
CALGARY (Staff) – For baby boomer parents who reminisce about smoking marijuana, it can be shocking to hear about the spread of drugs and the potency of what is available to their children. Everything from illegal sales of prescription drugs like Valium and Ritalin to high grade cocaine are sold to both rural and urban […] Read more
Unusual activities may mean the neighbor is growing drugs
CALGARY – There’s a new neighbor in the district. He and his friends keep to themselves. They pay cash for everything and want no receipts. They boarded up the windows of the old farmhouse they’re renting and the snow melted off the roof during below zero temperatures. That new neighbor may be a different kind […] 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
If cows are missing, contact the police
CALGARY – A farmer goes out to the pasture to count the herd and a few cows seem to be missing, but there’s a lot of brush around and he decides they’re probably around somewhere. The missing stock isn’t reported to the RCMP for several months. By that time the trail is cold and the […] Read more
Disease may hamper 1996 Olympic events
SAN ANTONIO, Texas – A little- understood viral disease that affects cattle, horses and swine could restrict equestrian events at the summer Olympics in Atlanta this year. Vesicular stomatitis virus was first discovered in New Mexico last May. News of the disease, which hasn’t been seen since 1983, placed tight restrictions on American horses crossing […] Read more
Texas feedyard targets Mexican niche market
Western Producer reporter Barbara Duckworth visited the Morales Feedyard earlier this month while she was in Texas at the National Cattlemen’s Association meetings in San Antonio. DEVINE, Texas – Morales Feedyard, west of San Antonio in south-central Texas, looks like most feedlots, but there are concrete differences. Built 35 years ago by a brewery baron, […] Read more
American meat exports reach highest since war
SAN ANTONIO, Texas (Staff) – American meat exporters are sitting in their most comfortable position since the Second World War. Exports worldwide have been exponential with 1995 being a banner year at $3 billion in sales for pork and beef, making the United States a net exporter of beef for the first time in years. […] Read more
Awards put feather in the cap of poultry specialist
CALGARY – When Rod Chernos talks poultry, people should sit up and listen. Rod, one of three poultry specialists with Alberta Agriculture, has recently received honors for his work in the industry. In 1995 he received the Alberta poultry service industry award and was also named SPCA farmer of the year. The Society for Prevention […] Read more
