Do show ring cattle work in the “real” world? It’s a question asked over decades of competitions in hushed tones behind the scenes of tiny 4-H events and large national championships alike. At times, it’s proclaimed argumentatively in small-town diners or between ranching neighbours sitting ringside of the action. Many responses to the query fall […] Read more
Author Archives
Role model of stability remembered
A visit to Grandmother’s house may not have brought fawning adoration, but important lessons were learned just the same
Over the sand hill, down across the red bridge, around the corner, and the clump of poplars that sheltered my grandparents’ homestead came into view. As we turned up the lane after a spring shower, I looked back from the rumble seat of my Uncle Clark’s Model A roadster and watched the tire marks unraveling […] Read more
Thinking outside the box
Barb and Dennis McAuley’s family have turned an old grain truck found at an estate sale a few years ago into playground equipment near Wetaskiwin, Alta. The couple started the McAuley Truck Box company in 1974, the year they were married. Dennis thinks this truck box was the sixth one the family made. A ladder up a hole cut through the truck box allows their grandchildren to climb into the box fort and down the slide. Also attached to the play truck are swings, a climbing wall and zip line. | Mary MacArthur photos
Barb and Dennis McAuley’s family have turned an old grain truck found at an estate sale a few years ago into playground equipment near Wetaskiwin, Alta. The couple started the McAuley Truck Box company in 1974, the year they were married. Dennis thinks this truck box was the sixth one the family made. A ladder […] Read more
Farm opens door for purple martins
Alberta producer kicks off a building boom in condominium-style bird houses that sees the species’ population explode
WETASKIWIN, Alta. — Over the next few weeks, Bob Buskas’ eyes will be on his fields as he begins to seed. He also has an eye to the sky as he waits for the purple martins to return to his farm. It takes about two to three weeks for the birds to fly from their […] Read more
Multi-fruit bearing crabapple tree was a wonder to behold
Grafting allowed one tree to produce four varieties — the original Nerchinsk as well as Goodland, Kerr and Garland
Every spring, the crabapple tree in my backyard sent forth sensory blessings to the neighborhood —white blooms with a fragrant aroma, a sort of “the white way of delight” as Anne in the story Anne of Green Gables labelled it. Neighbours, family and friends dropped by to gaze at the blossoms and whiff in the […] Read more
Healthy soil a priority
Cheryl and Trevor Branvold raise registered Angus on their farm in Saskatchewan that’s been in Cheryl’s family since 1888. Over the years, it was a mixed farm with grain and cattle but today the focus is on holistic management, improving the soil with cattle. “Our neighbour down the road is Ralph Corcoran, a holistic management […] Read more
Cattle help organic operation save its soil
Steve McElroy started his farm in Hillsdale, Michigan, in 1989 as a conventional crop operation. He became a certified organic grower about 12 years later. He grew organic grains and row crops for 15 years. “Our soil is short of organic matter and wasn’t in good condition to go organic,” he says. “It was becoming […] Read more
Rancher believes in working with nature
Holistic management has made a difference in ranch sustainability for Ken and Bonnie Miller on their ranch in south-central North Dakota, near Fort Rice, along the Missouri River. Ken Miller says holistic management helped point the ranch in the right direction 30-plus years ago. “I went through the training with Allan Savory in the mid-1980s. […] Read more
Man. farmers make decision to return home
On the Farm: David and Jean Caldwell emigrated to Canada from Scotland in 1995 — now they’re moving back
For just over a quarter of a century, David and Jean Caldwell of Kenton, Man., have called Canada home. But by their own admission, their Scottish roots run deep, and on April 30, their life will come full circle as they head into retirement with a move back to their bonny homeland. The decision to […] Read more
Manitoba farm moves to the inner city
Woman works to bring agriculture to a part of Winnipeg where residents have few opportunities to grow their own food
Louise May, owner of Aurora Farm, looks forward to helping Winnipeg’s inner city residents learn how to plant, nurture and harvest produce, and to possibly get acquainted with a goat or alpaca. The inner-city area of Winnipeg can be described as a concrete jungle and a food desert, having virtually no opportunities for most residents […] Read more
