Handling and storing grain are dangerous tasks that expose farmers to numerous hazards. Power takeoff entanglements and suffocation from grain engulfment or entrapment are two of the most common incidents involving grain. Keeping stored grain in good condition and following recommended safety measures when working with grain can prevent incidents. To reduce safety risks, farmers […] Read more
Stories by Freelance writer
Bird farm provides welcome sanctuary
Central Alta. facility has helped mountain bluebirds, purple martins, barn swallows and tree swallows make a comeback
Mountain bluebirds have had a sanctuary for decades at the Ellis Bird Farm near Lacombe, Alta., but keeping the sanctuary safe for the birds hasn’t always been easy. The bluebirds have had to fight off aggressive invasive species like the house sparrow to compete for nesting space. Charlie Ellis and his sister, Winnie Ellis, became […] Read more
Grandchildren prompt move to the city
Gaylord and Lois Mierau's transition from active farming to renting out land and now selling the land and retirement to another province was not made in haste. With neither of their two children wanting to return to the farm, the decision was inevitable.
Sugar beets have long history in southern Alta.
Producers began growing the crop in the early 20th century with the manual labour coming from a variety of sources
From a sweetener for your morning coffee, to baking muffins or going the extra mile and making your own jams and jellies, Rogers or Lantic brand of sugar, depending on the province it is marketed in, is a staple in western Canadian kitchen pantries. This sugar is grown and refined in southern Alberta, from the […] Read more
Cover crops may have potential to lower yields
Researchers have found the effect cover crops have on primary crops depends on the environment and how they are used
Recent research has shown that cover cropping could lower crop yields and lead to negative environmental impacts caused by expanded cultivation necessary to make up for those yield losses.
Resetting plants’ clocks could improve yields
Plant breeders may be able to exploit circadian rhythms using chronoculture to make improvements to crop production
In the past 25 years, studies on plant circadian rhythms — a 24-hour oscillator adapted to living on a rotating planet — show that they profoundly affect plant physiology.
Predicting gully erosion helps land management
A modelling framework using remote sensing environmental data can predict gully erosion susceptibility more accurately
Researchers at the University of Illinois developed a modelling framework using remote sensing environmental data to predict gully erosion susceptibility more accurately.
Ag students hone ‘soft skills’
The Work Experience in Agriculture course is designed to help budding agrarians take academic training into the broader world. Second- and third-year students, while on the job, build targets for soft skills in leadership, listening, communication and time management that their academic training has not exposed them to.
Farm couple insists on staying put
Vic and Winnie Rowley are in their mid- and late 80s; they want to stay on their central Alberta farm as long as they can
CLIVE, Alta. — At 88 and 86 years old, Vic and Winnie Rowley have no intention of retiring and moving off the farm. “I like to go to town in the morning for coffee and that’s it,” said Vic, from his farm north of Clive, Alta. “I don’t think I’d like living in town. It […] Read more
Move to town next step in retirement transition
Alberta couple recently sold the rest of their bison and a half section of farmland and organized their spring farm auction
At the end of April, the couple held an online auction and sold their antiques, fuel tanks, sprayers, bison-handling equipment, stock waterers, vehicles and a life-time collection of odds and ends from the farm. When buyers came to look at the auction items, whether it was an iron, cream separator or lantern, it all sparked a conversation.
