High grain prices, drought and a closed U.S. border push prices lower and prompt many producers to sell their herds
CAMROSE, Alta. — A look at bison memberships across Canada may give a hint of the state of the bison industry. Across Canada, memberships in bison associations are down almost 16 percent, to 436 in 2023 from 518 in 2022. Doreen Neilley said the issue figures large at the Canadian Bison Association board meetings she […] Read moreStories by Freelance writer
Alberta producer thinks small with microgreen operation
Urban farmer grows a variety of plants and markets them primarily to restaurants because of the stable business model
Hundreds of newly sprouted microgreens can be nurtured together when crowded into close confines. The conditions for growing them are not usually overly complicated and they are easy to maintain. Harvest can be as quick as 11 days to seven weeks, depending on the variety. Microgreen farmer Riccardo Baldini of Strathcona Microgreens has built a […] Read more
Round barns boast a long history in Canada
Structural stability, easier construction and more efficient feeding were reasons given for constructing circular buildings
My memories of growing up on the farm include moments in the barn, sitting on the extra milking stool with a cat on my knee, talking to Dad while he milked Lucky or Star or whichever cow it was. Other moments include a warm summer afternoon, entering the dim quiet of the barn, laying on […] Read more
Bison make their return to Alberta First Nation
Twenty Plains bison join the First Nation’s existing 24-head herd, recognizing the species’ importance to Indigenous people and culture
BITTERN LAKE, Alta. — After a pipe ceremony and to the beat of drums, 20 Plains bison were unloaded from a trailer to their new home on Samson Cree Nation. “Thank you for bringing our buffalo home. Let’s get them out of there. They’re home,” said chief Vern Saddleback Jr., just before 20 bison from […] Read more
Mead venture starts as calming hobby
A beekeeping hobby develops into a commercial operation supported by a greenhouse and the surrounding community
NEW SAREPTA, Alta. — What began as a calming hobby for Will Munsey has led to community connections, a new business and delicious mead. Munsey began with two beehives and slowly expanded to 12. To deal with the sweet success of his hobby, he needed a use for the excess honey and made his first […] Read more
Plants can make chemicals for bee-friendly insecticides
Limonoids give citrus fruits their bitter taste and are also the active components in crop protection that doesn’t hurt bees
Plants have evolved ways to protect themselves using complex chemicals that can challenge even the most astute chemists. Collaborating researchers at the John Innes Centre in Norwich, United Kingdom, and Stanford University in California recently revealed the enzymes that certain plants, such as mahogany and citrus, use to make limonoids. These molecules are the compounds […] Read more
Eastern Ontario farmers still struggle after violent storm
Producers continue to work with insurance companies and make repairs to their farms following last May’s wind storm
RUSSELL, Ont. — Farm damage inflicted by a violent storm last May in eastern Ontario lingers nine months later. In less than three minutes on May 21, violent winds with tornado-level gusts, known as a derecho, tore through the communities of Carlsbad Springs, Navan, Vars and Sarsfield just east of Ottawa. It levelled trees, blew […] Read more
Honeybee lifespans appear to be shrinking
Recent experiments find that the mean average lifespan was half that of caged bees in similar studies in the 1970s
A study by entomologists at the University of Maryland has shown that the lifespan of individual honeybees kept in a controlled laboratory environment is 50 percent shorter than it was in the 1970s. Over the past decade, many beekeepers have reported high loss rates requiring more replacements to keep their operations viable. Much of those […] Read more
Soil temperature can help predict corn earworm spread
Winter temperatures in the soil can be used as a way to predict the following growing season’s insect pest populations
Corn earworm is a significant pest that ravages not only sweet corn but cotton, soybeans, peppers, tomatoes and other vegetable crops. Monitoring it in a way that would help farmers predict where it could appear in the next growing season could be significant in controlling it more effectively. An adult corn earworm is a buff […] Read more
Donating blood a family affair
CAMROSE, Alta. — Some Alberta families go fishing or tobogganing on Family Day, but the three Trautman siblings got together to donate blood. The trio booked their blood donation time together to celebrate sister Virginia Liebl’s 100th donation. It was brother Les Trautman’s 133rd blood donation and sister Margaret Shinness’s 119th. The family is following […] Read more
