CAMROSE, Alta. — Kevin MacDonald wouldn’t give a plugged nickel for the Canadian icon featured on the real nickel. This year, beavers have plugged culverts and flooded roads, fields and farmyards. “This year, it’s bonkers,” said MacDonald, manager of Camrose County’s Agricultural Service Board. The county has ripped apart roads to let the water drain […] Read more
Author Archives
Poly pockets for corn
CAMROSE, Alta. — The old adage that corn should be waist high by the fourth of July may be reality in the United States Midwest, but in central Alberta it’s just a saying. Except at Vermeer’s Dairy in Camrose where much of the 600 acres of corn seeded under a biodegradable film is growing quickly […] Read more
Self-isolation helps clean out greenhouses
Operators in Alberta hope the increased interest in gardening will create a greater urban appreciation for agriculture
BAWLF, Alta. — The thought of being confined to home for the summer has turned Albertans into gardeners, racing to greenhouses and snapping up flowers and vegetables to fill the summer hours. Across Alberta greenhouse owners were taken by surprise at the intense interest. It’s Rosa Wipf’s seventh year as a greenhouse owner and her […] Read more
Stickers support soil and grass
People are digging Dustin Bajer’s soil and grass stickers. What began as a play on words of the successful “I heart Canadian oil and gas” stickers, which supported the Canadian energy industry, has become a nod to Canadian food, forestry and agriculture. “Soil and grass is already something worth loving,’’ said Bajer of Edmonton. Bajer […] Read more
4-H clubs meet online as activities continue
Calves will be sold through an online auction, and members will learn how to conduct meetings using social media apps
For 4-H members, their motto “learn to do by doing” may have to temporarily change to “learn to do by zooming.” With the suspension of Alberta 4-H activities until May 31, many 4-H clubs have met using the meeting app Zoom, and some clubs are planning online auctions of their calves instead of the traditional […] Read more
Bison producers share their years of experience
CAMROSE, Alta. — Bison producers got a chance March 12 to ask three of their peers about their operations during a question and answer session at the Bison Producers of Alberta’s annual meeting. Judy Van Haren of Lacombe, Alta., who farms with her husband, Erwin, and son, Roger, has raised bison for 25 years. She […] Read more
Bison producers on firm footing, despite lower prices
CAMROSE, Alta. — Despite softening prices, the bison industry is still a great industry, said producers during the Alberta Bison Producers convention and sale. “We’re coming down off historically high prices. It has affected prices all the way down to the calves,” said Steven Lunty, chair of the bison association. “Frankly, we priced ourselves out […] Read more
School remains open with ag at its centre
ROUND HILL, Alta. — A central Alberta school will now revolve around agriculture after school trustees voted to keep the school open. Battle River School Division trustees voted five to three to keep the Round Hill School open and allow the Round Hill Renaissance Agriculture Program group to develop an agriculture-based program at the school. […] Read more
Ag seen as saviour of rural Alta. school
ROUND HILL, Alta. — Families, students and community members are counting on agriculture to save their rural school. They’re counting on chickens, cows, gardening and dozens of other agricultural projects to build enthusiasm needed to stop their school from being closed. Round Hill School is one of just four schools in the Battle River School […] Read more
Bison ‘the perfect animal’ to promote for consumers
Presenter at the recent Wild Rose Bison Convention in Camrose, Alta., lauded the attributes of bison meat
CAMROSE, Alta. — Bison are the ideal animal for consumers’ changing diet, said an agrologist and sustainable agriculture adviser. Bison meat is healthy, the animal is native to North America and is the ideal grass animal, Vince McConnell told bison producers at their annual meeting. Instead of trying to compete with traditional livestock and markets, […] Read more
