Prairie provinces push toward high speed

People living in rural Saskatchewan and Alberta are a mouse click closer to high speed internet. In Alberta, the government announced Rural Connections, a pilot program designed to help rural and remote communities get access to high speed internet. The $9 million of grant funding can be used for infrastructure projects to connect communities to […] Read more

University focuses on food

Halfway through a food theme year, the University of Alberta’s Augustana campus staff and students have talked about food, read books about food and reflected on the meaning of food. The best part of the campus’s theme is eating food, said students during a lunch in the college’s cafeteria. Once a month, cafeteria manager Lilas […] Read more

Alberta gov’t rejects official sport

A bid to have rodeo declared Alberta’s provincial sport was given a pass by the government. During the Canadian Finals Rodeo, retiring provincial Liberal leader Kevin Taft donned a cowboy hat and declared Alberta should embrace rodeo as its official sport. In early photographs and provincial archives, it’s not hockey or soccer that’s featured in […] Read more


Producer’s CAIS cheque error-filled

When it comes to CAIS payments, farmers should be like Santa Claus and check their list twice. Marianne Cole found 38 errors in 138 lines on her 2007 payment form for Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization. One lined added $21,000 of extra income and a second omitted $46,000 in expenses. What triggered Cole to check the […] Read more

Bringing the world to the farm

What kind of gathering is held in 23 locations, but everyone is at the same meeting? The answer: A video conference. About 214 people from across Alberta and one from Hawaii joined via the internet and a series of video conference sites, to learn and talk about the future of video conferencing recently. The opportunities […] Read more


Farmer action on fertilizer driving down prices?

The threat of competition seems to have lowered urea fertilizer prices in some areas. Garry Lindemann of Qu’Appelle, Sask., said the price of urea at the local Pioneer dealer dropped to $600 a tonne from $850 in two weeks after word spread that a group of farmers and Hutterite colonies were bypassing local dealers and […] Read more

Strip mine reclamation improves on the past

EDMONTON – Kerri Lappin has put together a computerized jigsaw puzzle to recreate what 27,000 acres of farmland looked like before it was turned into a strip mine. The project will help the mining company rebuild wetlands when the area west of Edmonton is reclaimed in 40 years. Using hundreds of aerial photographs from 1982, […] Read more

Alberta to improve water conservation, safety

The Alberta government still has plenty to do to protect the province’s water resources, it said in an updated report called Water for Life. Water for Life has been Alberta’s blueprint for managing water since 2003. The plan was implemented after drought in 2001 focused the government’s attention on the province’s limited water supply. Alberta’s […] Read more


Show offers new technology, trends, tastes

LEDUC, Alta. – Earle Snider attended a recent food technology show to gather new information and ideas. The wholesale baker said more emphasis on sanitation and food safety makes it important to keep up with the latest technology. “You always have to be open to new ideas and new possibilities and new ways of doing […] Read more

Alta. horse owners guilty

Two men accused of allowing 28 horses to starve to death near Andrew, Alta., have pleaded guilty and have been banned from owning horses. Axel Hinz-Schleuter and Dale Huber pleaded guilty Nov. 17 to allowing more than 100 horses to be in distress and failure to provide food and water for the animals. The judge […] Read more