A $20 garage sale bargain sent Tracey Kuffner spinning into a life of crafts. When Kuffner returned home with a loom 15 years ago, her mother thought it was $20 wasted. Determined to prove her wrong, Kuffner mastered the art of spinning and weaving. When she took a weekend felt-making course a few years later, […] Read more
Stories by Mary MacArthur
Compost vs. chemicals:
ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE, Alta. – Members of the Grey Wooded Forage Association hope bacteria will replace chemical fertilizer and cultivation as a way to rejuvenate their soil. On July 16, a specially designed compost loaded with bacteria and fungi, selected for Jan and Rick McGlone’s hay field, was shoveled out of a mini-bulk bag onto […] Read more
Alberta farm advisers back in rural areas
Alberta farmers will once again be able to walk into their local provincial agriculture department office for help and advice rather than phoning a centralized help desk. “We’re back. We’re open for business,” said Jason Krips, assistant deputy minister of industry development and food safety about new Alberta Agriculture plans. Trained staff will be at […] Read more
Sanitizing goes green
Cleaning and sanitizing agents of the future may come from plants. An Edmonton company has received almost half a million dollars from Ottawa to evaluate and potentially commercialize a group of naturally occurring cleaning agents for food and food preparation surfaces. Innovotech has developed and patented these agents, derived from natural plant pigments that are […] Read more
More Alberta canola fields hit by clubroot
Clubroot, the soil-borne disease that slowly sucks the life out of canola fields and farmers’ profits, has been identified in four more Alberta counties. Grande Prairie, Lethbridge, Ponoka and Lacombe counties have each identified at least one field this summer with the infection. Previously clubroot had been confined to 10 counties around Edmonton and one […] Read more
Wheat draws interest among foothills farmers
ROCKY MOUNTAIN HOUSE, Alta. – Growing wheat within sight of the Rocky Mountains is a risky crop venture, but new varieties and a changing climate have farmers taking another look. Kim Nielsen, agricultural fieldman with Clearwater County, said there has been renewed interest in wheat in the non-traditional wheat growing area. Three varieties of wheat […] Read more
Trainer eager to show Saddlebred variety
EDMONTON – Some horses are clunkers and some are family sedans. The Saddlebred is a Cadillac, said Archie Hurst, a Saddlebred trainer and breeder. “It’s a horse that when you ride down the road, people stop and look. It’s the Cadillac of the show world,” said Hurst during a break getting his horses ready for […] Read more
Rescue group ensures 100 horses adopted
EDMONTON – More than 100 starving horses seized by the SPCA in March from a northern Alberta farm have been placed in “forever” homes, said a volunteer who looked after the animals. Donna-Rae Coatta said the last horse was placed in a new home in July. “We’re thrilled with the choices we made,” said Coatta. […] Read more
Adventure buffet: Tours of eastern Alberta include bison ranch, bone dig, prison camp, canola fields and caboose
WAINWRIGHT, Alta. – Where else can you tour a former German prisoner-of-war camp, dig for ancient buffalo bones, listen to the wind rustle the grass around the foundations of an original prairie ranch house, meditate in a rural neo-Gothic church, ride a speeder car along the rails and tour a modern prairie farm? Jennifer Ford […] Read more
Driving tour includes barley fields
BOWDEN, Alta. – A central Alberta farmer has created a driving tour even fathers will enjoy. In between the corn mazes, petting zoos and craft shops are Sundre barley fields, complete with details of chemical sprayed and fertilizer used. Bob Mastin came up with the idea of a barley driving tour after calls from farmers […] Read more
