The old saying about no more farmland being made may not be true in British Columbia. The provincial government plans to sell forest areas to farmers this spring in a pilot project to see if the property where timber was destroyed by the mountain pine beetle can be successfully converted to farmland. “We think there […] Read more
Stories by Mary MacArthur
Alta. gov’t tops up CAIS pay
Alberta farmers will receive an extra $70 million through the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization program. “We’ve heard our producers continue to express concerns that the CAIS program is still not responsive enough after the disasters affecting our industry,” said agriculture minister George Groeneveld. One of the weaknesses in the program is that it’s based on […] Read more
B.C. urges towns to build abattoirs
British Columbia communities still suffering financial pains from BSE are urged to apply for government aid to build their own small or mobile slaughter plants. Pat Bell, the province’s agriculture minister, said not all the $5 million in a government fund for building small abattoirs has been allocated. The deadline for application is Sept. 30. […] Read more
Alta. superbug outbreak prompts investigation of hospital procedures
A rural Alberta hospital may reopen by the end of the week, two weeks after it was shut down March 16 following the spread of an antibiotic-resistant superbug and the improper sterilization of medical equipment. On March 26 Alberta health minister Dave Hancock announced a second incident of improper sterilization of equipment, this time in […] Read more
BSE fight gets boost in Alta.
The Alberta cattle industry has received a $40 million boost to eliminate BSE from the provincial herd. The federal and provincial government money will be used to help abattoirs, renderers, packing plants and companies that destroy or contain SRMs to deal with the cost of complying with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s tougher feed ban. […] Read more
Angus herd returns home to Alta.’s Lakeland college
VERMILION, Alta. – After almost 70 years, a herd of purebred Black Angus cattle has returned to its original home at Lakeland College. The Alberta college bought 23 cows and their calves from the Northern Alberta Institute of Technology’s Fairview campus. The cows are descendants of Lakeland’s herd in the 1940s. “We’re quite excited to […] Read more
Alberta badlands look at keeping tourists
An initiative to turn the Alberta badlands into the next tourist destination of choice will be a huge financial benefit to communities in southeastern Alberta, said one of its organizers. The eerie rock formations worn into strange shapes by wind and water, a world-class dinosaur museum, historic pottery shops, rich aboriginal history and rivers snaking […] Read more
Alberta 4-H marks 90th with marketing campaign
4-H has come along way since it began as a Boys and Girls Swine Club in Olds, Alta., 90 years ago. The agricultural youth organization that began as a pig club in 1917 has expanded to 400 clubs across the province with 32 project possibilities ranging from photography to cooking to cattle, said Vanessa Goodman, […] Read more
Treatment irks stranded immigrant worker
A Mexican who came to Canada to work in an Alberta feedlot believes his employers broke the contract and have left him stranded in a foreign country without a job. Armando Garcia said he signed a contract with CG Paulgaard Farms Ltd., of Hayter, Alta., promising him $12 per hour, overtime pay, health care benefits […] Read more
Farmers prefer to support local elevator
WESTLOCK, Alta. – Westlock Terminals officials raised almost one-quarter of the million dollars needed for its third share offering the first evening that investment shares were available for the farmer-owned terminal. Interest was confirmed for another $250,000 in shares March 6 when the shares were initially offered to investors, said Bob Heck, general manager of […] Read more
