Mary MacArthur

A combination of feeding livestock at night and limiting the amount given increased the rate of gain in feeder cattle by nine percent, says a University of Manitoba researcher. While results were not identical at every testing site, the results from the Brandon site, where there wasn’t excess feed given to the animals, showed there […] Read more

EDMONTON – Alberta’s New Democratic opposition is calling for an investigation into the increase in packing plant profits at the expense of Canadian cattle producers. Brian Mason said according to the cattle industry’s figures, the gross margin of packing plants has increased by 200 percent since the start of the BSE crisis 10 months ago. […] Read more

BSE is a hot topic in Alberta, but a group of farmers were shocked to see four police cruisers outside the county office in St. Paul when they walked out of their BSE information meeting. “I knew BSE was bad, but I didn’t know it was this bad,” joked Gordon Graves, an Iron River farmer […] Read more

An Alberta llama producer refuses to sit back and let her business die because the lucrative American market is closed to Canadian animals. Sue Wilde of Raymond has updated her website, developed a marketing plan and burned it to a CD that she will mail to her clients. She has boosted her advertising budget and […] Read more

ARMENA, Alta. – BSE is the biggest crisis to hit the Prairies, yet it seems to be ignored by most churches, said a Lutheran pastor who is trying to organize a church response to the problem. “We’ve got a crisis in our community and no church is making a public response to it,” said Bill […] Read more

The Alberta government’s decision to grant recreational and energy access on leased land is leading to open access on private land, warns an official with the Alberta Surface Rights Federation. Darcy Wills told the federation’s recent annual meeting it will be only a matter of time before Alberta’s Bill 16, which was passed last year […] Read more

Alberta beef producers waiting for foreign governments to reopen the border to their product want to build their own packing plants to find markets for their cattle. Across the province, farmers are gathering in coffee shops and community halls listening to proposals to build a series of small packing plants as a way of saving […] Read more

The Alberta farmer whose dairy cow was diagnosed with North America’s second case of BSE is now trying to figure out how to survive in the beef business. “I’m in the same boat as everyone in this corner of the world,” said Wayne Forsberg of Calmar, as he sat in the audience of a National […] Read more

Feb. 29 is the deadline for buying hay insurance in Alberta for 2004. Because the last day of February falls on a Sunday, Agricultural Financial Services Corp. offices, which administer the program, will accept applications until 4:30 p.m. March 1. Hay insurance is a good way to protect the feed source, said Alberta agriculture minister […] Read more

Tough times for lamb producers are getting worse as the owner of Canada’s largest sheep feedlot stops buying until slaughter prices improve. “It’s a total disaster. The losses are just unbelievable,” said Roy Leitch, who estimates he loses $100 a head on every lamb he sells. “We’ve never been in a mess like this in […] Read more