Mary MacArthur

Each month when Faye Oswald picks up her Tupperware container filled with fresh fruits and vegetables, she can’t wait for the surprise. The Camrose, Alta., mother knows there will be apples oranges, bananas and potatoes in her Good Food Box, but she often tries to guess what new and interesting fruit and vegetable will be […] Read more

Stories of land sales by Alberta’s large feedlots to appease the banks aren’t true, according to a southern Alberta realtor. “It’s just stories,” said Dave Clarke of Maxwell Realty in Lethbridge. Worried about the validity of the land selling rumours, Maxwell said he looked at all the listings in the Picture Butte area, the heart […] Read more

Twelve Canadian dairy cattle born on the Alberta farm from which North America’s second positive BSE case originated have tested negative for the disease, says a Canadian Food Inspection Agency official. CFIA veterinarian Cornelius Kiley said the animals were born in the same three-year window as was the cow that tested positive for the disease […] Read more

A fire at one of Peace Pork’s northern Alberta finishing barns killed more than 9,000 hogs Feb. 5. Investigators are unclear how the fire started. Peace Pork owner Rocky Morril said if the concrete in the 7,300 sq. metre barn near Girouxville hasn’t been damaged, he will start building a new barn immediately. “I would […] Read more

EDMONTON – Cows and crops go together like a horse and buggy, said a panel of Alberta farmers at a recent farming conference. The trio of farmers has found how to link their cattle with their crops to keep feed costs low and make cattle feeding easier. John Lamb of Balzac said sweet clover silage […] Read more

An independent Alberta farm supply company is building three $750,000 fertilizer-blending facilities. “There’s a lot of competition out there and we have to show our commitment to farmers,” said Brent McIndoe, of Camrose Crop Management Services in Camrose, part of the Andrukow Farm Group that is building the three fertilizer blending facilities in Camrose, Ryley […] Read more

Any grace period banks had extended to feedlot owners after the discovery of BSE in Canada seems to be over, according to the general manager of the Alberta Cattle Feeders Association. “The banks are seriously reassessing their situation,” said Axelson. He said nervous bankers are telling feedlot operators they want to see an improved debt-to-equity […] Read more

A fire that caused $35 million in damage at a Lilydale Food’s processing plant in Edmonton Jan. 29 will set back plant operations by at least six months, said the general manager of the Alberta Chicken Producers. “The loss of this is huge,” said Lloyd Johnson of Edmonton. “It should have been a profitable arm […] Read more

The Alberta Court of Appeal has upheld a decision that allows lay people, not just veterinarians, to practice horse dentistry. The three appeal court justices ruled Jan. 28 it is legal for non-veterinarians to practice dentistry on horses in Alberta. Todd Williams, owner of the Canadian Equine Dental Consultants, who helped shepherd the case through […] Read more

EDMONTON -ÊWhen farmers pay their herbicide bill, they probably wonder if they will ever win the fight against weeds on their farm. But a new survey shows the number of weeds on the Prairies has dropped dramatically since the 1980s, says an Alberta agronomist. In the 1980s, about 43 percent of prairie fields in a […] Read more