Mary MacArthur

British Columbia rancher Paul Devick counts himself fortunate. He sold a liner load of good quality cull cows for 11 cents a pound. “We thought we were lucky to get rid of them,” said Devick of Heffley Creek, B.C., who sold more than 40 cows to a nearby abattoir recently. What to do with the […] Read more

With good cull cows selling for less than the price of a beef dinner for two at a fancy restaurant, an Alberta Agriculture specialist expects many farmers will keep their cows on the farm for another year. “There are a lot of producers out there making some tough choices right now,” said Trevor Yurchak of […] Read more

The owner of a British Columbia abattoir continues to kill cows as a public service to the industry, not because he’s making money. Anam Kour, owner of Medallion Meats in Westwold, B.C., said the decision to continue slaughtering cows older than 30 months was not taken lightly. Before the rules changed on how older cows […] Read more

A low-tech combination of barley straw in an onion bag suspended in water seems to reduce the amount of algae in a dugout, say agriculture officials. As the barley straw decomposes, it creates a peroxide type of disinfectant, which minimizes algae growth in dugouts, said County of Camrose fieldman Dave Trautman during a tour stop […] Read more

When Susan Devick was finally allowed to return to her British Columbia ranch home after forest fires forced thousands of people to evacuate their homes, she wasn’t met with damage to her house from fire, but from flood. When her husband Paul was allowed back to the Heffley Creek ranch Aug. 8 to gather a […] Read more

Alberta’s hog marketing agency temporarily suspended its forward price-contracting program last week because of instability in Canadian meat markets. Mack Rennie, general manager of the Western Hog Exchange, said since the discovery of bovine spongiform encephalopathy in a single Alberta cow, it is almost impossible to offer farmers a price for their hogs six months […] Read more

PEORIA, Alta.- There’s nothing much to distinguish ground zero of the beef disasterfrom any other farm on the Prairies. In front of Marwyn and Lisa Peaster’s neat farm home are pots of bright purple flowers. On the concrete driveway is a small tricycle and a red wagon. Across the road there is a long line […] Read more

The Alberta government is spending up to $30,000 to lure Japanese media to Canada to have a thorough inspection of the meat industry, said an Alberta Economic Development official. “We want to get them over here and understand it’s one of the safest systems in the world,” said department spokesperson Mark Erdman. The department is […] Read more

Danielle Schnurer gives 4-H a lot of credit in her life. “Without 4-H I wouldn’t have been the person I am today,” said Schnurer, who this year was given the Premier’s Award, Alberta’s highest honour in the rural youth program. When Schnurer joined 4-H as a peewee member at age nine she was the “shiest […] Read more

Feedlot operators are expressing optimism that the latest government assistance program will provide a financial boost to help keep them afloat. Southern Alberta feedlot operator Rick Paskal sold cattle through the auction market last week and received between 45.75 and 50 cents a pound, about 10 cents higher than what the three main packing plants […] Read more