Mary MacArthur

Snow still lies in shady parts of the field, but it’s not too early for Lorne Enright to get his sprayer ready for spring. When Enright, a custom sprayer, parked his sprayer last fall it worked fine. But the Rosalind, Alta., farmer has been busy making sure all is ready for the rush of farmers […] Read more

EDMONTON – It often takes an outsider to see the beauty in a flock of chickens or a pen of pigs. To city-raised Georgia Graham, the beauty in ordinary barnyard animals is worth turning into a picture. “I look for patterns in agriculture, in a group of chickens or a field of cows,” said Graham […] Read more

When Guy Anderson looks at his field he sees some puddles where there were none the year before, but the central Alberta farmer doesn’t believe the drought impact has been washed away. Lingering memories of last year’s dry fields and withering crops have sent many farmers, including Anderson, into the local government office to buy […] Read more

EDMONTON – After years of concentrating on paying down the provincial debt, the Alberta government has pried open its wallet and handed out billions of dollars for building roads, schools and hospitals. Agriculture will also receive a share of the pie. Its base spending will increase by $262 million to $808 million, primarily for enhancements […] Read more

Western Canadian farmers have another option to pour in their fertilizer tanks this spring to help deal with chronically sulfur-deficient soil. Cargill will increase production of MicroEssentials S15, a granular fertilizer built like an onion, with each granule made up of layers of nitrogen, phosphorus and sulfur. John Waterer, Cargill’s country agronomist, said embedding sulfur […] Read more

John van Dongen was reappointed April 3 to his post as British Columbia minister of agriculture, food and fisheries. He had been temporarily removed from cabinet in January over his handling of an aquaculture file in 2001. The former Abbotsford dairy farmer stepped down when he released information to the head of a fish farming […] Read more

Alberta’s hog producers are squealing in pain over the $78 million they’ve lost since last July. A new report confirms what Alberta pork producers have known for months – they’re losing money with every hog they sell. Each week Alberta pork producers lose an average $2.16 million. Put another way, pork producers lose an average […] Read more

Elk and deer ranchers in Alberta will soon be allowed to slaughter animals on their farms for their own consumption. The Alberta government recently introduced amendments to the act governing the industry. Before, when elk and deer ranchers wanted to slaughter an animal to eat for themselves, they had to take it to an approved […] Read more

An Alberta farm family hopes a three-horned calf born on the farm will fly the family into the magical world of good times. “We thought it might be the magic needed to save the farm from the drought,” said Kathy Galliford. The Gallifords refer good-naturedly to the Simmental-cross yearling’s magic powers because of its unicorn-like […] Read more

EDMONTON – Alberta Agriculture has mapped out its research future and it points to big projects that have a clear economic value for agriculture and the province, says the minister. The research and innovation strategic framework details the research goals the agriculture industry will pursue, said Shirley McClellan while standing in front of framed samples […] Read more