Mary MacArthur

WESTEROSE, Alta. – The 4-H Foundation of Alberta is responding to criticism of how it distributed donated money to feed-short farmers hurt by last summer’s drought. Bruce Banks, executive director of the provincial 4-H foundation, said it was not an easy task. The foundation had control of $932,000 raised through a combination of donations and […] Read more

A group of landowners opposed to a recreation corridor on abandoned CN Rail land near Bonnyville, Alta., will be in court March 17 to try to stop the trail. Darlene St. Jean, lawyer for the Bonnyville Adjacent Landowners Group, said they want the Court of Queen’s Bench judge to halt recreation use on the abandoned […] Read more

After a disappointing year, lamb prices have climbed to levels not seen since the spring of 2001, says an Alberta buyer. “Lamb prices are recovering quite nicely from the low of early fall,” said Bob Pettie, livestock manager with Sunterra Meats, formerly the Canada West Foods, in Innisfail, Alta., who expects prices to be 15 […] Read more

Premium Brands, a specialty food processor, has bought out its three-year $3-million consulting agreement with Saskatchewan Wheat Pool early at a cost of $2.3 million. In the original agreement, the pool was to provide consulting services for the west coast-based meat processor for $1 million a year for three years. The pool was to provide […] Read more

Viking, Alta. – Brian Rozmahel remembers clearly the day two years ago when he knew his life had to change. The 43-year-old farmer from Viking, Alta., had just come back from a week-long mountain trip with a youth group. They’d spent a glorious week whitewater rafting, climbing and mountain biking. When the group arrived back […] Read more

HEISLER, Alta. – A mixture of thick brown sand, water and tiny chunks of coal flows from a hole and across the snow like lava from a volcano. The wet brew is a good sign for the water well drillers, but Ken Hugo, a hydrogeologist, standing nearby, is looking for a water gusher, not just […] Read more

EDMONTON – There is life after fusarium, says a Manitoba agronomist who has dealt with the disease for more than a decade. When fusarium spread from the Red River Valley south of Winnipeg to southwestern Manitoba in 1993, farmers feared the worst. Instead of abandoning traditional crops, they have learned to adapt and cope, said […] Read more

RED DEER – Too many farmers prefer to look for solutions rather than understand why a crop had problems. Seeding rates are one factor that can cause problems, says George Clayton of Agriculture Canada’s research centre in Lacombe, Alta. Western Canadian farmers are probably seeding 25 percent less than they should, he added. Weeds fill […] Read more

Two Alberta feed companies have recalled animal feed supplements after high levels of dioxin were found in the zinc oxide imported from the United States, said a Canadian Food Inspection Agency officer. Tom Spiller, feed program officer with CFIA, said the agency is working with feed companies to find any feed supplement into which the […] Read more

The owners of Eyot Creek Farm will stop making cheese for good because they are unable to pinpoint how some of their cheese became contaminated with E. coli bacteria and made 11 people ill. “The main thing was the fact we were not able to find where the problem could have come from,” said Ted […] Read more