Mary MacArthur

HOLDEN, Alta. – The day water restrictions were lifted in the Village of Holden, the chief administration officer in charge of getting a water pipeline to her central Alberta community didn’t celebrate with a bath. She had a beer. Ever since the rain stopped, Christine Mackay has lived and breathed water. “For the past three […] Read more

The Alberta Elk Association has launched a publicity campaign it hopes will showcase the industry’s benefits and products rather than its problems. “Our goal is to educate the general public about our industry – the farming we do and the products we grow and sell,” said association president Glenda Elkow. “We will be visible and […] Read more

An American organic association fears that genetically modified-free wheat seed could become impossible to find. While searching for foundation wheat seed for an organic production variety trial, the Northern Plains Sustainable Agriculture Society was told there was no guarantee that DNA from genetically modified organisms hadn’t been introduced to foundation wheat. Theresa Podoll, executive director […] Read more

Alberta’s largest hog slaughtering plant is continuing its expansion plans to become more efficient, said Paul Bauchamp, Olymel’s vice-president for procurement and corporate affairs. When the Quebec-based company bought Premium Brand’s plant in Red Deer last March, its slaughter capacity was 27,000 to 28,000 hogs per week. It has now reached its goal of killing […] Read more

Twenty-eight water buffalo born in Canada from parents imported from Denmark have tested negative for bovine spongiform encephalopathy. “They now can have the opportunity of not having any shadow of doubt of the disease status,” said Con Kiley, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s regional veterinary officer in British Columbia. Denmark reported its first case of […] Read more

Correction: Twenty-eight offspring of water buffalo imported to Canada from Denmark did not test negative for bovine spongiform encephalopathy as was reported in a story on page 72 of the Sept. 19 issue. The animals were declared BSE-free after their parents were slaughtered and tested free of the disease. An Alberta elk herd is under […] Read more

BAWLF, Alta. – A central Alberta school has proved rural students can get as good an education as kids in the city. For the second year in a row, the Bawlf high school has made the top 10 list of high schools in Alberta for academic achievement, coming close to elite city schools that only […] Read more

Alberta’s new policy to stop the spread of fusarium doesn’t go far enough for counties worried about the devastation the pest could bring to crops, says one county official. “Our bread and butter is the grain-growing industry and we have to protect it,” said Paul King, agricultural fieldman for the County of Camrose. King said […] Read more

Three train cars of food from the national food bank sharing program in Toronto are being shipped west to aid prairie food banks hard hit by drought. “The food is being directed at rural food banks,” said Charles Siedon, executive director of the Canadian Association of Food Banks in Toronto. As part of the sharing […] Read more

HAY LAKES, Alta. – Ashley Fox is getting an early lesson in agriculture economics. Last year Fox, 17, raised two steers and two heifers with their calves as her 4-H beef projects. This year Fox will keep her heifers but will only have enough feed to raise one steer calf. “We’re pressed for feed, definitely,” […] Read more