Mary MacArthur

DAWSON CREEK, B.C. – British Columbia ranchers have not given up hope that the government will help them build and maintain fences along the province’s major highways. “What do we do with the fences that are ready to fall over, that are beyond repair?” rancher Faye Street of Cranbrook asked provincial agriculture minister John van […] Read more

DAWSON CREEK, B.C. – If British Columbia cattle producers have to choose a safety net program, they want to keep the Net Income Stabilization Account, even though only 250 of the 3,000 cattle producers have NISA asccounts. The British Columbia government has told producers it can’t afford to put money into both the Net Income […] Read more

STONY PLAIN, Alta. – A proposal to implement a mandatory referral program should encourage more people to donate parts of their body after they die, a tissue specialist told an Alberta Women’s Institutes conference. The Comprehensive Tissue Centre, based at the University of Alberta hospital, had only 158 referrals last year compared to more than […] Read more

STONY PLAIN, Alta. – One of the oldest women’s organizations in Canada waded into the debate on genetically modified organisms during its annual general meeting. The Alberta Women’s Institutes passed a motion requesting mandatory labelling on all food that has been genetically modified, but defeated a motion that research work be stopped on GM crops […] Read more

An Alberta government-sponsored report refutes the idea that the entire province is an oasis in a desert of prairie poverty. “Rural disparities do exist in Alberta’s economy with many areas, mostly rural, not participating fully in the Alberta advantage,” said the draft report Regional Disparities in Alberta: Resource Package. Mark Parsons of the Alberta economic […] Read more

Alberta already has a strategy for economic development, but a senior government official says it also needs one for rural development. “The problem is we have great economic development strategy, but haven’t designed a comprehensive strategy for rural development,” said Glen Werner, Alberta Agriculture’s director of rural development. “We want to develop a rural development […] Read more

In 1904, agricultural journalist Cora Hind hired a horse and buggy and crossed the Prairies to survey the upcoming crop. American speculators had declared rust would devastate Canadian wheat crops, leaving only a 35 million bushel crop. Hind disputed the numbers and set out to prove them wrong. Driving from dawn to dusk along rough […] Read more

Farmers who don’t know if it would make better economic sense to trade in their tractor or stick with what they have can use an on-line machinery calculator to help them make the decision. “It’s a decision tool, it’s a management tool,” said Rick Atkins with Alberta Agriculture’s engineering services. Being able to manage equipment […] Read more

Two hours after strychnine arrived at a Regina manufacturing centre on May 27 from India via Montreal, it was being turned into a usable formulation for Saskatchewan farmers. The poison was expected to be shipped to Saskatchewan rural municipalities two days later, where it would be available to farmers to kill Richardson’s ground squirrels, more […] Read more

A group of Alberta farmers is taking advantage of Agricore United’s forced sale of grain elevators to start their own grain company. The Providence Grain Group Inc. has bought AU’s three-year-old, steel grain elevator at Gaudin, which can handle units of 52 rail cars, and a 20-year-old crib elevator at Waskatenau, both northeast of Edmonton. […] Read more