Mary MacArthur

The final Alberta elk sold from a herd where an animal had tested positive for chronic wasting disease has tested negative. “The good news is the disease has not spread out of that herd,” said George Luterbach, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency chief veterinarian. All 12 elk sold from the original farm where CWD was […] Read more

FORT SASKATCHEWAN, Alta. – Arthur Smith had one requirement when he made the transition from grain to cattle – he wanted animals with a quiet disposition. He didn’t want to buy a $6,000 cattle handling facility or worry about wild cattle if his wife, Shelley, or his father went into the corrals when he was […] Read more

A faster way to test for fusarium graminearum is only months away, say researchers at the Alberta Research Council. Ralph Lange, a council plant pathologist, hopes a new test using molecular techniques could reduce the time it takes to test for fusarium to two days from one week. The new method of detection should be […] Read more

LEDUC, Alta. – After five years of discussions, several drafts and now a series of rural consultations, MLA Richard Marz has a theory. “We came to the conclusion, if you’re in the farming business you don’t want to pay taxes.” Marz, charged with improving the farm tax system, has been unable to find a way […] Read more

An Alberta aerial application company has been fined $3,000 for killing trees on two properties adjacent to the field that was sprayed. Walter Thompson of Thompson Agricultural Aviation Inc. of Westlock pleaded guilty in provincial court May 13 to charges under Alberta’s Environmental Protection and Enhancement Act. Maple and birch trees in farmyards in two […] Read more

BAWLF, Alta. – The temperature gauge tells Wilf Blackwell the soil is too cold to seed. The calendar on his wall is telling him it’s getting too late to wait any longer. It’s May 13 and Blackwell has pulled his seed drill into the field despite misgivings about the soil temperature. The soil temperature at […] Read more

The Alberta government will pay its farmers $10.3 million as they try to control grasshoppers in a year with extremely high infestations expected. “We are trying to encourage control,” said John Knapp, director of the rural services division of Alberta Agriculture. Under the grasshopper control program, the government will pay farmers $4 an acre, which […] Read more

Albertans will have a say in a new policy aimed at keeping fusarium-infected grain out of the province, says the head of Alberta’s pest management unit. Shafeek Ali said a series of telephone interviews, round table discussions and mailed questionnaires will attempt to gather suggestions on the best way to prevent fusarium from getting a […] Read more

Results from the first group of Alberta elk tested for chronic wasting disease have come back negative. But that doesn’t mean Alberta elk are clear of the disease, said a federal government veterinarian. George Luterbach said test results from 11 of the 12 elk tested for chronic wasting disease are negative. Results from the last […] Read more

What was supposed to be the routine drilling of a gas well in a cattle pasture has turned into a rude awakening about the lack of provincial post-mortem services. Duncan and Marilyn MacMillan of Valhalla Centre in northern Alberta have waited three months for the results of a toxicology test after their cattle walked through […] Read more