Mary MacArthur

Alberta forage crop insurance will be based on rainfall, not grass growth, announced the Agriculture Financial Services Corp. “We want to get away from the traditional problems of how much grass grew or didn’t grow,” said Merle Jacobson of Lacombe. Forage insurance used to be based on how much grass grew under cages across the […] Read more

When Quebec farmers look west, they are confused. They see that the once proud prairie grain co-operatives that defined western agriculture have disintegrated and they don’t understand why. Meanwhile, in Quebec, the Co-opérative fédérée de Quebec, an umbrella group for Quebec co-operatives, is alive and well. The $3.7 billion organization has 37,000 members and is […] Read more

Alberta Agriculture has identified 16 key locations across the province where it will offer full-services to farmers. Other existing locations will be scaled back to provide fewer services or will be closed. Don Young is chair of strategic change, the department helping with restructuring. He said the 16 hub offices would have a group of […] Read more

High feed costs are forcing many bison producers to sell their animals early. A record number of bison were sold through Moore’s Auction at Alder Flats, Alta., last week. Most of the 458 head came from central Alberta, which has little feed, and sold to producers in parts of the Prairies that have an abundance […] Read more

RED DEER – Alberta elk producers will learn the fate of hunt farms after their pitch to the provincial government at an upcoming agriculture policy committee meeting. “We will know after that if there are further steps or not further steps,” Norm Moore told a group of elk producers during their annual meeting. Moore, a […] Read more

RED DEER – Elk producers may soon have a painless, non-chemical way to remove antlers. Initial studies in Alberta and New Zealand show that tightening a tough elastic band around the base of an antler for four minutes desensitizes it and produces the same results as a local anesthetic injection, said Jim Webster, a New […] Read more

Bashaw, Alta., will lose its largest employer when the Saputo cheese plant closes on March 31. “It hurts,” said Bashaw mayor Dale Gust.”It’s a sad day for the community and a sad day for the employees.” He said some of the plant’s 88 workers will be offered jobs in Saputo’s other factories in other communities, […] Read more

EDBERG, Alta. – On the first day of an Alberta teachers’ strike Feb. 4, Grade 6 student Chad Berglund and Grade 7 student Mihi Rietmann were enjoying the unscheduled break. “It’s pretty cool,” said Berglund carrying his hockey stick on his way to the outdoor skating rink across from the Edberg School. The pair plans […] Read more

RED DEER – For the first time in the history of the modern elk industry, elk meat is cheap enough to put in the freezer. During an auction sale on Jan. 24, 34 people bought elk specifically to eat, said Norm Moore of Moore’s Auction Ltd. in Alder Flats, Alta. “It’s now at a price […] Read more

FALUN, Alta. – Triticale silage is a valuable part of a cattle feeding operation once producers learn how to handle it, says a central Alberta feedlot operator. “I can’t see why more people don’t use it. It’s got great potential,” said Kevin Schmidt, who feeds almost half triticale silage in his 4,000-head background feedlot. Triticale […] Read more