Mary MacArthur

BAWLF, Alta. – If Rod Blatz had a wish, he’d ask for two more volunteer firefighters. The Bawlf fire chief has 12 firefighters on his call list. “Fourteen would be ideal,” said Blatz, who has been fire chief for 10 years and a volunteer firefighter for 22 years. The volunteer fire department in the small […] Read more

A public outcry has forced the Alberta government to prohibit the recreational hunting of coyotes using dogs. Few people use dogs to hunt coyotes, but media reports this spring highlighted the hunts and the outcry was fierce. “Many residents let us know they were concerned about it, that’s for sure,” said John Girvan with Alberta […] Read more

EDMONTON – Canadian cattle producers will no longer be allowed to ship live cattle or embryos to the European Union as it attempts to contain mad cow disease. But some cattle producers say it’s little more than a tariff to prevent the export of cattle. “It’s a non-tariff trade barrier, that’s what it is,” said […] Read more

A company set up to kickstart Alberta’s agricultural industry has come under fire from MLAs who feel it isn’t working fast enough. During a recent meeting of the standing policy committee on agriculture, MLAs questioned AVAC officials about what difference they’ve made to agriculture. AVAC, originally called the Alberta Value Added Corp., was established in […] Read more

Many Alberta farm-based businesses will be taxed at higher commercial rates when the provincial definition of a farming operation changes at the end of the year. Under proposed definitions, when a farm commodity is applied a grade standard, like pedigreed seed or packaged carrots, it will no longer be treated as a farming operation. The […] Read more

When the councillors in the Municipal District of Willow Creek were asked to take a final look at the new definition of a farming operation, the normally agreeable group couldn’t come to a consensus. “Our council is split,” said Earl Hemmaway, deputy reeve of the southern Alberta municipality. While some councillors believe there are businesses […] Read more

The Alberta cattle industry is hoping to shed light on the controversial issue of antibiotic resistance with a study to be released soon. Faced with increasing suggestions that there is a link between antibiotic resistance in bacteria and the use of antibiotics in animals raised for meat, the Canada Alberta Beef Industry Development Fund allocated […] Read more

A controversial recreation trail through an abandoned Canadian National Railway right-of-way in northeastern Alberta has passed its first hurdle after most landowners voted to support it. Voters in the counties of St. Paul and Smoky Lake voted in favour of the rail line becoming a public use trail during Alberta’s municipal elections Oct. 15. Voters […] Read more

BONNYVILLE, Alta. – Every four years, Guy Fontaine takes on a new project. On Jan. 1, 1999, he decided to learn Spanish as a millennium project. Each night for a year he read Spanish books and listened to Spanish tapes. In November that year he flew to Costa Rica for a 12 week Spanish immersion […] Read more

IRON RIVER, Alta. – For Gordon Graves the farmer, the past two years of dry weather have meant poor pastures, dry dugouts and crops that struggle to make it worth combining. But the dry weather creates different problems for Gordon Graves the fire chief. The volunteer firefighter from Iron River has spent three of the […] Read more