Mary MacArthur

Alberta scientists have been studying something many llama owners have known for years – llamas are more than beasts of burden and guard animals. “Quietly people have been eating them,” said Shelley Bevans, a llama owner and the push behind a llama meat quality study. “People do like them, but it has to be out […] Read more

Cattle producers who are tempted to use pea straw as an alternative feed source need to have it tested, says an Alberta Agriculture pulse specialist. A feed shortage and an increase in field pea acres in Western Canada have made field pea straw a more common cattle feed, said Mark Olson of Lacombe. “It’s just […] Read more

A Montana judge has rejected a request by state game farmers to allow ranchers to operate hunt farms until a court date next July. Kim Kafka is one of the two ranchers who filed the class action suit, claiming a hunt farm ban is unconstitutional. Earlier this month, the judge denied the preliminary injunction against […] 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

Alberta’s general farm organization is tottering on the brink of bankruptcy unless it can attract more members, says a group spokesperson. “We’re going to go broke if we don’t get more members,” said Adam Campbell of Rosalind, Wild Rose Agricultural Producers’ second vice-president. “The future of our organization is in jeopardy.” Campbell said he is […] Read more

A state of emergency over chronic wasting disease has been declared in the United States to make more disease control money available, not because there is a new outbreak, says an American agricultural official. “This is not like a dire emergency where we’re all at risk from chronic wasting disease and we’re in some sort […] Read more

Alberta farmers have until Oct. 31 to apply for two farm income assistance programs. A $10.29 per acre federal-provincial payment program was announced in April to help farmers deal with high input costs. On June 1, severe drought conditions prompted a $4 per acre payment program for native forage and $4 per hive for honey […] Read more

Fall tillage can restrain scentless chamomile, but a long-term plan is needed to get it under control, says an agriculture fieldman in Alberta’s Leduc County. “We’re pretty active in the fight against scentless chamomile,” said Rick Thomas of Nisku. Last year, county staff handpicked 25,000 pounds of scentless chamomile from roadsides, fields and wasteland in […] Read more

British Columbia farmers will have to wait a few more weeks before they know how a series of deep government budget cuts will affect them. B.C. premier Gordon Campbell has asked each government ministry, except health and education, to present three cutback scenarios: a 20, 35 and 50 percent budget cut to their ministry over […] Read more

OYEN, Alta. – Each fall across Canada parents begin the nightly ritual of driving their children to dance, hockey or figure skating, and then sitting on the sidelines to watch. More than a dozen years ago, Jane and Terry Westerlund decided there was more to being a family than sitting and watching their children’s activities. […] Read more