Mary MacArthur

A pork specialist is trying to convince farmers that hog manure is a valuable fertilizer and not a waste byproduct. “We’re trying to convince crop farmers of the value of hog manure,” said Art Lange with Alberta Agriculture. At today’s fertilizer prices, Lange estimates the manure from a three-million gallon lagoon is worth $32,100. At […] Read more

EUREKA RIVER, Alta. — For Tom Basnett, it was a natural progression to raise Horned Hereford cattle. His grandfather, Ben Basnett, was born in Herefordshire, England, and raised Herefords when he homesteaded in northern Alberta in 1919. Basnett even uses his grandfather’s original brand. They are tough cattle for rugged country, said Basnett, who always […] Read more

The foot-and-mouth outbreak in Britain has become personal to a central Alberta farmer. Little more than a year ago, Doug Hess of Mannville, sold a purebred Shorthorn bull to one of Scotland’s premier farms during Farm Fair in Edmonton. This week the bull, 300 other cattle and about 1,000 sheep on the Scottish farm were […] Read more

SEXSMITH, Alta. — At Gordon Scarlett’s 1,000-head cow lot, there isn’t a broken down cow that can’t be turned into a profit. Scarlett buys cull cows at the local auction markets, calves them, fattens them and sells them. “I do go to a lot of sales. I buy a lot of people’s junk cows,” said […] Read more

Alberta farmers will be able to rent water pumping equipment for half price, says an Alberta Agriculture News release news. The low water levels in dugouts and streams this spring prompted Alberta Agriculture officials to reduce the rental rate by half for the second year in a row to help farmers shore up their supply […] Read more

BASHAW, Alta. — When Jess and Cindy Hudson’s children asked for a quad, the family sat down for a meeting. If the children wanted the four-wheeled toy, Cindy would have to go back to work as a teacher to pay for it. The family had to choose between her staying home or going to work. […] Read more

A worldwide meeting of Angus breeders in the United Kingdom in June has been canceled because of the fear of spreading foot-and-mouth disease around the world. More than 100 Canadians had planned to go to the World Angus Forum in Scotland to learn about industry developments. “There’s absolute understanding on the part of our members,” […] Read more

Scientists are DNA testing more than 300 Canadian boars for a mutant gene that causes pork to shrink in the frying pan. It’s normal for some some water to leak from a pork chop when it’s cooked, but pork from hogs with the acid meat gene lose more than twice as much water during the […] Read more

A spokesperson for Canada’s livestock industry is calling on Ottawa to establish permanent agricultural inspection stations at international airports to prevent foot-and-mouth disease from entering the country. Because of the outbreak of foot-and-mouth in the United Kingdom and Europe, Canada has implemented temporary measures to stop the disease from gaining a foothold here. Each day, […] Read more

Off the top of his head, Todd Andrews, a weed specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, can cite six cases in Manitoba where there was field contamination from herbicide-resistant volunteer canola. In three fields, volunteer flax became a serious weed problem in conventional canola. The farmers decided to spray the whole field with glyphosate, but found the […] Read more