Infestation puzzling | Despite best effort, Alberta farmer is still fighting the canola disease
NEW NORWAY, Alta. — Dave Trautman has grown canola three times in the last 12 years in a field overlooking the Battle River Valley. He followed best management practices, rotated the canola with wheat and barley and kept the weeds under control. This year he found clubroot in a corner of the field. “I am […] Read moreStories by Mary MacArthur
U.S. loses COOL case at WTO: leaked report
No one is willing to comment on a leaked, confidential report that Canada and Mexico have won an important World Trade Organization dispute with the United States, but no one is disputing the report. The Wall Street Journal reported Aug. 22 that the U.S. lost its WTO case before a compliance panel to determine if […] Read more
Monsanto seeks cooler climate corn, soybeans
FORT SASKATCHEWAN, Alta. — Corn and soybean plants in northern Alberta are giving farmers a peek into the future. While the new varieties will never yield like their American cousins, they may be an alternative to barley or wheat on the Prairies in a few years. Like fababeans, soybeans fix their own nitrogen, and have […] Read more
Canada regains beef access to Jamaica
Eleven years after the border closed to Canadian beef, Canada can once again export beef and beef products to Jamaica, effective immediately. Canada Beef estimates that the Jamaican market for Canadian beef is worth roughly $4.5 million, or 1.5 million pounds of beef. Jamaica is Canada’s second largest market for agricultural exports within the Caribbean […] Read more
Cattle breeder honoured for revolutionizing sector
Crossbreeding improvements | Roy Berg recognized for his commitment and dedication to the industry in the face of skepticism
KINSELLA, Alta. — Almost half a century after the late Roy Berg began his groundbreaking cattle breeding research, a research station established to prove the importance of cross breeding and gen-etic selection was renamed in his honour. The University of Alberta’s Kinsella Research Station was re-named the Roy Berg Kinsella Research Station Aug. 13. “It […] Read more
Pollution turned into ag byproduct
Soil additive | U.S. coal plant captures sulphur emissions and turns it into gypsum
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana — It was a chemical marriage between pollution from coal-fired power plants and limestone that created a useful product for agriculture. It took a chemists’ mind to know that adding water and limestone to the sulphur collected from a coal-fired electrical generating station could create gypsum, a valuable soil additive. The Indianapolis Power […] Read moreExperts eager to find feed efficiency traits
KINSELLA, Alta. — More than 50 years after it was established, ground-breaking research continues at the Roy Berg Kinsella Ranch Research Station. In the facility’s early days, Roy Berg proved the importance of crossbreeding in cattle, despite opposition. Today, new feed efficiency research will prove just as important for the industry, said Barry Irving, manager […] Read more
Cargill fined over waste water tampering at Alta. beef plant
An Alberta provincial court judge has fined Cargill $80,000 for intentionally tampering with three waste water samples from its High River beef plant. In an agreed statement of facts, a former employee admitted to tampering with three waste water treatment samples before they were sent to an outside lab for analysis. The beef plant is […] Read more
Celebrating bison
ELK ISLAND NATIONAL PARK, Alta. — Zhiyong Li of Edmonton brought his three aunts visiting from China to the Bison Festival Aug. 9. They canoed in voyageur canoes, watched indigenous dancers, listened to music and ate bison tongue and bison burgers. “This was very unique. It’s a nice place,” said Li, who wanted to show […] Read more
Pollution turned into ag byproduct
Soil additive | U.S. coal plant captures sulphur emissions and turns it into gypsum
INDIANAPOLIS, Indiana — It was a chemical marriage between pollution from coal-fired power plants and limestone that created a useful product for agriculture. It took a chemists’ mind to know that adding water and limestone to the sulphur collected from a coal-fired electrical generating station could create gypsum, a valuable soil additive. The Indianapolis Power […] Read more
