EDMONTON — The discussion about farmland fragmentation by municipalities is a moot point because the provincial government controls most major land decisions, says a county councillor. Richard Harpe of Grande Prairie County said the county has more than 5,000 oil and gas wells, plus batteries, gas plants and the roads that lead to the industrial […] Read more
Stories by Mary MacArthur
B.C. makes changes to ALR reform
Hundreds of hand written letters and petitions have forced the British Columbia government to change how it will reform the Agricultural Land Reserve. “The comments were as diverse as the province itself,” said agriculture minister Norm Letnick. Despite the letters of protest, the province will stick with its controversial decision to divide the province into […] Read more
Peace River dam report expected this week
The recommendations of a panel reviewing a proposed dam for northern British Columbia are expected to be made public this week. The Joint Review Panel, which is reviewing the proposed Site C project on the Peace River just outside Fort St. John, submitted its report May 1 to the federal environment minister and the provincial […] Read more
Alberta Pork welcomes funds for biosecurity
EDMONTON — Frank Novak said if he was a gambling man, he would bet that the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus will show up in Alberta. “When you have as many moving parts as we have in the livestock industry in Western Canada, there are so many opportunities, literally hundreds and hundreds every day, for someone […] Read more
New U of A official has farm background
Stan Blade has been named dean of the University of Alberta’s Faculty of Agricultural, Life and Environmental Sciences. Blade, who is currently chief executive officer of Alberta Innovates-BioSolutions, will replace John Kennelly Aug. 1. Kennelly has been dean since 2004. Blade grew up on a farm in Alberta’s Leduc County and has been involved in […] Read more
Policy shift may curb B.C. land reserve reform
Agricultural development | New council votes against proposal
Efforts to reform agricultural land policy in British Columbia have hit a snag. Paul Gevatkoff, chair of the Agricultural Land Reform Society, believed that proposed changes to the Agricultural Land Reserve were in sight when Bill 24 was introduced in the provincial legislature in March. After four years of lobbying, Gevat-koff hoped farmers in northern […] Read moreWireworm researchers want samples from farmers
Prairie farmers are asked to send samples of wireworms to a research team that is looking for an effective way to control this growing pest problem. Alberta Agriculture crop specialist Neil Whatley said wireworm numbers have steadily increased in prairie soil since the federal government banned lindane in 2004. There are more than 30 species […] Read more
Horse owners struggle to contain deadly illness
Equine infectious anemia | A Saskatchewan chuck wagon association makes Coggins testing mandatory
All horses racing in Saskatchewan’s Northwest Pony Chuckwagon and Chariot Association must be tested for the deadly equine infectious anemia before they will be allowed to race. Darren Dyck, the association’s new president, said Coggins tests have been made mandatory for racehorses in an effort to halt spread of the disease. “This is a deadly […] Read moreNew app helps with cattle marketing
Keeping track of livestock markets, prices and insurance got easier with a new smartphone app. Canfax has released a free CFX Pro app to help livestock producers manage the increasing information needed to sell cattle. Senior market analyst Brian Perillat said the free app has been downloaded 500 times since its release. “The guys are […] Read more
Farmers told to share stories, not preach
Don’t set out to educate | Tell consumers about farming methods and reasons for on-farm decisions: consultant
WETASKIWIN, Alta. — Forget about preaching to consumers about great farm products. Instead, farmers should invite consumers to pull up a chair and sit at the kitchen table and tell them their story. Nobody likes being lectured to, but everyone likes a good story, said Kim McConnell, founder of AdFarm, an agricultural marketing company. “Let’s […] Read more
