Michael Raine

Calcium may be a cheap solution to sclerotinia stem rot in canola and other crops. Ray Lemke, who farms at St. Albert, Alta., is in his third year of using calcium to deter sclerotinia in his 1,300 acres of the oilseed crop. “It is working, and at a couple of bucks an acre, it is […] Read more

Common peppergrass, lepidium densiflorum, has been spicing up some prairie fields for as long as anyone can remember.But there are some producers who are seeing it for the first time this year. A member of the mustard family, the winter annual weed is tougher to kill than others of its type, such as stinkweed or […] Read more

When Helen Baron of Saanich, B.C., bit into her sirloin shish kebab and struck a needle, the repercussions went beyond her. John Campbell, a professor at the Western College of Veterinary Medicine, told the recent Western Canada Feedlot Management School in Saskatoon that the impact was severe. “It’s in the national news. It’s on the […] Read more

Hormone implants are part of nearly every profitable cattle feeding operation. Larry Frischke of Wyeth Animal Health in Alberta said the money that implants make for producers appears as a reduction in feed and days in the feedlot. “It shows up as money you didn’t spend. So it doesn’t matter what cattle prices are, it […] Read more

Most cattle feeding strategies in North America include hormone implants even though organic consumers and the European Union have reservations about their use. But the hormonal growth stimulants are misunderstood, even by cattle producers, experts say. Gary Robinson of Great Northern Livestock Consulting of Westlock, Alta., said the need to use the implants is obvious. […] Read more

Slaughtering thousands of Saskatchewan’s wild deer starting “yesterday” is the only way to control the spread of chronic wasting disease, says a panel of experts. Deer in parts of Saskatchewan must be eradicated, game farms isolated and transportation of all deer species heavily restricted, said a report released July 30. Francois Messier of the University […] Read more

Guilty was the plea made by rodeo bull smuggler and stock contractor Greg Kesler when he appeared before United States District Court judge Donald Malloy in Missoula, Montana July 27. Kesler, a well-known stock contractor for Canadian and U.S. rodeos, was charged earlier in the year with smuggling rodeo bulls from Canada to the U.S. […] Read more

Winter wheat growers once again have a premium market contract for select varieties they plant this fall. Andrea Hilderman of the Canadian Wheat Board said the market development Canadian Western Red Winter select contracts covering 62,500 acres of western Canadian winter wheat now being harvested are available again in 2004. “We hope to have producers […] Read more

WATERTON, Alta. – Mountains crowned with snow and set against dramatic skies lord over the rolling plains and meandering river valleys. It is land with something for everyone, but not enough dirt to go around. Generations of cattle-producing families have made their homes in the Rocky Mountain foothills of southwestern Alberta. For some, that has […] Read more

Just in time delivery works in manufacturing crops just like it does on the assembly line. In the context of fertilizer, delivering nitrogen just in time may reduce application and save money in a dry growing season. In years when the rains come, there are more chances to add nitrogen to boost protein content throughout […] Read more