Penny Yeager

WAINWRIGHT, Alta. – When Mary McClennon injured herself while horseback riding and could no longer show her prized equines, she was forced to find another job to brighten her life. Today, the owner of Kountry Klassics Garden Centre fills her farmyard with a colorful array of plants for the five greenhouses that employs 20 people. […] Read more

WESTLOCK, Alta. – Money is the biggest issue farm women are dealing with, according to the president of the Alberta group Women of Unifarm. “Women are getting very, very concerned. They’re telling their kids not to farm because there is no income,” said Florence Trautman. More farm women than ever are working off the farm […] Read more

As seeding wraps up on the Nahirniak farm, Marjorie and her family have time to chat around an open fire. It’s the first campfire of the year and presents a relaxing scene combined with the refreshing scents of blossoming fruit trees and visions of robins hunting for worms on the farmyard grass. As Marjorie has […] Read more

Fletcher’s Fine Foods still plans to construct a $12 million bacon plant in Edmonton although delays are expected. The site, which once held a Gainers meat packing plant, has environmental problems the company has to tackle first, said George Paleologou, a vice-president with Fletcher’s. “We fully intend to proceed obviously. We’re trying to work with […] Read more

Hopping into the back of a pickup truck may not be such a free ride after the Alberta government reviews whether to ban the practice. Provincial infrastructure minister Ed Stelmach and department officials are studying evidence from police and several industries. Government officials may recommend fining passengers riding in pickup truck boxes or giving drivers […] Read more

Ray Bauml figures he could get up to $15 a bushel by selling his organic canola to European markets. He expects the crop would work well if seeded with alfalfa on his sandier land and that it would add diversity to his crop rotation. That was his plan earlier this year. But now Bauml and […] Read more

From controversial government bills to farm aid money, Alberta’s new agriculture minister will have numerous delicate issues to deal with, according to a department official. Ty Lund, environment minister before the cabinet shuffle last week, replaces Ed Stelmach as agriculture minister. Stelmach now has the infrastructure portfolio. “I think there are a lot of things […] Read more

TWO HILLS, Alta. – Nancy Mereska serves chocolate cake and tea from a silver set in her farmhouse kitchen while proudly showing family pictures and offering to share recipes. The grandmother of 13, wearing comfortable moccasins and a ready smile, hardly seems like an activist. But the founder of Rural Citizens Supporting Quality Health Care […] Read more

If Rail America buys RaiLink as offered, producers won’t see a disruption in short line service, according to RaiLink’s president. “Farmers won’t see any change. Elevators will still be served in the same way by the same people with the same level of service. It’s a shareholder level transaction,” said Gordon Clanachan. Last week the […] Read more

Faye Engler is armed with an overflowing box of documents, newspaper articles and letters of support. She rattles off names of MLAs she plans to call in her fight and recites the road trips and phone calls she has already made. As part of an Alberta landowners group, she is railing against a national hiking […] Read more