Penny Yeager

John Kvill likes to work in miniature, but enjoys worldwide demand for his projects. “We’re unique around the world really,” said Kvill, owner of Hartland Scale Models in New Norway, Alta., who builds scaled-down steam engines as a hobby. “This hits a certain group of people.” While most original steam engines ceased to move by […] Read more

Kerry Hammond has learned the hard way that just because he can build a unique product, it doesn’t mean the customers will come. Two year ago, the Tofield, Alta., farmer designed a press frame to work with a porta power kit. But so far it hasn’t generated the kind of sales needed to pay the […] Read more

RED DEER, Alta. – For the first time in its history the Canadian Wheat Board will open its books for the federal auditor general’s assessment. But it probably won’t happen again, according to one Canadian Wheat Board director. “I can’t see it being an annual occurrence. I think it is a one-shot deal,” said David […] Read more

An $88 million strawboard plant planned for the County of Thorhild could become the Alberta county’s biggest employer and manufacturer. “We have a very big player at the table with deep pockets,” said Henry Zolkewski, president of the local straw co-operative and a county councilor. “It looks promising. The spinoff is just something we can’t […] Read more

Grant Jackson is so miffed at the way Monsanto does business, he’s organizing meetings to pressure the company to change its process. His main concern is with the company’s mandatory contracts that farmers must sign to grow Roundup Ready canola. “Farmers just don’t like the invasive nature of it, that it ties them up for […] Read more

Alberta pork producers should get more bang for their research bucks under a new agreement, according to a former Alberta Pork director. By bringing different research groups together to agree on priorities, producer checkoffs to the Alberta Pork Producer Development Corporation will be better spent, said Blain Middleton. About 20 cents from every Alberta hog […] Read more

Construction equipment sits idly outside Rimbey, Alta., waiting for a public hearing decision on whether Encal Energy’s proposed line for sour natural gas will proceed. “We did the best we could to accommodate each of the landowners with concerns,” said Terry Barrows, vice-president of production for Calgary-based Encal Energy Ltd. “We’d like to see approval […] Read more

An Alberta Pork Producers delegate says producers who don’t use the province’s hog marketing agency will be at a disadvantage. That’s because at the annual meeting, corporation directors defeated a resolution calling for the Western Hog Exchange to pay for assets it will need when it splits from the public company, said Greg Meek, district […] Read more

It could be a while before changes in international protocol for American hogs entering Canada can be tailored to suit industry players. “This has to be looked at as an industry issue,” said Brian Jamieson, veterinarian for the Canadian Food Inspection Agency’s animal health and protection division. Key groups, including the Canadian Pork Council, Canadian […] Read more

A small-town Saskatchewan farmer is in the spotlight for a suit launched against him by a transnational chemical company. “I don’t have my head in the sand. I know who I’m up against and they have unlimited amounts of money to fight this case and they can drag it out and try to break me,” […] Read more