Penny Yeager

EDMONTON – Alberta ranchers who lease crown pasture think proposed changes to their agreements will cruise swiftly through the legislature. But some warn rough roads may lie ahead for energy companies that want to establish operations on the same crown property if ranchers lose their right to a disturbance fee. “We’re not going to be […] Read more

Antibiotic-free pigs are the way of the future to some but an industry detriment to others. They should attract the European Union that now wants to ban four growth promoting antibiotics, said Richard Stein, vice-president of Thames Bend Farms, an Ontario-based company that has hogs in the United States and Manitoba and recently arranged to […] Read more

An Alberta farmer accused of plotting to blow up oil and gas sites maintains he is being held on “trumped up” charges. During an interview from jail in Peace River, Alta., Wiebo Ludwig, said he hopes his fight and stay in jail helps to “expose” the energy industry. “We’ve lost four children in the process […] Read more

A former hog farmer says he has a solution to prevent producers from drowning in a manure cesspool. “In 20 years, I’ve fallen in manure, been sprayed by it and definitely smelled it. I have a pretty darned good idea of manure,” said Don Gregorwich, environmental operations manager for Gem Manufacturing Ltd.’s agriculture division. “On […] Read more

Buyers from across North America are expected to attend Elk Island National Park’s first wood bison auction, said park warden Wes Olson. “It’s probably going to be a very heavily attended auction,” said Olson, who estimated 30 to 50 animals will be up for sale at the park located east of Edmonton. The park, which […] Read more

Alberta hog producers could find their meat more in demand if Fletcher’s Fine Foods Ltd. goes ahead with plans to invest in an Ontario deli company, according to a Fletcher’s official. “It’s a good thing for pork in Alberta,” said Fletcher’s vice-president George Paleologou, on the company’s intention to buy 26.3 percent of Piller Sausages […] Read more

A gasoline additives plant that would use 800,000 tonnes of barley a year is on hold for now and may never materialize, according to the president of BioClean Fuels. “It’s a real disappointment to us but we’ve just got to take it as it comes. It’s too early to say we’ve given up,” said David […] Read more

If the weather co-operates, 1999 might be the year new technology breaks the cycle of stagnant canola yields. If farmers prove willing and able to pay for new, higher-yielding, herbicide-tolerant varieties and high-yield hybrids, they may boost yields, said Phil Thomas, Alberta Agriculture oilseed specialist. But sound management is also part of the solution. For […] Read more

SASKATOON – All regions of Saskatchewan won’t likely be treated equally when it comes to dishing out farm aid money, according to the province’s agriculture minister. “We think that the dollars aren’t going to be spent over the whole province,” said Eric Upshall at a Jan. 6 news conference in Saskatoon. Northwestern Saskatchewan, which was […] Read more

An antiques scavenger hunt is under way sparked by a 50-year-old tiff between Alberta’s former premier and the lieutenant-governor. The attempt to reclaim Edmonton’s decorative past has sleuths scouring cities and countryside, scrutinizing decades-old evidence and chasing leads. The events responsible for the detective work began in 1935 when William Aberhart, Canada’s first Social Credit […] Read more