Ric Swihart

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. -Beside the white pickup sitting in the middle of a cultivated stubble field, a man is pulling cores of soil from more than a metre deep. Provincial soil fertility specialist Ross McKenzie of Lethbridge embarked on his spring seeding work the last week in April. It is work that will be replicated by […] Read more

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — Foot-and-mouth disease can be kept out of Canada, but it will take work and co-operation, says a former provincial veterinarian. Joyce Van Donkersgoed, a spokes-person for the Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association and Alberta Livestock Coalition, has developed a biosecurity program. Her recommendations: Do not buy livestock or animal products, such as semen […] Read more

BRASILIA, Brazil (Reuters) — Brazil has banned agricultural imports from Argentine provinces with foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks. The ban applies to crops such as wheat, soybeans, corn and fruit. Brazil’s agriculture department said the ban will cover all agricultural goods coming from within 25 kilometres of the provinces recently hit with the highly contagious disease that […] Read more

PARIS, France (Reuters) — As investigators piece together how foot-and-mouth disease spread from Britain to other European countries, they have linked animals from Ireland to at least three cases on the continent. The discovery may explain how the highly contagious livestock disease was able to spread to mainland Europe despite severe measures taken to keep […] Read more

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — Farmers should guard against the potential that herbicides applied to crops last year may adversely affect those seeded this year. Alberta Agriculture crop specialist Gayle Luca said last year’s drought in southern Alberta may have limited herbicide activity resulting in unexpected carryover this spring. Carryover depends on organic matter content in the […] Read more

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — There is still a chance that timely rain or snow will fall in southern Alberta, but the clock is ticking against farmers in the region, say area Agricore delegates. Talk at a regional director-delegate meeting last week focused on the continuing drought conditions in the province’s southern regions. Ross Ford, who farms […] Read more

BROOKS, Alta. — Greenhouse gas is increasing in Alberta, but this time it’s a good thing. Researchers have figured out that pumping carbon dioxide into greenhouses helps vegetables grow bigger. Jim Calpas, greenhouse crops specialist at the Crop Diversification Centre South near Brooks, Alta., said that combined with Alberta’s long hours of sunlight, carbon dioxide […] Read more

GONZALES, Texas — In the land of thick steaks, the perfect side dish grows next door to the beef. Kitchen Pride Farms is one of two mushroom farms in Texas growing about 68,000 kilograms of button and portabello mushrooms each week. Considered a fairly small operation, the 13-year-old, family-run farm is expanding. “We started with […] Read more

and Michael Raine Saskatoon newsroom LETHBRIDGE, Alta. — Swimming into agriculture has been a good move for Alberta’s fish farms, says the man responsible for aquaculture in the province. The provincial agriculture department took over the business from the environment department in 1997. It was a move supported by fish farmers, who felt it would […] Read more

LETHBRIDGE, Alta. – Is there a farm crisis in Western Canada? Six panelists and an active audience of 45 had trouble answering that question in the 90 minutes allotted to the subject at a recent Mennonite Church conference. Rural depopulation was fingered by many as the main culprit. “The hospital is gone, nursing home is […] Read more