A recall on onions imported from the United States, first announced in late July, continues to result in illnesses among Canadians due to salmonella contamination. Alberta has more than half the reported cases of illness. An investigation continue, and the Public Health Agency of Canada on Sept. 14 said 49 additional illnesses have been reported […] Read more
Farm Living
Viterra sells STARS fundraiser calendars
Calendars to support STARS are now available at Viterra locations across Western Canada. For 28 years, STARS has sold calendars to support its air ambulance operations across the Prairies. For the last six years, Viterra has covered the printing costs of the calendars. “We’ve worked closely with this world class organization since 2015,” said Kyle […] Read more
Food unlikely to spread COVID: CFIA
Food is not a likely source or route of transmission for COVID-19, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency says. No cases of the illness have been reported in connection with food or food packaging, it said in a Sept. 14 news release. As well, the agency confirmed that domestic poultry and pigs do not pose a […] Read more
Manitoba takes stock of rural crime
On the Manitoba Crime Stoppers site, there’s a long list of items stolen from rural properties and businesses. Snowmobiles, ATVs, dirt bikes and tools are common items on the list. But in March, thieves stole a Kubota tractor and solar batteries from a property in Manitoba’s Interlake region. Many farmers and landowners believe crime and […] Read more
Childhood love affair with apples grows old
Apples come with a certain amount of romance, but then reality sets in and something must be done with all that fruit
I was one of the kids on the station platform the day the Canadian National Railway train chugged into town, and the minute the door of the baggage car rolled open, I knew they had arrived. I could smell apples — boxes and boxes of luscious McIntosh apples from the orchards of British Columbia. With […] Read more
From masks to more free time: life in 2020
Who would have thought at the beginning of 2020 that it would be socially acceptable and perhaps mandatory to wear a mask to cover your face when going into the bank. A year ago, you might have been arrested or at least seriously questioned. Such is the strangeness of our world since COVID-19 came to […] Read more
Family members gradually return to B.C. ranch
On the Farm: A ranch started in the 1950s is now home to three generations, raising Herefords and Border Collies
CRANBROOK, B.C. — Putting a fence post in the ground here isn’t easy. The bedrock that lies beneath most of the 10,400 acres of grazing land at Pine Butte Ranch is unforgiving, sometimes requiring A-frame posts to hold up the more than 80 kilometres of fence. When Ray and May Van Steinburg bought the dairy […] Read more
Threshing bee – photo essay
Photo essay | Friends of Leo Gooch participated in a threshing bee at the Gooch farm south of Arrowwood, Alta., Aug. 23. | Mike Sturk photos
Friends of Leo Gooch participated in a threshing bee at the Gooch farm south of Arrowwood, Alta., Aug. 23. | Mike Sturk photosEfforts to quiet a noisy family starts with quieter parents
Q: I never would have guessed that our family could make up the nosiest house in the neighbourhood. We never thought about it when we were living on the farm. No one was there to complain. However, in town it is different. Everyone hears us, and many of those who hear us are starting to […] Read more
Feds closely watching provincial changes to trespassing laws
The federal government is not looking at ways to boost trespassing legislation being passed in some provinces, according to Minister of Agriculture Marie-Claude Bibeau. Ontario, Saskatchewan and Alberta have taken steps to bolster protections for livestock and other producers against trespassers and activists, and Manitoba is carrying out a public consultation on the matter. Bibeau […] Read more
