An independent review and report on the Alberta government response to the 2016 wildfire in the Fort McMurray region, released June 8, contains 31 recommendations upon which the government says it will act. KPMG’s post-incident assessment report identified successes and failures in handling the fire, which burned 1.5 million acres and had an estimated economic […] Read more
News
Disaster review report suggests improvements
Washed out rail line another blow to Churchill port
The railway, which brings supplies to northern communities, is not likely to resume service to Churchill until freeze-up at the earliest
Severe spring flooding that washed out a section of the Hudson Bay Railway line between Gillam and Churchill, Man., last month has dealt another crippling blow to efforts to resume grain shipments through the Port of Churchill. “It’s a major blow to the whole situation,” said Elden Boon, a farmer from Virden, Man., and president […] Read moreSask. ranchers oppose federal pasture partners
Some pastures will be owned by Environment Canada, which ranchers fear will ‘change policies and plans’ on a whim
Ranchers who use former federal pastures in southwestern Sask-atchewan aren’t happy about a proposed land swap between Ottawa and Regina. The plan would see the Nashlyn, Battle Creek and Govenlock pastures all operated by Environment Canada rather than the province. In exchange, the province would obtain title to the non-reversionary, or federally owned land, in […] Read more
Less packaging, less waste
OTTAWA — Researchers spend a lot of time and effort trying to develop packaging to help prevent food waste. And for good reason. In 2009, the United Nations Food and Agriculture Organization reported that 32 percent of food produced in the world is never eaten — lost to waste in one form or another. It […] Read more
AG Notes
Annual Native Prairie Appreciation Week June 18-24 is Native Prairie Appreciation Week in Saskatchewan. Unique to the province, it is celebrated each year in partnership with the Saskatchewan Prairie Conservation Action Plan. The week is dedicated to raising awareness and appreciation of native prairie ecosystems. Producers who use sustainable land management practices contribute to the […] Read more
Why coyote trap-and-release programs don’t reduce predator concerns
The operators of Agriculture Canada’s Central Experimental Farm in Ottawa have discovered that if you’ve got a coyote problem in the middle of the city, live trapping won’t earn any brownie points with environmentalists — and it won’t get rid of the problem, either. Earlier this spring, staff at the farm hired a company “to […] Read more
Anyone up for a goat yoga class?
Participants benefit from the physical therapy of yoga and the ‘mental therapy’ of being with cuddly dwarf goats
MAPLE CREEK, Sask. — Yoga practitioners are familiar with downward dog, but downward goat? Yoga goat classes are now underway at the Downward Goat in a barn at Grotto Gardens in Maple Creek, Sask. There, people can combine the physical therapy of yoga with the “mental therapy” of being around dwarf goats. Dana Hassett, who […] Read more
Soil from the ground down
The 2017 Alberta Soils Tour in the Athabasca region, held May 29-31, was initially planned for 2016 but postponed because of a major forest fire. About 55 participants visited various sites to examine soil and its components in undisturbed areas, and also to see how different types of soil respond to forest fires, floods and […] Read more
It’s a chicken barn horror story
An animal cruelty case in British Columbia rocks the poultry industry as calls grow for answers and solutions
Disturbing, sadistic, sickening and reprehensible: these are the adjectives used by the Canadian chicken industry and the British Columbia SPCA to describe an undercover video made public June 12 that shows workers abusingchickens. The video was shot by a worker with the Mercy for Animals group at operations in B.C.’s Fraser Valley. It shows chicken […] Read moreOilseeds lower but spring wheat pulls off another increase
Oilseeds fell again Thursday but spring wheat managed another higher close. Forecasts for good growing weather in the U.S. Midwest weighed down the soybean complex and corn. Canola followed the soy complex lower. July canola settled at $505 per tonne, down $1.30 or 0.26 percent. November closed at $473.40, down $6 or 1.25 percent. November […] Read more
