Three grass fires that raged across southern Alberta yesterday are now under control with no injuries reported, though at least two homes were destroyed near Nanton, Alta., and other structural damage is yet to be assessed. Winds in excess of 100 km/h were a factor in the fires, one of which burned 10 kilometres northwest […] Read more
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High wind whips up grass fires in southern Alberta
Survey looks for input on Alberta land use bills
An online survey has been created by the Alberta government to gather input on controversial land use bills passed by the former administration. It is one more way the Alison Redford government is gathering information as part of a review of bills 19, 24, 36 and 50 that caused widespread concern last year over potential […] Read more
Canola, soybeans and corn close year on strong note
Worries about the effect of hot, dry weather on crops in Argentina pushed canola and other crop futures higher on Dec. 30. January canola closed at $525.80 per tonne, up $2.80. New crop November canola closed at $508.30, up $8.10. Canola fell almost 10 percent over the year, the first drop since 2008. Global economic […] Read more
All is well when water well is well maintained
BASHAW, Alta. — When Dave Fox moved to a farm just outside Stettler, he had two old existing water wells capped and a new well drilled. If the new water well was going to be his main source of drinking water, Fox wanted to know more about the well and how to maintain it. “I […] Read more
Don’t pour oil on Troubled waters
The days of dumping used oil on the driveway to keep dust down are gone, or they should be. Phil Wrubleski, executive director of the Saskatchewan Association for Resource Recovery Corp., said farmers have come a long way in their thinking about what to do with used oil. The corporation was formed about 15 years […] Read more
Canine curiosity can be costly
Did you know?
In life, there is a right way and a wrong way to do almost everything and Cheryl Klimack now knows the wrong way to remove porcupine quills from her four-year-old mutt, Dodger. Klimack, like most pet owners, took her dog to the vet the first time he was pierced with porcupine quills. But the second […] Read moreTerrific tomatoes to tempt the taste buds
MIQUELON LAKE, Alta. — A good tomato is like a good wine. A bite into a ripe tomato can release a mild sensation or a zing at the back of the tongue as it rolls around the mouth. Ester Walker, who runs Glen View Greenhouse and Organic Farm, wanted her customers to taste the subtle […] Read more
A farmer’s garden diary
Jacob Quantz left Ontario in the 1880s to homestead in what is now central Alberta. He and his wife, Sophie, named their quarter section The Jungle Farm. The couple had two sons: one was killed in the First World War and the other, Oscar, returned to the farm. Jacob’s great-granddaughter, Leona, and her husband, Blaine […] Read more
Is this a weed? Gardeners click for answers
A garden enthusiast in the city can run next door or a few doors down to borrow a tool, pick up seeds and cuttings or have a coffee and get advice. But on farms and remote rural areas, the nearest neighbour who actively gardens might be 20 kilometres away, and so a lot of borrowing […] Read more
Lots of this, none of that: the scoop on composting
Those who have difficulty maintaining an outdoor compost pile can compost organic waste with red worms.
If anyone can appreciate the value of backyard composting it’s a farmer, says an expert in the field. “It’s amazing how much richer it can make the soil that you use in your garden or what it can do for your lawn,” said Natasha Page, waste re-duction specialist with Alberta Environment and Water. Starting and […] Read more
