Reading Time: 3 minutes Food prices are expected to stay low for the next decade or so, according to recent reports from the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations. That is good news to people who eat, which, of course, includes farmers. But it does remind us that farmers […] Read more
Building the foundation for a sensible food policy
We need to have strong and unbiased science to create approaches that are sensible and sustainable
Donation to aid Lakeland College farmland expansion
Reading Time: < 1 minute A $500,000 donation will allow Lakeland College to buy more land for its farm operations. The donation came from Judy Sweet, who had previously donated funds to modernize and expand the G.N. Sweet Livestock Research Facility, which officially opened two years ago. Sweet and her late husband, Garth Sweet, raised purebred simmental cattle for more […] Read more
Opinion: A cheerful wave or sympathetic ear this harvest season really does help
A little empathy will be much appreciated during this year’s long and difficult harvest
Reading Time: 2 minutes Please don’t read this as a complaint; this isn’t meant to be a complaint. With the recent snows in Alberta over the past two weeks, there are a lot of farmers on edge. So many farmers haven’t even turned a wheel in their fields, or if they have, they are either drying their grain or […] Read more
CAQ’s ag critic among winners in Quebec election
The agriculture critic for Francois Legault’s Coalition avenir Quebec (CAQ) will be among the party’s returning MNAs as it forms Quebec’s next government. The CAQ pulled a majority government in Monday’s election with 74 seats, defeating Philippe Couillard’s Liberals, who were reduced to 32 seats, followed by Quebec solidaire with 10 seats and the Parti […] Read more
Trade pact clause seen deterring China trade deals with Canada, Mexico
Washington | Reuters — China’s hopes of negotiating a free trade pact with Canada or Mexico were dealt a sharp setback by a provision deep in the new U.S.-Mexico-Canada trade agreement that aims to forbid such deals with “non-market” countries, trade experts said on Tuesday. The provision specifies that if one of the current North […] Read more
‘Wood’ you know what kind of bison that is? It’s plain difficult
Woods and plains bison are impossible to tell apart, but a new genomics test will settle that question
Reading Time: 3 minutes Can you tell the difference between a wood bison and a plains bison? Most people can’t — which is partly why Delta Genomics and a team of collaborators are developing a genomics test that will be able to distinguish the two. “The biggest difference is that wood bison — their natural habitat is restricted to […] Read more
Give your view on livestock welfare
Survey, focus group participation open until Oct. 31
Reading Time: < 1 minute The second phase of the Livestock Welfare Engagement Project is getting underway. There has been strong participation in an online survey, said Alberta Farm Animal Care, which is facilitating the initiative requested by Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. The province wants a better understanding of the “animal welfare landscape.” The second phase will involve five focus […] Read more
Mexican president-elect insists on trilateral NAFTA
Washington/Mexico City | Reuters — The United States and Mexico are due to release the text of their trade agreement on Friday, increasing pressure on Canada to join its partners in revamping the North American Free Trade Agreement while Mexico’s president-elect said he would insist on a trilateral pact. President-elect Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said […] Read more
The bear facts: Farming with grizzly bears in your area
Some simple measures can reduce the odds of bears becoming an issue on your ranch or farm
Reading Time: 3 minutes Jim Duncan has his bear stories, but so do all of his neighbours. The Clearwater County rancher has seen bears in his yard looking in the calf sheds, but has never had a calf taken. Wolves, however, have taken two or three animals while cougars — which are out there but rarely seen — have […] Read more
Too close for comfort: Farmers recount grizzly bear encounter
Bear makes sheep farm its hunting ground and wreaks destruction before being snared
Reading Time: 2 minutes Bears can wreak havoc on a farm — Norm and Irene Korth learned this the hard way. The couple has a sheep farm in Clearwater County and lamb about 200 head. “About four years ago, we had a grizzly here, but we never did catch him,” said Irene Korth But things escalated this April, on […] Read more
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