Reading Time: 3 minutes If Brian McDonald’s vision comes to fruition this year, St. Stephen’s Cemetery in north Edmonton will be maintained by four-legged, woolly grass eaters instead of lawn mowers. McDonald, sales manager for the cemetery, wants to use sheep to graze part of the 40-acre burial ground. “We have to do quite a bit of maintenance on […] Read more
Not a baa-d idea: Sheep to replace lawn mowers in Edmonton cemetery
Lawn-munching sheep have become an institution — and tourist attraction — in Fort Saskatchewan
U of A at forefront of effort to create super-kibble
University has expertise in what’s good for Fido and Ginger — and will soon have a new $1.5-million machine for making better kibble
Reading Time: 2 minutes An increasing number of North Americans now view their pets as their children — and that’s not only made the pet food industry a very big business, but is changing what goes into their feed bowls. “Just like you see an increasing emphasis in the human population relating to food and health, the same is […] Read more
Jess Verstappen wins top 4-H honour
Reading Time: 2 minutes Jess Verstappen, a 17-year-old from High Prairie, is the 50th person to win the 4-H Premier’s Award, the highest honour that can be given to an Alberta 4-H member. “4-H is a great organization to be involved in because of all the things you get out of it,” said Verstappen. “Not only is it a […] Read more
Canada picked for sustainable beef pilot
EXCLUSIVE: McDonald’s working with CCA on ambitious project to make Canada the first country to supply it with sustainable beef
Reading Time: 6 minutes McDonald’s has chosen Canada over Australia and Europe as the site of its first pilot project in its ambitious quest to serve only “sustainable beef” in its massive global restaurant empire, Alberta Farmer has learned. The exact terms of the pilot — or even a definition of sustainable — have yet to be finalized, but […] Read more
Pork industry successful at preventing PEDv
Funding from Growing Forward 2 helps pork industry to increase programs to prevent porcine epidemic diarrhea virus
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta’s pork industry is getting another $1.35 million to improve biosecurity and thwart the arrival of the porcine epidemic diarrhea virus (PEDv). “The funding comes at a critical time for our industry,” said Alberta Pork chair Frank Novak. “There’s a sense of guarded optimism for the future after a series of very challenging years.” Alberta […] Read more
Researcher using chicken feet to prevent crow’s feet
Reading Time: 2 minutes Can a pill made from chicken feet and cow hides give your skin a younger, healthier look? Yes, says University of Alberta food scientist Mirko Betti, an expert on modifying animal proteins from meat byproducts. Betti is currently extracting collagen from poultry skin, feet, bones, and cartilage as well as bovine hides. Collagen is a […] Read more
Resistant clubroot a ‘nightmare’ scenario
Continuous cropping likely cause of new resistant clubroot pathogen, but canola council says tight rotations are still OK for some
Reading Time: 4 minutes The breakdown of a clubroot-resistant variety just four years after it came on the market is a “nightmare” — but doesn’t mean growers in clubroot-free areas can’t plant canola every other year, say industry officials. “It’s unfortunate that this had to happen,” said Ward Toma, general manager of the Alberta Canola Producers Commission. “We had […] Read more
Drilling down into the livestock price insurance program
The futures price, basis, and exchange rate are part of the equation, but a producer’s situation is also key
Reading Time: 3 minutes Editor’s note: One of the producer questions for the April 28 edition — on the Western Livestock Price Insurance Program — took some additional investigation by reporter Alexis Kienlen. Vermilion cattle producer Sean McGrath asked, “I understand the risks that WLPIP is covering — futures price, basis, and exchange rate — but what goes into […] Read more
Stan Blade chosen new agriculture dean at U of A
Reading Time: 2 minutes A veteran of Albertan agricultural research has been named the next dean of the faculty of agricultural, life and environmental sciences at the University of Alberta. Stan Blade, currently chief executive officer of Alberta Innovates Bio Solutions, will assume his new role Aug. 1, replacing John Kennelly, who will remain in the department after a […] Read more
Models cause for less hail, but less rain, too
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta has the dubious distinction of having the most — and biggest — hail in the world. “We’re very famous for that,” said University of Alberta meteorologist Gerhard Reuter. And you can blame it on the Rocky Mountains, which affect airflows to create ‘hail alley’ — a corridor stretching from Rocky Mountain House to Red […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
