Reading Time: 3 minutes Jammed packed doesn’t begin to describe it. On Nov. 20 in Edmonton, Patrick and Cherylynn Bos were named co-winners of Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers award. Then it was back to Rock Ridge Dairy near Ponoka to fire up the most technologically advanced goat milking parlour on the continent and train 700 skeptical does to use […] Read more
VIDEO: Busy Ponoka couple named Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers
Mighty oaks from little acorns grow
Reading Time: 3 minutes Perched on the seat of a picnic bench brought into the pasture for the big lunch, Gladys Kalke considered the question for a few moments: What do you think when you read about humanitarian disasters around the globe? “Look at all those refugees from Syria coming into Germany, how do you feed and care for […] Read more
Police rodeo is a wild and wacky affair
Reading Time: 3 minutes Const. Sean LaBrie just laughs when it’s suggested the Calgary Police Rodeo is arguably the most amateur rodeo in existence. “That would be about right,” said LaBrie, the rodeo association’s vice-president. “It’s pretty strange. For 99 per cent of the guys who are participating, this is the only rodeo stuff they do all year. It’s […] Read more
Big and small, Foodgrains Bank growing projects making a difference
Reading Time: 2 minutes Mother Nature is making things difficult this year, but Alberta’s small army of Canadian Foodgrains Bank volunteers isn’t deterred. There are 32 growing projects underway in the province this year, including a new five-acre initiative near Ponoka. That’s where the Ponoka Ag society, in partnership with Ken and Verna Pohl, are growing oats completely with […] Read more
Tips on reaching out to consumers
Reading Time: 2 minutes Here are some of Julie Borlaug’s tips for reaching out to consumers. Watch your language Some words commonly used on farms have hugely negative connotations for urbanites, she said. “The moment we talk about how GMOs will lessen the amount of inputs such as pesticides or herbicides, you have shut the conversation down. I know […] Read more
Farmers key in effort to win hearts and minds of consumers
American expert says the public tunes out scientists, so it’s up to producers to convince consumers that they produce safe, wholesome food
Reading Time: 3 minutes Like it or not, it’s up to you, farmers. Producers must lead the line in the battle to convince consumers that GM crops, pesticides, and other ag technologies are good things, FarmTech attendees were told. “We in the ag sector have made a big mistake in not getting in front of this,” said Julie Borlaug, […] Read more
It’s a family affair: Two commission chairs in one household
Allison Ammeter is the new chair of Alberta Pulse Growers and her husband Mike fills the same role for the Alberta Barley Commission
Reading Time: 3 minutes They don’t keep records on these sorts of things, but Allison and Mike Ammeter are likely the first Canadian farm couple to each chair a provincial crop commission. Allison became chair of Alberta Pulse Growers at the organization’s annual general meeting at FarmTech, six weeks after Mike became chair of the Alberta Barley Commission. The […] Read more
Share your FarmTech highlights
Reading Time: < 1 minute FarmTech is a feast of plenty and it’s impossible for one person — or even a small group — to take in everything. This year’s event features nearly three dozen presenters, four keynotes, eight concurrent sessions, and five producer group meetings in three jam-packed days. Of course, every attendee will not only have his or […] Read more
A warm welcome from a very hospitable community
The number of producers is declining, but the spirit of the farming community grows stronger and stronger
Reading Time: 3 minutes I was running seriously late and my pal Rick’s email directions for the community supper were “four miles north of Vauxhall — lots of signs.” Judging when you’re four miles from a place you’ve never been before is a little tough, but surely I couldn’t miss all those signs. I did. I spotted one marking […] Read more
It was another year to celebrate in big-hearted Alberta
Reading Time: 3 minutes A year on and, alas, ice kayaking is no closer to becoming an official Winter Olympic sport. Picture Butte farmer John Kolk’s tongue-in-cheek claim that ice kayaking is a “traditional New Year’s Day activity in remote areas of southern Alberta,” graced the inaugural edition of Heartland. It was one of many memorable moments captured in […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
