People gathered in a community club kitchen.

They’re cooking up a storm inside (and out) at Hand Hills

Hand Hills Lake Community Club may be in the middle of nowhere, but its fall suppers and summer rodeos are big draws

Reading Time: 2 minutes When it comes to working in confined spaces, the members of the Hand Hills Lake Community Club could teach astronaut Chris Hadfield a thing or two. On the last Sunday in October, club volunteers cook up turkey dinner — with all the trimmings —for 700 to 800 people in the hall’s 24×30-foot kitchen. Well, sort […] Read more

Girl with cow.

Gold medal bovine

Stella isn’t your typical cow, and not 
just because of her fashion sense

Reading Time: < 1 minute She couldn’t make it to Sochi, but Olympics fan Stella has turned in a medal-winning performance in Alberta Farmer’s felfie contest. Pictured with Stella is Angie O’Connor, who works at a feedlot and keeps some feedlot calves (and an old Holstein who raises them) on an acreage north of Wimborne. Our three judges (Sarah Schultz, […] Read more


Alberta farmers turn in nearly 36 tonnes of obsolete pesticides

Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta farmers turned in 35,800 kilograms of obsolete or unwanted pesticides for safe disposal in 2013. The obsolete pesticide collection program — part of a two-year initiative — took place at three ag retail locations in the Peace Region and 16 ag retail locations in the central region in October. “Alberta farmers are some of […] Read more

Alberta Pulse Growers salutes industry pioneers

Reading Time: < 1 minute To mark its 25th anniversary, Alberta Pulse Growers is creating a new award to recognize individuals who have contributed to the pulse industry in a unique or innovative way. “There are so many individuals that have done so much for this industry, and we feel that their contributions should be recognized,” said Richard Krikke, the […] Read more


Farmers standing beside grain truck near auger and grain bins.

As storm clouds gather, farmers urged to batten down the hatches

Experts say current grain prices are normal, knowing your cost of production critical, and hope is not a marketing strategy

Reading Time: 5 minutes It was standing room only at every FarmTech market outlook session, and the faces told the tale: anxious-looking producers leaning forward, hanging on every word, searching for rays of hope as the storm clouds roll in. But the message was blunt — there will be no quick bounce-back from the steep fall in grain and […] Read more

Man in a kayak paddling over the snow.

Alberta farmer invents new ‘frozen water’ sport

It’s not an official Winter Olympics sport — and never will be

Reading Time: < 1 minute When John Kolk tweeted this picture on New Year’s Day, he captioned it: “Ice kayaking —traditional New Year’s Day activity in remote areas of southern Alberta.” The dryland and irrigation farmer from the Picture Butte area was out for a walk with wife Laura when he was seized by an impulse to invent the most […] Read more


Even if you farm in the green area, you need to be on the lookout 
for midge, says insect management specialist Scott Meers.

Wheat midge warning issued after ‘huge’ outbreak hammers the Peace

Although they only arrived in the Peace three years ago, the tiny bugs 
caused more than $1 million in damage and are showing 
up in fields across the province

Reading Time: 4 minutes Producers across Alberta are being urged to check their grade samples and be on the lookout for wheat midge. The tiny bugs don’t usually cause huge yield losses, but some producers in the Peace Country and the southwest corner of Alberta were hammered in 2013 both on yield and grade losses. Damage in the Peace […] Read more