Reading Time: 3 minutes A grant from DuPont’s FIRE program is helping the Taber Fire Department buy equipment to help them fight fires in situations where access to water is difficult. The volunteer firefighters handle fires and other emergencies over a mainly rural area, as well as the town of Taber. In rural areas, farms may have a dugout […] Read more
Fighting fires when the water source is frozen
Researcher examining the role of microbe in helping crops grow
Fungi has symbiotic relationship with plants, obtaining sugars from them and transporting nutrients and water from the soil to them in return
Reading Time: 3 minutes There are billions of bacteria in every teaspoon of soil, but for the most part all those microbes are a black box that’s responsible for all the biological activity in soil. Now, an Agriculture Canada scientist has been researching one soil fungus phylum — the Glomeromycota — and found an amazing variety of species each […] Read more
Draft South Saskatchewan Regional Plan finally released
Reading Time: 3 minutes Five years after publication of its original Land Use Framework draft, the Alberta government has finally released its land use plan for southern Alberta. The plan covers about an eighth of the province, and is home to 45 per cent of Alberta’s population and most of the province’s irrigated land. It also includes “iconic tourism […] Read more
Manure separation system wins small-business award
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ross Thurston says he’s impressed by modern hog and dairy operations, but thinks there’s one thing missing. “In these big operations, I see high-level management, high-tech genetics, the most modern feeding and nutrition, up-to-the-minute cropping. Everything is really hightech, except for manure management.” Thurston is president of Livestock Water Recycling Inc., a Calgary company which […] Read more
Bovine solution for eating into a Canada thistle infestation
Cows will avoid eating the prickly weed if they have a choice, but keep them in a paddock longer and they’ll control the invader
Reading Time: 3 minutes There’s 10 million square kilometres of free — and highly nutritious — feed spread across North America. But because it’s Canada thistle, you need a special grazing system to get cattle to eat it. “You can use managed grazing to keep weeds, including Canada thistle, at tolerable levels and increase forage production,” said Sue De […] Read moreSouthern special crops coming off well despite storms
Reading Time: 3 minutes Southern Alberta’s specialty crops have mostly done well this season, despite the occasional hailstorm and windstorm. In Taber, David Jensen and his family were just finishing their sweet corn harvest Sept. 7. “It’s a really busy time,” he said. “For that six weeks, we start at 4 a.m. and we’re working till late every night. […] Read more
Corn disease Goss’s wilt found in Alberta
Reading Time: 3 minutes This summer, plant pathologists have found a corn disease they’ve never seen in Alberta before — Goss’s wilt. “We’ve confirmed the disease in two fields so far,” says Alberta Agriculture plant pathologist Mike Harding. “It doesn’t seem to have caused significant yield losses in those fields but we’re looking to see if it’s in other […] Read more
The past comes alive in Coyote Flats during Harvest Days
It began with a small group restoring old farm equipment, but today the pioneer village is much, much more
Reading Time: 3 minutes Although best known as the heart of Feedlot Alley, Picture Butte is also home to the Prairie Tractor and Engine Museum. The collection of tractors and farm equipment in the pioneer village of Coyote Flats is quite spectacular. And during the annual Harvest Days event, some get to strut their stuff again as volunteers drive […] Read more
Egg-breaking co-op looking to develop new markets
The egg-washing and -breaking line at the Egg Processing Innovations Cooperative can handle 36,000 eggs an hour and a second line is in place for when more eggs are available
Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta’s egg-breaking plant has a bright future, but it will take time to reach its full potential, say officials of the Egg Processing Innovations Cooperative. “We can be proud of what we’ve built here,” said co-op chair Andrew Wipf after the facility’s recent official opening. “This plant will make money, but it will take time. […] Read moreJBS predicts better days for Brooks plant and Canadian beef sector
Reading Time: 3 minutes Company officials give media and community members a tour of Brooks facility, and say safety is Job 1 The company that bills itself as the world’s biggest animal protein supplier sees a bright future for Canada’s beef industry. “We’re planning for long-term success at this plant,” Bill Rupp, president of the JBS USA beef unit, […] Read more
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