
Author Archives

Giving Alberta its own farm paper wasn’t a slam dunk — but it worked
A look back at the decision to start a new paper for the province’s farmers and ranchers

New wheat-marketing system isn’t just a mess — it’s a great big mess
With Canada’s wheat selling at a discount to Russia’s, it’s time to admit the new open market isn’t working as it should

Doing a better job of turning grass into grain — and saying so
Growing more forage is the right thing to do. Is the beef industry prepared if it happens?
Looking below the surface for sustainable agriculture
Increasing world food production means having healthy soil able to effectively deliver water and nutrients
Keeping the farm organizations in line
We need at least four cell providers, but two railways are OK
Apparently grain companies reporting a weekly shortfall of between 1,000 to 2,000 cars isn’t evidence of poor service
Just as there’s good stress and bad stress, there’s good excitement and bad excitement. There’s the good excitement you get when watching the Grey Cup, especially if you’re a Riders fan. Then there’s the other kind of excitement (as in riled up) you got watching this year’s Grey Cup commercials about how the Harper government […] Read moreMorriss: Cell companies bad, railways good?
Please, let’s not ‘win’ any more beef trade battles
While we fight an unwinnable battle against COOL, the Americans are stealing our domestic meat market
Traceability is a fact of life for almost every other commodity that consumers buy; yet somehow we have not embraced traceability’s potential in the world of food. I cannot buy an iPhone that does not have complete traceability back to its basic components; yet what we put into our bodies is rarely traceable to source. […] Read moreFighting desertification is part of Western Canada’s heritage
The lessons of the ‘Dirty ’30s’ are still valuable ones to pass on to farmers in other countries
When I went to the barber in Swift Current in the summer of 1937 to get a haircut and shave, he said the haircut was OK but he had quit shaving people. I asked “how come” and he said he couldn’t keep an edge on the razor anymore. With the terrible dust and the shortage […] Read moreThe beef industry has bigger problems than E. coli
No collaboration The beef industry is suffering from too many organizations and not enough leadership
The fallout from the E. coli contamination at the XL beef plant is bad enough, but it will be even worse if this single issue diverts the industry from looking at some of its larger long-term challenges. Farmers got cranky enough about the Canadian Wheat Board, so imagine there was a Canadian Beef Board in […] Read moreAlberta Farmer Express is a unique, Alberta-focused publication combining the efforts of reporters and editors on the ground in the province with the resources of Glacier FarmMedia’s experienced editorial and sales staff.