Reading Time: 3 minutes AF CONTRIBUTOR Matt and Tara Sawyer sound a little embarrassed to be singled out as this year’s Outstanding Young Farmers (OYF) for the Alberta/NWT Region. Both say they don’t think they’re any different from their neighbours but are thrilled by the honour. “In our community there are so many good farmers,” says Matt, 39. “I […] Read more
Acme Family Named Outstanding Young Farmers
Chains Want Alberta Products — But Only On Their Terms
Reading Time: 3 minutes Tony Legault is fussy about flavour – and it’s paying off. “Bring me the most beautiful-looking tomato in the world and if it doesn’t taste wonderful, I won’t grow it, even if it out-produces what I grow two to one,” said the owner of Paradise Hill Farm, a Nanton area hothouse operation. Before Legault fully […] Read more
Feeder Associations Plan To Expand Membership Base
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Feeder Associations of Alberta (FAA) is changing with a changing Alberta cattle industry, says Reg Schmidt, director and interim general manager of the 56 local association members’ organization. Having served smaller livestock-feeding operations for over 70 years, member associations are now opening their doors to corporate farms and mid-size operators to allow them to […] Read more
No Need To Contine Funding Food Research, Says Federal Agency
Reading Time: 2 minutes Agricultural scientists and farm groups are expressing dismay at a decision by a federal research agency to stop funding food research. The decision by the Natural Sciences and Engineering Research Council (NSERC) sends a negative message, both at home and abroad, that Canada is not interested in research which a hungry world urgently needs, says […] Read more
St. Vincent Farmer Wins Prestigious Nuffield Scholarship
Reading Time: 3 minutes St. Vincent-area farmer Leona Dargis is one of three winners chosen from a field of 60 applicants for the 2011 Nuffield Canada scholarships. “This is the next step,” says Dargis, who has an agribusiness degree, worked as a John Deere farm management consultant, and plans to be a farm finance consultant. The Nuffield organization looks […] Read more
New Research Greenhouse Opens In Brooks
Reading Time: 3 minutes Growers need to work closely with crop scientists if a new $17-million, cutting-edge research greenhouse in Brooks is to utilize its full potential, according to the chairman of the Red Hat Co-operative Ltd. “The research centre has to be tied to the grower and the grower to the research centre,” says Albert Cramer, chairman of […] Read more
Aquaculture: The Latest Enterprise For Versatile Farm Family
Reading Time: 3 minutes Tilapia farmer Mark McNaughton and his livestock have something in common: Versatility. There are all sorts of dishes you make with tilapia fish, while McNaughton’s versatility is in staying ahead of the market curve. Most recently that meant switching from hogs to aquaculture when hogs began to falter in the late 1990s. “Scale was a […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
