Reading Time: 3 minutes The community around Rocky Mountain House believes it may have found a way to build better co-operation among the many players who deal with the broad land management challenges that face their county. They’ve started a new organization called Clear Water Landcare. It’s a grassroots effort modelled after a highly successful rural community stewardship program […] Read more
Australian-designed initiative takes root in central Alberta
Super-Sizing Stewardship Pays Dividends For Potato Industry
Reading Time: 3 minutes A couple of years back when McDonald s Corporation shareholders raised the issue of environmental stewardship standards for suppliers, Potato Growers of Alberta (PGA) were among the groups that recognized this major paradigm shift as an opportunity to strengthen their connection with customers. McCain drove the industry response and asked us and their other suppliers […] Read more
Ten Colonies, One Goal: Beef On-Farm Food Safety
Reading Time: 3 minutes If a program is measured by the support it receives, the Verified Beef Production (VBP) program just got stronger in Alberta. By the summer of 2011, a total of 10 of the province s Hutterite colonies had joined the official national beef on-farm food-safety program and proceeded to the voluntary audit stage. That s a […] Read more
More Verified Beef Production Participants
Reading Time: < 1 minute Canada s beef producers continue to show their commitment to on-farm food safety. Recent participation figures for Verified Beef Production (VBP), the national beef on-farm food safety program, shows an increasing percentage of the national herd participating in the program. That s an important message for Canada s domestic and export customers, says Terry Grajczyk, […] Read more
Producers Must Lead Changes In Animal Welfare
Reading Time: 3 minutes Taking good care of animals is a top priority for most livestock producers, one they grew up with and practise daily. But somewhere along the line that message has gotten lost, says Dr. Allan Preston. Today it is consumers, animal activists and the corporate world who have taken over the driver’s seat. “That shouldn’t happen,” […] Read more
Be Prepared, And Don’t Be Defensive
Reading Time: 3 minutes In the age of the 24-hour news cycle and YouTube, damaging video footage can fast become the issue of the day and go viral around the world in seconds. As a farmer, you sit down with your family to watch the 6 o’clock news and there it is. You’re sick about what you see. You […] Read more
Cutting The Energy Cost Of Delivering Irrigation Water
Reading Time: 4 minutes Energy is a big cost for farmers, and Alberta Agriculture’s AgTech Centre has developed its On-Farm Energy Efficiency Program which was initially offered to dairy, beef and poultry operations. It’s now turned its attention to irrigation. Project engineer Lawrence Papworth and his colleagues conducted an analysis of irrigation power use in southern Alberta to provide […] Read more
The Alberta Land-Use Framework: How To Get Involved
Reading Time: 4 minutes Alberta is fortunate that its prosperity, natural beauty, resources and opportunities have drawn people to the province. But it’s no secret the population boom of the past decade has also brought challenges, including tremendous pressure on the land. Municipalities have expanded. Industrial activity has increased. The demands for everything from infrastructure to recreation have skyrocketed. […] Read more
Research Opens New Doors To Slash Cattle Methane
Reading Time: 2 minutes Are your cattle causing a greenhouse gas problem? There’s a vaccine for that. Well, maybe. One of the standouts at the recent Greenhouse Gases and Animal Agriculture (GGAA) conference in Banff was the buzz around work led by Dr. Graeme Attwood of AgResearch in New Zealand. Attwood’s team, part of New Zealand’s Pastoral Greenhouse Gas […] Read more
Livestock And Greenhouse Gases — Key Messages
Reading Time: 2 minutes The recent 4th International Greenhouse Gases and Animal Agriculture (GGAA) Conference in Banff attracted more than 400 scientists from 39 countries, and part of the organizing committee, a group of Albertans had a front-row seat. This group included several researchers based at one of the country’s leading centres for livestock production sustainability research, at Agriculture […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
