Reading Time: 2 minutes The crop report for the Peace region is generally favourable, but weather conditions now and later are giving growers plenty of anxiety. Alberta Agriculture market specialist David Wong said frequent rains and showers are slowing up haying operations and the fescue harvest in northwestern Alberta. “We’ve been on a hail watch as well as watching […] Read more
Watching the skies and the thermometer in the Peace
Peace Country home to new bee diagnostic lab
The facility will perform diagnostic tests for beekeepers from across the country, and join the effort to determine the cause of colony collapse disorder
Reading Time: 2 minutes Anew Peace laboratory is joining in the battle against colony collapse disorder, which has battered the beekeeping industry in recent years. The National Bee Diagnostic Centre Laboratory opened its doors on April 1, and research underway is pest, pathogen and parasite issues affecting the honeybee sector. “This is the first of its kind designed and […] Read morePeace-area seed plants invest in colour-sorting equipment
Ergot Seed-cleaning co-op sees the investment as a way of getting ahead of a growing ergot problem
Reading Time: 2 minutes Producers west of Grande Prairie are putting more dollars in their pockets with the opening of a new colour sorter at the Wembley Co-op Seed Cleaning Association. The new sorter has been in operation for both pedigreed and common seed cleaning since the middle of January. Operators say that last month alone the plant ran […] Read moreRural electrification associations face buyouts from big operators
Contentious Members have a number of options, including contract management or outright sale
Reading Time: 3 minutes The rural electrification associations (REA) that brought power to rural Alberta in the 1950s after the province said it couldn’t afford to, may soon become an endangered species. Citing high maintenance and operating costs as well as onerous safety regulations, REAs across the province are being purchased by ATCO. The Peace Country REA (PCREA) is […] Read moreRural home is net-zero for annual energy consumption
Reading Time: 3 minutes It sounds like a tall order — a home that is self-sufficient, environmentally friendly and with enough room outside for three kids to roam freely. But Christy Cuku and her husband Dennis were able to achieve all three. The Cukus moved into their green home 15 months ago in Parkland County. This 4,000-sq.-ft. family home […] Read more
Online education opens up new learning opportunities
Reading Time: 3 minutes When Wendy Walter, operator of an educational nursery near Grande Prairie, wanted to enhance her skills, she didn’t have to look — or travel — far. Once in her office chair, Walter had access to all the resources and expertise offered by Olds College, even though she is 700 kilometres away. Walter recently completed the […] Read more
Another dry year in the Peace
Early A harvest that often drags on in the region was pretty much done by the end of September
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Peace region failed again this year to live up to its reputation for too much moisture, but you won’t hear too many complaints. As in many other area of the Prairies, canola failed to live up to its early promise when the combines arrived. Dryness, heat, bugs and disease all contributed to canola’s less-than-stellar […] Read moreHandling a range of species in the Peace Country
Reading Time: 2 minutes Ged Willis’s expectations may have been a little high when he first got into the bison auction business in the mid-1990s. Back then, bison were worth big money — anywhere between $30,000 and $80,000, and Willis saw one sell for $100,000. “When you’re working on straight commission, that appealed to me,” he says. Prices aren’t […] Read more
Farmers’ market a boon for bison producers
looking up Glendean Farms has seen sales grow by 20 to 25 per cent annually at the Grande Prairie Farmers’ Market since setting up its booth in 2004
Reading Time: 2 minutes Eldine and Glen Kjemhus are old hands when it comes to selling directly to consumers. The owners of Glendean Farms, a fifth-generation farm near Hythe, have been selling at the Grande Prairie Farmers Market since 2004. “We’ve been realizing 20 to 25 per cent growth there every year,” said Eldine, who has been raising bison […] Read moreAlberta corn now stretches from Taber to the Peace
Reading Time: 3 minutes Alberta’s corn crop has been spreading out of its traditional pocket in the south, but recently it’s taken a big leap all the the way up to the Peace. Recently the Peace Country Beef & Forage Association (PCBFA) hosted a field day at the farm of Lawrence and Lori Andruchiw near Spirit River to hear […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
