Reading Time: 3 minutes Despite harvest running two to three weeks late due to rain and cool temperatures, most Peace Region producers are happier than in recent drought-reduced years. As of Oct. 1, Alberta Agriculture market specialist David Wong estimated that five to 50 per cent of harvest was complete. It really varies depending on area, he said. North […] Read more
Warm September Gives Peace Region Producers A Break
Succeeding As Market Gardeners In The Heart Of The Peace
Reading Time: 4 minutes All types of farming have their challenges, but market gardening can literally be a tough row to hoe. Carmen Deschipper, who with husband Eric operates Red Willow Gardens in the Peace region, is a market garden veteran. She came to it via marriage about two decades ago. Red Willow Gardens southwest of Beaverlodge has evolved […] Read more
Cargill Retools Its Grain-Handling Lineup
Reading Time: 2 minutes Changes to grain handling in the Peace continue, but it’s good and bad news depending on how close you are to new facilities. Cargill Inc. recently completed upgrades at the nearby Fairview fertilizer facility and plans to build a distribution centre in McLennan, but the company closed its crop-inputs facility at Grimshaw near Peace River […] Read more
Years Of Drought Come To An End In Peace Country
Reading Time: 2 minutes AF CONTRIBUTOR |GRANDE PRAIRIE Peace Country producers are watching the skies this growing season, but it’s not more rain they’re looking for. For the past two years, northwestern Alberta has been an island of drought in the rain-drenched Prairies, but the deluge has now arrived here as well. While excess moisture and cooler temperatures are […] Read more
Trapper Offers Solutions To Predator Woes
Reading Time: 3 minutes AF CONTRIBUTOR |DEBOLT Gordy Klassen admits he gets a little fired up when confronting erroneous presumptions about trapping, especially when it comes from misconceptions held by some livestock producers. “The sheep or beef producer can control predators if they have the right tools and knowledge,” said the lifelong trapper and outdoorsman. “They don’t see its […] Read more
Heavy Snowfalls Have Peace Producers Smiling
Reading Time: 2 minutes af contributor |grande prairie Near-record snowfalls on parched Peace soils in January and March were more than welcome after three years of drought, and producers are looking forward to a good start from moisture from the spring melt. Our soils should be able to absorb the majority of the melt,” said Alberta Agriculture market specialist […] Read more
Peace Farmers Hit By Elevator Closures
Reading Time: 3 minutes The closure of two nearby grain elevators within half a year has added to the woes of Grande Prairie-area grain producers. Last summer, Cargill closed its Albright facility about 40 kilometres west of Grande Prairie on Highway 43. Now, Viterra has closed its grain-handling facility in Hythe, just 20 kilometres down the road. Farmers will […] Read more
Peace Still Needs More Snow To Catch Up With The Rest Of The Province
Reading Time: 2 minutes Despite heavy snowfalls in January, producers in the parched Peace region are still hoping for more snow. “The Peace country is basically the only area in western Canada that’s dry,” said Alberta Agriculture market specialist Dave Wong. “We went into the winter with extremely dry soil conditions.” Normally, the region receives about 55 to 65 […] Read more
North Country Raises Well-Travelled Lambs
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s tough raising sheep in the Peace River country. Just ask Gerty Sorensen. She and husband Albert raise sheep on a second-generation farm northeast of Bezanson. It’s far removed from the heart of sheep production country in southern Alberta, and the Sorensens face a host of challenges unique to their area, including the long distance […] Read more
Pine Beetle War Continues But The Frontline Is Spreading
Reading Time: 3 minutes Private landowners in Peace region municipalities are receiving less help from the province in the battle against the mountain pine beetle. The tree-destroying pest had a high winter survival rate in the Grande Prairie region relative to other parts of Alberta but the province has “backed right off” in funding for removal of infected trees. […] Read more
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