Reading Time: 3 minutes Agriculture research and training in the Peace region got a leg up last month with the signing of a memorandum of understanding (MOU) between Grande Prairie Regional College (GPRC) and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). The strategic partnership is expected to boost activity at GPRC’s Fairview campus as well as at the Beaverlodge Research Farm, […] Read more
Peace-Area ag research and education boosted
Peace-Area Market Operators See Better Times
Reading Time: 4 minutes “It’s hard to say what would have put more dollars in their pocket.” Three droughts in the last five years has packed a punch on the Peace region’s livestock market, says Marty Gilfillan, Grande Prairie Livestock Market Manager. Gilfillan estimates cattle numbers at the market are down 30 per cent from its peak in 2005-06. […] Read more
Burning Straw Saves Heating Costs
Reading Time: 3 minutes A Peace River area farmer is using fescue for fuel in an inventive on-farm heating system he estimates is saving him more than $2,000 a month. Louis Stickney grows fescue and canola on 14 quarters of land just outside of the small town of Hythe. He describes himself as semi-retired, but there’s no end to […] Read more
Peace Region Entrepreneurs Join To Form Group
Reading Time: 3 minutes “This region is and continues to be an area with more patents per capita than the rest of the province.” LLOYD SHERK PROJECT CO-ORDINATOR, PERMA It’s not unusual for Peace region agricultural producers to operate a side business for some off-farm income. Usually, it involves the oilpatch and more than a few are manufacturing or […] Read more
No-Nuke Signs Removed From Private Land
Reading Time: 2 minutes Landowners in the Peace River area are claiming Alberta Transportation is suppressing their right to free speech after anti-nuclear signs on private property were removed. Bruce Power is exploring the viability of building a nuclear plant in the area. Though no formal applications have been made, some residents are expressing opposition. In response to the […] Read more
Transplanted Southerner Likes Ranching In The Peace
Reading Time: 3 minutes “When the majority of cattle have to go south by truck, that costs money” Raising cattle is tough everywhere these days, and producers in the Peace region have some unique challenges, says the area’s newly elected director of Alberta Beef Producers (ABP). Roland Cailliau, a cow-calf operator who ranches 100 kilometres east of Grande Prairie, […] Read more
Ag Extension Has Strong Presence In The Peace
Reading Time: 3 minutes It wasn’t the first time Bill Chapman had travelled to the Peace country from his Barrhead office to speak at a producer event. Chapman, a crop business development specialist with Alberta Agriculture, spoke in Fairview at an Alberta Barley Commission regional meeting there last month. He’s part of a network of specialists that replaced the […] Read more
Pennycress — By This Name, This Plant Smells Sweeter
Reading Time: 3 minutes No, Stan Peacock’s fields are not infested with stinkweed. “Infested” would mean he didn’t want it there in the first place. And by the way, please don’t call it stinkweed. It’s Pennycress, or Thlaspi arvense if you want to be technical. Peacock, a High Prairie-area cattle and hay producer since 1972, is in the end […] Read more
Cattle And Hog Numbers Well Down In The Peace Region
Reading Time: 3 minutes “Consumers and politicians always seem to feel there is going to be a dumb farmer to raise Canadian meat.” Poor winter feed availability continues to force Peace region cattle producers out of business and hog producers aren’t faring any better. Areas of the Peace are extremely feed-deficient, says Canadian Cattlemen’s Association vice-president Travis Toews. “This […] Read more
Peace Harvest OK Despite Early Problems
Reading Time: 2 minutes “We’ve got No. 1 and No. 2 in wheat. We’ve seen some very good protein levels as well.” Harvest in the Peace district is reaping better yields than expected, reports an Alberta Agriculture marketing specialist. David Wong says that despite drought conditions and pest problems, “There’s more there than we anticipated.” A mid-October snowfall caused […] Read more
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