Sheri Monk

Reading Time: 3 minutes It seems that the Conservative government is not happy with Alberta Beef Producers’ involvement in recent meetings to oppose Land-use Framework (LUF) legislation. ABP Zone 6 director Greg Bowie denied reports that it was “secret,” as some sources suggested, but confirmed that three ABP directors recently met with government MLAs and that there was tense […] Read more

Reading Time: 2 minutes Want to know how our part of the planet is doing? Ask the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute. “We’re one of the best, or the best in the world,” said Jim Herbers, the institute’s information centre director. “Alberta can absolutely claim to be among the top three jurisdictions on the planet Earth, in terms of monitoring […] Read more

Reading Time: 3 minutes “Every drop counts” is the creed at Alberta Irrigation, and it’s never been more true. With enough canals to reach from Newfoundland to the Alaska border and nearly back again, replacing those ditches with pipelines has been a key issue for the organization’s 13 irrigation districts. “There’s roughly 8,000 kilometres of canals and laterals, of […] Read more

Reading Time: 4 minutes If variety is the spice of life, Alberta’s federal political scene is the most flavourless in all of Canada. In the 2008 election, all but one riding went to the Tories. In 2006, every seat belonged to a Conservative. Despite that apparent safety, it’s hard to get a Conservative candidate to talk about agriculture. Alberta […] Read more

Reading Time: 3 minutes Just as it did for cattle producers, the BSE crisis rocked the world of the rendering industry – and eight years on, it’s still trying to recover. “Cattle deadstock are pretty much valueless because all we get off them is a hide, and we get some tallow value, but we have to dispose of the […] Read more

Reading Time: 3 minutes Producers in the southwest corner of Alberta officially have confirmation of what they already know – wolves are making frequent meals of their cattle. A research study by University of Alberta PhD student Andrea Morehouse published in theFrontiers in Ecology and Environmentjournal revealed cattle are most at risk from wolf predation in the grazing season. […] Read more

Reading Time: 2 minutes You’ve discovered a partly eaten carcass, but did the animal die after being attacked or was it scavenged after? The Alberta government has developed a guide to help producers before calling an investigator. A lack of blood near the carcass suggests scavenging. An animal that was attacked, especially by several animals such as wolves, will […] Read more

Reading Time: 4 minutes Livestock traceability has moved another step forward after another $1.6 million in federal funding, but industry remains uncertain of details, including how and when it will be implemented. “A national traceability system is a win-win for Canadian producers, the value chain, and consumers,” Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz said in a release announcing the funding last […] Read more