Reading Time: 4 minutes Spring is almost over, and summer proper looms on the horizon. I always find the solstice bittersweet because every subsequent day is just a little shorter. As the season progresses, I’ve found that having a first vegetable garden is much like a new mother with her first-born baby. My garden is demanding, all-consuming, fussy and […] Read more
Lessons for a novice gardener: Weed it and weep
CFIA might divest beef-grading supervision
BETTER BEEF? While similar, the U.S. allows beef to grade that Canada would reject. Yet many in the industry want to harmonize the standards
Reading Time: 3 minutes The proposal to harmonize Canada’s beef-grading system with that of the U.S. is currently in regulatory purgatory, thanks to the latest federal budget. “The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) is basically doing some evaluation of their own processes and things, and they’re saying, ‘We’re health and safety, do we really want to be involved with […] Read moreFarm labour organization hoping to carry on
Reading Time: 2 minutes Supporters of a non-profit organization that helps farmers deal with labour issues say they hope to carry on despite an impending loss of federal funding. The six-year-old Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council was told last summer that its funding will be terminated in March 2013. “The council has been working toward becoming a self-sustaining organization […] Read more
Confronting the Green Giant under the bed
ROOT PROBLEM Growing up in a household where potato chips abounded but even carrots were deemed exotic doesn’t teach you the best nutrition habits
Reading Time: 3 minutes I’ve never met a vegetable I couldn’t grow to hate. Honestly, with the exception of corn and potatoes, I spent most of my life avoiding vegetables the way a cat avoids a bath. I like to believe that genetically, I come from a long and successful line of hunters. When I imagine my ancestors I […] Read morePound Maker ram sale draws large crowd
Top seller A Suffolk consigned by Bert and Andrelei Grisnich sold for $1,650 to Paul Preston of Hays
Reading Time: < 1 minute Attendance was up and the bidding action was hot at the Fort MacLeod Auction market where the sixth annual Pound Maker Yearling Ram Sale was held on May 24. Warren and Norine Moore, who operate Second Chance Livestock Company near Stavely, hold the event every year, with Andy and Frances Pittman, Bert and Andrelei Grisnich, Graham […] Read moreClass of 2012 trail-blazing veterinary medicine in Alberta
SUCCESS Four years ago, 30 students embarked on a journey that marked a new chapter in Alberta’s academic history
Reading Time: 2 minutes On May 10, the very first graduating class of veterinarians trained at the University of Calgary faculty of veterinary medicine held their convocation. The four-year DVM program began in 2008 and its arrival on to the Canadian academic scene made it the fifth veterinary program in the nation, and the only one in Alberta. The […] Read moreGlobal giving in a small community
WALK FOR WATER A small school raised more than $2,000 to build two wells in rural India
Reading Time: 2 minutes Although Alberta is known to be one of the drier regions in Canada and drought years can be tough in agriculture, it is still very easy to take water wealth for granted. Most Albertans — with the notable exception of First Nation children — grow up with reliable access to safe drinking water. Rural kids […] Read moreCargill invests in Alberta youth
SOCIAL RETURN Research has shown that for every dollar invested in the Junior Achievement Clubs of Southern Alberta, there is a $45 economic return
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Junior Achievement (JA) Clubs of Southern Alberta recently received a beefy $10,000 donation from Cargill Meat Solutions at High River. “Junior Achievement is excited to be partnering with a strong community leader like Cargill. Cargill shares our vision and goal for engaging youth in the building of communities and economies of rural Alberta,” said […] Read moreDefending America in a cow-eat-cow world
Reading Time: 3 minutes “Schadenfreude” is when an individual takes pleasure in the misfortune of others. Although the word is German, the behaviour it describes is global, and it was alive and well in Canada when we learned the U.S. had discovered a new case of BSE. Facebook lit up like a Christmas tree as folks in the business on […] Read more
Summer camp for kids with a grassroots twist
PARENTS WELCOME The whole family can attend the Southern Alberta Youth Range Days and learn about rangeland health
Reading Time: 2 minutes Summer vacation means freedom, adventure, and lifelong memories for kids, and for many, that rite of passage called summer camp. Parents and kids seeking something different should check out Southern Alberta Youth Range Days — an annual summer camp with a distinctly Alberta twist. “The camp started in 2008 and it was sort of the […] Read moreCyber-Savvy Farmer
