Reading Time: 3 minutes The days are getting longer, the sun feels warmer and the gophers are emerging from their sleepy winter slumber. After nearly eight months underground without feeding, one would think the gophers’ first priority would be food, but it’s perhaps no coincidence they emerge around Valentine’s Day. “It’s difficult to poison the males when they first […] Read more
Poison bait is not the only answer to gopher problems
Chinese-backed pork plant in Montana may be coming
Reading Time: 2 minutes Montana pork producers are taking a wait-and-see approach in regard to a new pork-processing plant at Shelby that could draw large numbers of Canadian hogs. Governor Brian Schweitzer announced in February that Chinese investors were interested in developing a facility capable of processing 800,000 pigs. But additional details are scarce. “At this point there’s no […] Read more
Sometimes the old ways are the best ways
Reading Time: 3 minutes When I first moved out west, I fell in love with the cowboy culture. It’s steeped in heritage, hardship and honour, all excellent cornerstones for any compelling story. In that culture, there’s nothing more iconic than the branding ritual. Over the decades, brands have become their own language. Branding irons are passed from one generation […] Read more
Wildfire season declared earlier this year
Reading Time: 3 minutes Living on the Prairies means living with the threat of an out-of-control grass fire. This year, that potential was so great, the Alberta government declared the start of the wildfire season on March 1, a full month earlier than usual. “It started earlier this year because we had such a warm and dry winter,” said […] Read more
Montana hog plant envisioned near Alta. border
Montana pork producers are taking a wait-and-see approach in regard to a new pork-processing plant at Shelby that could draw large numbers of Canadian hogs. Governor Brian Schweitzer announced in February that Chinese investors were interested in developing a facility capable of processing 800,000 pigs. But additional details are scarce. "At this point there’s no […] Read more
Stripe rustexpected to return to Alberta in 2012
Reading Time: 2 minutes Southern Alberta farmers and their neighbours to the south were both hit with wheat stripe rust last year, and a Montana State University plant pathology specialist says it’s time to get prepared for it again this season. Speaking to the recent Farming Smarter conference in Lethbridge, Dr. Mary Burrows delivered a message to which producers […] Read more
Cattle business in 2012 will see higher prices, consolidation
Reading Time: 3 minutes The good news: higher cattle prices. The bad news: fewer producers to take advantage of them. Speaking to the annual Tiffin Conference at Lethbridge College earlier this month, veteran cattle-market analyst Anne Dunford reviewed some of the record cattle prices in 2011 and predicted even higher for 2012. But she pointed out that those prices […] Read more
Refundable Checkoff Takes Heavy Toll On Alberta Beef Producers
Reading Time: 3 minutes The move to a refundable checkoff from a mandatory one has affected different commodities in different ways. Alberta Beef Producers has taken approximately a 30 per cent hit, with 87 per cent of the refunded dollars going to the feedlot sector. It s disappointing, but not unexpected, said Rich Smith, executive director of ABP. They […] Read more
Alberta Beef Producers Chairman Riding Into The Sunset After Tumultuous Times
Reading Time: 3 minutes Chuck MacLean never planned on being the chairman of Alberta Beef Producers, much less lead it through one of its most tumultuous periods. The outgoing ABP chairman only stepped up in 2009 when vice-chairman Kevin Boon unexpectedly left to become general manager of the B.C. Cattlemen s Association. At that point there had been nobody […] Read more
Learning To Live On And Off The Land
Reading Time: 3 minutes Recently, my two sons and I.moved out of town and into the countryside, the fulfillment of a dream for me. We re renting a ranch house northeast of Pincher Creek and there s even some pasture available. But perhaps the most exciting part so far has been the pretty little black Drolet wood stove in […] Read more
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