Will Verboven

Reading Time: 2 minutes If there is one universal annoyance that virtually everyone in the agriculture industry shares, it’s the blissful ignorance of the urban public about where food really comes from and agriculture in general. Many city folks either believe food appears magically at grocery stores, or they just don’t care as long as it’s cheap and always […] Read more

Reading Time: 3 minutes Sometimes a government decision comes completely out of the blue, and much to the surprise of many, actually turns out to be a wise decision. I refer to the recent federal government decision to change the Navigable Waters Act to the Navigation Act. In the process the new act will only cover waters that actually […] Read more

Reading Time: 3 minutes At the time of writing last week the fate of the XL Foods beef plant in Brooks was still undetermined. By now it may have reopened or may still be closed to buying new cattle. Either way, there is a genuine concern in the industry that XL Foods may not have the financial willingness to […] Read more

Reading Time: < 1 minute At a recent news conference in Edmonton, Premier Redford stated that she intends to keep her leadership campaign promise that farm workers will be covered by OHS legislation. According to a Calgary Herald report she said, “I’ve made a commitment. What we’re going to do is continue to do that work to ensure that we […] Read more

Lamb co-op The new lamb marketing scheme has 
good intentions but, so have others in the past

Reading Time: 3 minutes In the agriculture industry, particularly the livestock sector, there is a disconcerting tendency to repeat history. One of those repetitions involves schemes to market meat directly to retailers and consumers. It seems cattle, hog and sheep producers are either fascinated or frustrated by the way the meat they raise is marketed and sold. That’s the […] Read more

Reading Time: < 1 minute Areport on the direction of farm safety in Alberta submitted to the minister of agriculture more than six months ago has leaked to the media. By all accounts from the usual suspects, the report contains the wrong answer. It recommends more education and a farm safety certification process, it steers clear of what should have […] Read more

Reading Time: 3 minutes A recent urban media and opposition party political exercise might all have been a coincidence, since it was close to the self-declared “Farm Worker Day.” But it seemed like a co-ordinated effort to embarrass the premier to get her to take action on one of her promises. It all had to do with an old […] Read more

Reading Time: 2 minutes Calgary recently saw a ragtag group protesting the slaughter of horses. They gathered under a billboard which featured the slogan, “Stop Slaughtering Us” with a picture of two pensive-looking horses. To many passing by it was probably bewildering, but it is effective. Slaughter is one of those hot-button buzzwords that gets immediate attention. The protesters […] Read more