Little change Business as usual likely, but Premier Redford’s promise of OHS rules for agriculture may come to pass
Reading Time: 3 minutes Voters in rural areas and small towns, particularly in central and southern Alberta, sent a message to their political leaders at the ballot box during the recent election — they wanted some respect. Whether they will get that respect from the victorious PC Party only time will tell, since the Wildrose Party won most of […] Read moreElection creates a new political reality in rural Alberta
The party leaders speak on farm and rural issues
Close race The results in rural ridings can’t be taken for granted in this critical election
Reading Time: 3 minutes Until this time most elections in Alberta were foregone conclusions before they were even called. In the same light agricultural issues usually barely saw a mention. And rural and small-town voters usually did their duty and voted the ruling PC party back in for another term. But it’s different this time around. There is a […] Read moreBison producers terminate their commission
Reading Time: 2 minutes “We are the first victims of the refundable checkoff,” said Alberta Bison Producers chairman Marvin Moore following the BPA’s last-ever annual meeting here earlier this month. A resolution to dissolve the commission effective June 30, 2012 was passed unanimously. The BPA as a marketing commission under the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act was created by […] Read more
Bison: First of the refundable commissions bites the dust
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Bison Producers of Alberta (BPA) is the first of the refundable agriculture commissions to face the music and put itself out of business (see page 15). The obvious question is who will be next? The most likely candidates could be the elk or sheep commissions, both of which operate with few members and modest […] Read more
Funding new research greenhouse a wise decision
Reading Time: 3 minutes It cost a lot of tax dollars, but the Alberta government investment in a new research greenhouse facility in Brooks could prove to be a wise decision for the future survival of the industry in Alberta. This province has a couple of distinct advantages when it comes to greenhouse crop production — lots of sunshine […] Read more
CFIA makes a bold promise, but time will tell
Reading Time: 3 minutes You would be hard pressed to find anyone involved in almost any sector of agriculture regulated by the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) who has anything positive to say (that is officially or publicly) about that federal organization. Comments by stakeholders and organizations about the agency’s high-handedness, arrogance and self-righteousness are always made in hushed […] Read more
ALMA has proven an asset to the livestock industry
Changed Even critics admit ALMA is a different agency than during its difficult birth
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s now been three years since the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (ALMA) was established by the minister of agriculture. Since that time we have seen three different ministers, and ALMA has endured. Perhaps there is a message in that. Also since that time, cattle, hog and sheep prices have all either stayed strong or […] Read moreAgriculture budget small relative to larger departments
Reading Time: 3 minutes The political tradition is that just before an impending election, governments present a highly optimistic good-news budget, deny that it is an election budget, and then promptly call an election a few weeks later. This time around the exercise has lost some of its drama since the Redford government passed legislation to establish a fixed […] Read more
Do Calgarians need a study to find where their food comes from?
Reading Time: 3 minutes Some of us in the agriculture and food business like to amuse ourselves about the naiveté of city folks who have no clue where their food comes from. We chortle when they seem to assume that food magically appears at the local grocery store. As amusing as that may seem, those assumptions may be close […] Read more
Is Corn Production The Sleeping Giant In Alberta?
Reading Time: 3 minutes Corn is one of those crops that has somewhat befuddled agriculture in this province for many years. It always seems to be just on the threshold of breaking out of its minor crop status to something more mainstream in crop production. It would seem that we have some ideal conditions for major grain-corn production, particularly […] Read more
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