Reading Time: 3 minutes In many ways, Stephen Hughes has become the face of the sustainable beef movement in Canada. He’s spoken at conferences, given numerous interviews, and appeared in videos and commercials for McDonald’s sustainable beef initiative. Now the fast-food giant has named the Longview rancher the first “flagship farmer” in Canada. But while he’s willing to stand […] Read more
‘A humble guy’ chosen as Canada’s first ‘flagship farmer’
The kids are alright — and they have big ideas for feeding the world
Reading Time: 4 minutes Three up-and-coming Albertans were among 100 young global leaders who met in Brasilia, Brazil, to discuss sustainable solutions to feeding the planet. Grace Heuver, Emmett Sawyer and Kelcie Miller-Anderson were chosen to attend last month’s Bayer Youth Ag Summit — a biannual event that brings together youth aged 18 to 25 to discuss and develop […] Read more
Zoo takes steps to save beloved, but highly endangered, Prairie bird
Reading Time: 4 minutes Many rural landowners in their elder years may remember the odd and captivating sound made by greater sage grouse males as they courted females. But the once-common sound — variously described as a soft booming, burbling or popping — has been rarely heard for decades as the greater sage grouse population fell to fewer than […] Read more
Fundraising tour a timely show of generosity during a tough time for farmers
Three Chords and The Roots music tour hits all the right notes
Reading Time: 4 minutes Country singer Blake Reid saw how this year’s harvest was impacting farmers in his family and his community. Determined to do something to help out, he created a country and roots music tour called Three Chords and The Roots, with 100 per cent of all proceeds raised going to the Do More Ag Foundation, an […] Read more
Alberta family shares life on the farm in national web series
Reading Time: 3 minutes The Sawyer family has invited the whole internet to their dinner table. But before you show up in your Sunday finest, this invitation is a virtual one — a chance to get a glimpse of “a real family on their farm” on the national web series “Real Farm Lives.” “Farming is part of our dinner […] Read more
The need keeps growing for rural Alberta food banks
Reading Time: 3 minutes Times have been tough in Alberta, and that’s been obvious to volunteers at the Mayerthorpe Food Bank. There are just over 500 homes in the town but in many, it’s a struggle to put food on the table. “We serve about an average of 14 families a week,” said Tammy-Lee Gilroy, the food bank’s administrator. […] Read more
Foodgrains Bank feels effects of up-and-down summer
Reading Time: 3 minutes Poor growing conditions here at home could have far-reaching impacts around the world, as Canadian Foodgrains Bank growing projects struggle to get their crops off. “Most of the southern projects are done, but farther north, there’s almost nothing done,” said Terence Barg, northern Alberta regional representative for the Foodgrains Bank. “If the yields aren’t good […] Read more
National small business contest gives boost to enterprising Alberta producer
Tool aggregates offers and shows real-time prices from multiple grain buyers
Reading Time: 2 minutes A fledgling Alberta ag enterprise has been named the most promising startup in a nationwide contest for small business owners. “I was so excited,” said Farmbucks founder Lynn Dargis, who took home the award for her grain-pricing app from TELUS Pitch in July. “It just solidifies that we’re onto something really good here. It’s given […] Read more
A very modern farm based on old ways of collaborating
Reading Time: 3 minutes Change is an interesting thing. It takes time but with momentum can happen quickly,” said Ian Griebel of Redtail Farms as he reflected on the last few years since he and wife Dana Blume took over his parents’ operation. Kathleen Charpentier and Richard Griebel started marketing directly from the farm, near Castor, in the mid-’90s […] Read more
4-H Canada launches national fundraiser
Reading Time: < 1 minute 4-H Canada is launching its first-ever national fundraising campaign that will see participating 4-H’ers sell seeds, bulbs, and roots from Veseys Seeds Ltd. Sixty per cent of sales will go back into supporting 4-H in Canada, with over half of the profit staying local. “Our youth members told us they wanted to be part of […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
