Reading Time: 4 minutes Kara Oosterhuis, 21, of Bow Island was the senior winner in the Alberta Young Speakers for Agriculture competition at the Calgary Stampede. Her topic was: What is sustainability and why does it matter to Canadian agriculture? We live off the land. I live off the land. You live off the land. Sustainability is vital to […] Read more
Sustainability comes in many forms — all of them important
Ponoka microbrewery eyes world domination
Reading Time: 5 minutes Kari and Brent Tarasoff had no intention of opening a brewery when they began growing hops in Penticton, B.C. four years ago. But their five-year plan got thrown out the window last year when they opened Siding 14 Brewing Company in Ponoka with two partners. And pretty soon, they’ll need to toss out their new […] Read more
Wetland protection a no-brainer for cattle producer
Reading Time: 3 minutes Pearl Gregor was on the phone the instant she read about ALUS Canada in her county newspaper. “When I heard about ALUS, it was automatic — I had to do it,” said the New Sarepta-area cattle farmer. “We’ve lost so much of the Alberta wetlands. As farmers, we need water, so we need ALUS.” ALUS […] Read more
A heartfelt response to some very dark events
School shootings prompt students to create therapy dog program
Reading Time: < 1 minute In response to recent school shootings, five students from a high school in Hanna took it upon themselves to raise money to help support St. John Ambulance’s Therapy Dog program and its outreach in the community. Last month, the students from J.C. Charyk High School presented two visiting teams of Therapy Dog volunteers and their […] Read more
Agritourism sustains central Alberta sheep farm
Reading Time: 3 minutes Susan de Rosemond had three strikes against her when she decided to become a sheep farmer in the late 1970s. First, she was an immigrant. Second, she was a woman. And the killing blow? She wanted to be a sheep farmer in beef country. “When I went to apply for my mortgage, the bank managers […] Read more
Growing projects putting down roots around elevators
Reading Time: 2 minutes Volunteers at a trio of Canadian Foodgrains Bank growing projects in Alberta won’t have to go far to deliver their harvests this fall. Viterra is providing 400 acres around three of its Alberta grain terminals (and another three in Saskatchewan) for growing projects this year. “We’ve had a long-standing partnership with Viterra,” said John Longhurst, […] Read more
HEARTFELT: Couple opens up and sparks conversations across farm country
Reading Time: 2 minutes Lesley and Mathieu Kelly knew they were opening themselves up to a backlash when they shared a candid video about mental health problems they’ve faced as a young farm family. They spoke about the stress of farming, of Mathieu’s anxiety, of Lesley’s postpartum depression. And they were right. They were bullied. People online mocked them, […] Read more
Trip to Ethiopia eye opening for Fort Saskatchewan siblings
Reading Time: 4 minutes Many farmers and Albertans support the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, but few have seen the impact that their donations make. Keith and Jacilyn Goutbeck have — and won’t soon forget what they encountered on a learning tour to Ethiopia at the end of January. The siblings visited individual families in communities that had received Foodgrains Bank […] Read more
Mentorship program links the lab to the ranch
Reading Time: 3 minutes The future of forage research is looking bright, and that’s exciting, says one of the country’s newest researchers in this area. Stacy Singer started work at Ag Canada’s Lethbridge Research and Development Centre just over a year ago and was also one of three scientists chosen for the 2017 edition of a mentorship program created […] Read more
Farmers benefit from business etiquette, too
Reading Time: 4 minutes For some, just hearing the word ‘etiquette’ is enough to send cold shivers down their spine. It brings up memories of motherly commands — such as, ‘Keep your elbows off the table!’ or, ‘For God’s sake, chew with your mouth closed!’ — or conjures up pictures of fancy dinners with white-gloved waiters and six different […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
