Reading Time: 4 minutes Not many people can say they just clown around when volunteering, but 4-H leader Caroline Boddy does just that, thanks (in part) to her willingness to say yes. “I am notorious for just saying yes to absolutely everything,” Boddy said with a laugh. “That seems to work really, really well for me — it opens […] Read more

Forestburg 4-H club lets members clown around

Plan for your children’s safety on the farm
Here are some guidelines for creating a ‘hazard-free’ play area
Reading Time: 2 minutes Children “often perceive the farm as a big playground filled with endless opportunities to explore” and parents need to plan accordingly, says a provincial farm safety youth co-ordinator. “Unfortunately, they don’t always recognize the serious dangers that are often lurking around the farmyard,” said Janice Donkers. “Most rural parents want their kids to enjoy life […] Read more

Agriculture has always been more than farming
Reading Time: 5 minutes Chancey Lane, 23, of Claresholm was the senior winner in the Alberta Young Speakers for Agriculture competition at the Calgary Stampede. This year’s topic was: Working in agriculture is more than just farming. And on the 8th day, God looked down on his planned paradise and said, ‘I need a caretaker.’ So God made a […] Read more

Agriculture is my teacher — and I never fall asleep in class
Reading Time: 4 minutes Quinten Albrecht, 12, of Holden, was the junior winner in the Alberta Young Speakers for Agriculture competition at the Calgary Stampede. This year’s topic was: Working in agriculture is more than just farming. Harvesting crops, haying, calving out cows, and riding horses. These are just some of the things that fill up my event calendar […] Read more

‘I love to contribute’ is the motto of Cochrane rancher
Reading Time: 4 minutes When a young David Sibbald volunteered for the International Youth Livestock Committee of the Calgary Stampede back in 1990, he had no grand illusions about someday heading up an organization that today boasts 2,300 community volunteers and more than 1,200 employees. He was just committed to youth and agriculture. Those commitments haven’t changed, but now […] Read more
RCMP and Citizens On Patrol make it official
Reading Time: < 1 minute The RCMP and Alberta Citizens On Patrol Association (ACOPA) have officially teamed up. An Alberta RCMP release said the two have co-operated for many years, but deputy commissioner Todd Shean and ACOPA chair Beverley Salomons recently signed an official memorandum of understanding (MOU) which outlines their partnership. Citizens On Patrol is a police-supported, community-led program […] Read more

Shop local trend has changed the game at the Jungle Farm
Leona and Blaine Staples have continually diversified their farm to capitalize on changing consumer shopping trends
Reading Time: 3 minutes Leona and Blaine Staples produce a bit of a different kind of commodity on their operation near Penhold. “We really farm people,” said Leona Staples, who has been running the Jungle Farm with husband Blaine since 1996. “One of the passions in our life is sharing our farm with the rest of the world. We […] Read more

Young Albertan brings cattle perspective to global conference
Reading Time: 3 minutes Cameron Olson is a young beef scientist who is going places. The 24-year-old from Rocky View, is one of four Canadian agricultural leaders participating in Bayer’s Youth Ag Summit in Brussels in October. “My intent for being part of this conference is to make sure animal agriculture is represented as well as crop,” said Olson, […] Read more

PHOTOS: Kids learn a lesson about farm safety and machinery
The look on their faces said it all
Reading Time: < 1 minute Rural youth got an up-close and dramatic demonstration on what happens when clothing snags on a power takeoff shaft. A dummy stuffed with newspapers explodes in a millisecond — drawing gasps from the young onlookers. More than 750 students from rural Alberta attended Farm Safety Day, which is sponsored by AltaLink, at Calgary’s Stampede Park […] Read more

Legacy of Alberta’s black pioneers honoured
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta’s black pioneers have been recognized with a Historic Sites and Monuments Board of Canada plaque at Amber Valley Cultural Centre in Amber Valley. Between 1908 and 1911, more than 1,000 black Americans left Oklahoma and surrounding states to settle in northern Alberta and Saskatchewan, seeking freedom from racial segregation and economic opportunity. They chose […] Read more