Reading Time: 3 minutes Laura Bodell got a chance to see agriculture from a new perspective when she won a scholarship to attend the Commonwealth Agriculture Conference in Singapore this fall. “I had a particular interest in attending this conference since I’m chair of the International Agricultural Business Centre during Farmfair,” said Bodell. The Sherwood Park resident, who has […] Read more

Singapore trip offers Albertan a new global view on agriculture

Forage champion Doug Wray receives national award
Reading Time: < 1 minute Irricana rancher and long-term forage advocate Doug Wray is the winner of the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association’s 2016 Leadership Award. “Wray is committed to continued education about grassland and forages,” the association said in a news release. “He travels extensively locally and abroad to observe grassland, forage and livestock management; and frequently shares his […] Read more

Couple protects picturesque Porcupine Hills ranch
Reading Time: < 1 minute Reno and Corine Welsch have ensured their 3,034-acre ranch in the Porcupine Hills won’t be turned into a subdivision or see its native cropland put to the plow. The couple recently finalized a conservation agreement with the Nature Conservancy of Canada. “This conservation agreement gives me the freedom to run the ranch the way I […] Read more

Environmental stewardship program gets funding boost
ALUS Canada also recognizes Parkland County rancher Gerry Taillieu with producer innovation award
Reading Time: 2 minutes An organization that supports farmers and ranchers who provide ecosystem services has received $5 million in funding from the W. Garfield Weston Foundation. ALUS Canada has also awarded Alberta rancher Gerry Taillieu its inaugural Producer Innovation Award. The $5 million in funding will allow expansion of the ALUS (short for Alternative Land Use Services) program […] Read more

Ghosts get elbowed aside on Pizza Night in Rowley
Reading Time: 3 minutes Whenever Rowley has faced oblivion, locals have always come up with a plan — sometimes mischievous ones — to save their dusty locale on the central Alberta prairie. The hamlet, located 38 kilometres north of Drumheller, was fading away in the mid-1970s, when a group of men staged the now famous break-and-enter party into a […] Read more

Call to help the hungry generated huge response from farmers
Reading Time: 2 minutes Forty years ago, farmers in Western Canada responded to a call to help people who were hungry in the developing world — and the organization that would become the Canadian Foodgrains Bank was born. The call was issued by Mennonite Central Committee, headquartered in Manitoba and it was farmers from that province and neighbouring Saskatchewan who donated […] Read more

Food bank drive collects millions of meals
Reading Time: < 1 minute The recently concluded FCC Drive Away Hunger collected enough food for 6.7 million meals, far surpassing this year’s goal. The donated food was given to food banks, which assist 850,000 Canadians every month, with children accounting for 36 per cent of that number. There are more than 500 food banks in the country, with about […] Read more

Rover will wander no more thanks to GPS technology
Reading Time: 3 minutes Keeping a dog within the confines of your own farm isn’t always easy — but technology is changing that. Rodney and Tanya Hollman, who raise purebred Gelbvieh cattle near Innisfail, recently put an “invisible fence” around their property to keep their nine-month-old Kangal-cross dog Marleigh from wandering. The couple chose the Invisible Fence Brand from […] Read more

Turkish Kangals give new meaning to the word ‘dogged’
Reading Time: < 1 minute Rodney and Tanya Hollman are sold on the Turkish Kangal breed. Kangals don’t give up on a predator until it’s dead, and can go up to 14 miles chasing an intruder such as a wolf, bear, or, in their native land, jackals. They’ve even been exported to deal with cheetahs and leopards in Africa. Read […] Read more

4-H Canada Club to Club Exchange a memory-making ‘whirlwind
Reading Time: 3 minutes When the 4-H’ers from Newfoundland met their hosts from Pincher Creek District 4-H, the kids in both groups were shy, awkward, and a little bit (or even very) apprehensive. Seven days later, “we could tell when the kids were saying goodbye that they were going to miss each other,” said chaperon Myra Hammond. Fortunately, they […] Read more