Clayton Schafers, Laura Gadowsky (deputy president of the Royal Agricultural Society), Heather Shewchuk of Northlands, and Laura Bodell in Singapore.

Singapore trip offers Albertan a new global view on agriculture

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

Doug Wray

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


Reno and Corine Welsch wanted to preserve their land 
for future generations.

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

“I believe that the desire to look after your own land is almost universal. ALUS helps you take that concern and put it into action.” – Gerry Taillieu

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


Pizza Night at Rowley’s Sam’s Saloon can attract up to 150 people in the town that has 
only eight permanent residents.

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

In the early days, grain from growing projects was bagged and sacks were shipped in boxcars before going overseas. In 2008, Ottawa dropped its rule requiring government funds to be used to buy food grown in Canada. This allowed the Foodgrains Bank to sell grain here and buy food closer to the areas where it provides food assistance.

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


The recently concluded FCC Drive Away Hunger collected enough food for 6.7 million meals, far surpassing this year’s goal.


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

Rodney and Tanya Hollman want to give their dog Marleigh the freedom 
to roam but still keep her on their farm property.

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



They were shy strangers for a day or so, but these Albertan and Newfie 4-H’ers quickly became fast friends when they hosted each other this summer.

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