Reading Time: 2 minutes The old saying “too much of a good thing” doesn’t seem to apply to Alberta’s beef-packing companies. The Feb. 11th announcement that XL Foods (a Nilsson Bros. company) will receive $1.6 million in Growing Forward/ALMA funding over the next two years to increase the value-added production capacity of their Lakeside, Brooks plant follows hot on […] Read more
No Money For Producer-Owned Plants, But Subsidies For Big Ones
Reader Finds Too Many Overriding Provisions In Land-Use Bills
Reading Time: 3 minutes Harvey Buckley’s opinion advising me not to “throw out the baby with the bathwater” (Feb. 14) sent me back to re-read Bill 36 (and 19 and 50). Look as I might, I could not find the “benefits” that Buckley claimed were hiding somewhere in Bill 36. Some might construe the creation of the Regional Advisory […] Read more
Wheat Growers Oppose Wheat Board Vessel Purchase
Reading Time: 3 minutes A shocking announcement has erased all doubt as to the level of contempt that the Canadian Wheat Board holds for Western farmers. The CWB purchased two brand-new ships for the purpose of transporting grain across the Great Lakes. Prairie farmers with no choice in the matter will finance the $65-million purchase over four years. At […] Read more
ALMA May Not Yet Be Ready For A Report Card
Reading Time: 3 minutes Last year I questioned the rationale, cost, and the very existence of the Alberta Livestock and Meat Agency (ALM A). A year later I can report that basically nothing has changed much as to ALMA’s role in the livestock industry. Having said that, there have been some positive changes, which has seen a change of […] Read more
Bill 24 Takes Away Right To Additional Compensation
Reading Time: 3 minutes Bill 24, the Carbon Capture and Storage Statutes Amendment Act, was passed using closure, on Dec. 2, 2010 with very limited debate in the legislature. From a landowners’ perspective this bill expropriated the pore space under our land and gave it to the province – with zero compensation. We might say “so what.” It doesn’t […] Read more
BIC/CBEF Merger Is Not The Best Solution: WSGA
Reading Time: 3 minutes While WSGA recognizes the benefits of having a single marketing/promotion agency, we must register our objection to the proposed narrow and traditional governance model. The checkoff-funded provincial organizations and the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association have consistently demonstrated a bias towards North American trade. That likely is the result of their mandatory and universal “membership” limiting their […] Read more
The Business Case For Buying Ships
Reading Time: 2 minutes The Canadian Wheat Board has decided to purchase two lake vessels, based on a very strong business case that will result in significant economic benefits for Prairie farmers. This investment will generate revenue for decades to come, and pay for itself many times over – just as CWB ownership of rail hopper cars has done. […] Read more
Rural Alberta Big Part Of Premier’s Downfall
Reading Time: 3 minutes It was an announcement that caught Albertans by surprise, but upon reflection it was probably expected sooner or later. The urban media speculated on the alleged palace revolt that led to Premier Stelmach’s sudden “intend to resign” announcement. Be that as it may there is always more to the story. What those observers missed was […] Read more
Bill 36 — Don’t Throw Out The Baby With The Bathwater
Reading Time: 2 minutes Do we really know who is the driving force and funder for a series of meetings which started in the County of Rocky View last March over the dissatisfaction with the Land Use Framework process and the subsequent legislation, the Alberta Land Stewardship Act or Bill 36? In theAlberta FarmerJan. 17 edition it was encouraging […] Read more
What Canada Must Do To Help Fight Looming Food Crisis
Reading Time: 3 minutes John Kennelly is dean of the faculty of agricultural, life and environmental sciences at the University of Alberta and president of the Canadian Faculties of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine. Douglas Hedley is executive director of the Canadian Faculties of Agriculture and Veterinary Medicine. This is submitted on behalf of all 13 deans of agricultural science […] Read more
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