Reading Time: 3 minutes A biosolid-based fertilizer that has improved soil and reduced greenhouse gas emissions in the forestry sector could, with research, be useful for agriculture, according to one University of Alberta professor. Scott Chang’s research combined pulp mill waste with conventional fertilizer to support growth of hybrid poplar trees in northern Alberta. The idea was to develop […] Read more
Building a better fertilizer from wood waste
Fertilizer from pulp mill byproduct has worked in the forestry industry, but would need research before applying it to ag
Driven by passion, preservationists find new uses for old farm buildings
Reading Time: 5 minutes For 17 years, Michael Gerrand drove the roads and back roads of southern Alberta for his job as a grazing specialist. He loved the job and he loved the travel, but there was one thing he’d see every day that stuck in his craw. “I started to see this trend of all of these beautiful […] Read more
Gone from the skyline, parts of Prairie sentinels live on
More than 5,000 wooden elevators are gone but some of their beautiful old-growth timbers survive
Reading Time: 2 minutes They’re mostly gone now, but parts of some of them will live on. Alberta’s first wooden grain elevator was constructed in 1895 and at the peak in the 1930s, there were nearly 1,800 of them. Today, there are only 88 left, more falling victim to demolition every year. More than 5,000 wooden grain elevators across […] Read more
Timber is a winner for Caroline cattle producer
Custom milling trees from his woodlot pays better than just selling raw logs, says Will Vohs
Reading Time: 4 minutes Cruise the countryside in certain parts of Alberta, and there are bright-yellow signs stapled to power poles advertising that someone is ‘Looking For Wood.’ After reading what Caroline-area farmer Will Vohs has discovered, landowners may want to think twice before signing over their woodlots too quickly. That’s because Vohs says he can manufacture a 12-inch […] Read more
Family sawmill a link to the pioneer days of Alberta
Reading Time: 2 minutes It’s well known that the Leonardo DiCaprio movie “The Revenant” was filmed in southern Alberta. What’s not is that a lot of building materials used to create the West of 1820s came from the Brooks Sawmill near Cochrane. The film is one of several westerns the sawmill has supplied among its highly eclectic client list. […] Read more
What makes the best firewood?
Reading Time: < 1 minute Pound for pound, what is the best firewood? Actually, they’re all the same. “The main variation between different species is the tree density, which means they have different calorific values (amounts of heat) per volume of wood,” said bioenergy/agroforestry specialist Toso Bozic. “A cubic foot of air-dried white birch weighs about 16 kilograms, while the […] Read more
Thinking of buying a sawmill?
Kerf, daily production, and whether you want to saw lumber at the harvesting site are some of the key factors
Reading Time: 2 minutes Woodlot and acreage owners wanting some lumber cut can either pay someone to custom mill their trees or buy a sawmill and do it themselves. “If it’s the latter, there are several things to consider before buying,” said provincial bioenergy/agroforestry specialist Toso Bozic. “These include the size of your operation, the sawmill type you buy, […] Read more
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