A flurry of activity on the property rights front may signal a real change in attitude and even legislation of the Alberta government. Or, it may be the politics we’ve come to see as usual, words and small actions with
Some people call them speed goats, others call them antelope, and some just call them delicious, but the pronghorn (Antilocapra Americana) is undoubtedly a grasslands icon. They are a rare remaining vestige of the Ice Age era, known for its
New technology always seems to start out looking like more trouble than it’s worth –remember the time and effort early zero-tillers put into building and fixing their own seeding equipment? Precision farming, except for guidance, seems to have been stuck
Lori Sigurdson, Alberta’s new labour minister, announced recently that Alberta’s agriculture industry should expect to be included in workplace safety legislation – but the extent of the changes are not yet known. The news isn’t really news – the industry
It was only a few years ago when drama over check-off dollars spilled over into every aspect of the Alberta cattle business. Organizations such as the Alberta Cattle Feeders’ Association (ACFA) and the Western Stock Growers’ Association fought to make
Food security is an area of increasing importance for many nations in light of concerns over fresh water availability, arable land, burgeoning populations and climate change – and that has caused the land market to heat up on a global
A new monitoring system is providing scientists and veterinarians with information on production and animal health issues and priorities across western Canada’s cow-calf industry. It’s a network of cattle producers from various parts of the prairie provinces who have agreed
It’s official – Rich and Jeremy Vesta, the father-son team that has formed the public face of Harmony Beef, has set a date for when the Balzac plant will be back in business. “We’ll be killing on April 4,” said
Late last year, it was discovered that a scary superbug gene has now been found in Canada, from two ground beef samples and an E. coli culture from an infected patient. I know the word “super” is thrown around a
For years, we’ve heard about how much better the easily readable, fully writable ultra-high frequency (UHF) livestock RFID ear tags are compared to the current low-frequency industry standard. If you are asking, ‘If they are so great, where the heck
Most national treasures are carefully stored and just photographed and looked at occasionally. Canada’s genetic resources are stored with great care, but parts are always in use, being tested, shared and regenerated – under careful supervision. Every time a new
Just before Christmas last year, Dean Cresswell took his dogs for a quick walk in an empty field beside a Canadian Tire in Windsor, Ontario. Halfway through the field, he chanced on a gruesome find: a small brown dog, its
