Snow-covered truck

A look at engine heater options

Winter Maintenance: Different types of heaters, different types of installation

I have used five types of engine heaters over the years: magnetic oil pan heaters, stick-on heaters, lower radiator hose heaters, heater hose engine heaters, and engine block heaters. For those of us that operate trucks and equipment every day during cold weather I recommend keeping a good magnetic oil pan heater in a place […] Read more

The federal carbon tax is already working!

The federal carbon tax is already working!

Hart Attacks: It's a miracle. I haven't been feeling any global warming on the Prairies this January


I don’t know what the country is whining about. Alberta’s Climate Change Leadership program (I love that label), also known as a carbon tax, IS WORKING! As I pointed out to my inner circle in an earlier Facebook post, January 2017 is already much colder than it was in late December 2016, so just having […] Read more


The TM320 is the largest machine in JCB’s two-model articulated, 
telescopic material handler line.

JCB updates its ag materials handling equipment

New features designed to improve performance and operator comfort on loaders

The Bamford family that owns equipment manufacturer JCB also runs a large farming operation in England, not far from the brand’s World Headquarters facility at Rocester. (JCB is actually company founder Joseph Cyril Bamford’s initials.) So the farm is a handy place to test and prove the machines the company puts its name — or, […] Read more

A meadow is inspected to see if it fulfills the requirements for the subsidy program — diversity of plant species.

Two markets; two attitudes

Letters from Europe: European growers work in a different policy and market environment 
than Prairie farmers

Recently a Swiss workshop speaker, Ruedi Sutter, commented on the many changes to Swiss agriculture in the last 30 years. It caused me to contemplate the similarity and difference of changes compared to western Canadian farmers. What I see when I visit “home” (Alberta), confirms my research on the web. The January 2016 report from […] Read more


(PC.gc.ca)

Canada reintroduces bison to Banff National Park

Calgary | Reuters — Parks Canada has reintroduced a herd of plains bison to the country’s oldest national park in Banff, Alta., officials said on Monday, more than 130 years after the iconic North American animal last grazed the eastern slopes of the Canadian Rockies. The conservation team moved 16 bison from a protected herd […] Read more

Man Suffering From Back Pain Whilst Gardening

Low back pain common in farmers

High incidences due to the mix of manual labour and seated positions in most ag jobs

Low back pain — one of the world’s most prevalent musculoskeletal complaints. A study done in 2010 estimated that 21.7 billion people are affected globally per year from some form of low back pain, usually attributed to a work-related cause. The highest relative risk factor, according to the study, was agriculture-related work. Not surprising, given […] Read more


The 2017 competitors in the Canadian Truck King Challenge.

How do the newest pickups compare?

Judges at the 2017 Canadian Truck King Challenge rate the competition

The Canadian Truck King Challenge is an annual event where automotive journalists get together to evaluate the current pickup truck offerings from all brands. This year we had a field of 11 pickup trucks, falling into four classes: midsize, half ton, three-quarter ton and one-ton trucks. All pickups are tested in the same way, by […] Read more

All trucks were driven along the same predetermined route so judges could more accurately compare them.

PHOTOS: The competitors: 2017 truck lineup

The Canadian Truck King Challenge is an annual event where automotive journalists get together to evaluate the current pickup truck offerings from all brands. This year offered a field of 11 pickup trucks, falling into four classes: midsize, half ton, three-quarter ton and one-ton trucks.


Farm Financial Planner: Tax planning critical for farm widow

More paperwork leads to lower taxes for this farm widow and her adult children

A couple we’ll call Lisa and Herbert emigrated to Canada 34 years ago. They left a small farm in England and bought a 1,120 acre farm in central Manitoba. With their children, a daughter, now 51, and a son, now 48, they ran a mixed grain and beef operation. Herbert passed away in 2010. Lisa, […] Read more