I attended Cliff Flauknor’s funeral in Calgary this week. Many of you may not know Cliff, who was a long-time writer for Country Guide Magazine. In fact, I didn’t know him very well either. I had met him, knew him by reputation mostly, but he had retired from Guide a decade or so before I […] Read more
Have times changed?
Red Feather Ridge replacing cattle and crops
Doug and Cheryl Livingstone and family have been producing grain and purebred Hereford cattle on their Vermillion, Alberta area farm for many years. But, as Doug recently noted, speaking to the Canadian Farm Writers Federation conference in Edmonton, “food doesn’t gain any real value until after it leaves the farm gate.” So the Livingstones have […] Read more
Wind-powered alfalfa
Power generating wind turbines are appearing everywhere across the country, but I bet Alberta still holds the record for having winds that can push round hay bales around. Oddly enough these pictures were sent to me by my brother-in-law, Walter, who lives in Carp, Ontario (just outside Ottawa). Supposedly they are aerial photos of hay […] Read more
Finding perspective on Swine Flu
After months of planning, I have now completed my H1N1 (Swine Flu) Management Strategy. Here it is: “If I get it, I will probably feel sick for a few days until it is over.” The End. I just hope it works. I know these may be my “famous last words’, but my alarm level over […] Read more
What a bunch of dopes
I know that Canada’s health care system isn’t perfect, but I think we all have a reasonable and realistic expectation that every man, woman and child, regardless of their economic status, will receive necessary medical treatment as needed. So it to some degree amazes me to see the panic in the U.S. as President Obama […] Read more
Hargrave aims to drought proof 120 year old ranch
I spent part of a day recently at the Hargrave Ranch northeast of Medicine Hat, (just north of Walsh actually, on the Alberta/Saskatchewan border) and I was duly impressed with the skill and management of James Hargraves, who is the fourth generation managing the sprawling native-prairie operation that covers a couple townships. At 26-years of […] Read more
Retired grain farmer sows golf course plans
Old farmers never die. Some may slow down, or in Ted Shipley’s case, the now-retired, long time Glenwood-Alberta area farmer, is finally realizing a long-shelved plan to turn about 100 acres of river bottom land along the Waterton River into a RV-campground and golf course. Shipley, who is a confessed snowbird who heads for Arizona […] Read more
If it ain’t ‘instant’ we’re in trouble
I sat next to a young Edmonton girl on a flight from Ottawa to Calgary recently, and she was extremely frustrated at how slow the touch-screen TV in back of the seat she faced worked. This was an Air Canada flight, every passenger had a small TV screen in the back of the seat in […] Read more
Add Winter Cereals To Fall Plans
Despite what appears to be a crappy growing season in many parts of Western Canada this year, don’t rule out the possibility of planting a winter cereal crop this fall. And in fact, planting winter wheat, fall rye or winter triticale this September may be the silver lining around an otherwise dismal cropping cloud. Certain […] Read more
Hit The Winter Wheat Window
(Dr. Brian Fowler 2002) OPTIMAL DATE FOR WINTER WHEAT SEEDING LOCATION DATE 1. Lethbridge, Alta. 2. Maple Creek/Estevan, Sask. 3. Kindersley/Swift Current, Sask. 4. North Battleford/Saskatoon/ Wynyard/Yorkton, Sask. September 9 September 6 September 3 August 30 Seed at the right time. Have good stubble cover. Those are two key elements to winter wheat success. Long-time […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
