At least 3 new faces at CWB

Ken Ritter, James Chatenay and Ian McCreary have served three terms as director, so they can’t run in the upcoming Canadian Wheat Board election. That means we’ll see at least three new faces on the CWB board of directors. Incumbents Rod Flaman, district 8, and Bill Toews, district 10, are running for re-election and they […] Read more

Tips for a successful calf weaning strategy

Autumn is a time of year when many spr ing calves are brought home from pasture, where they’ve spent the last six months or so, and then put into drylot with feed bunks and waterers. Many calves are not ready for this move and because they miss their mums, could be hungry or simply miss […] Read more


If you take time now to list the repairs your combine needs for next harvest, you can spend the winter shopping for cheap parts and doing the repairs when downtime is not so costly

Our neighbour needed a new tire for his combine a few years back. He looked around and found a whole combine with good tires for the price of one new tire. “ What the heck’s wrong now?” you say to yourself. The combine has just made an odd bang, clatter or crunch (pick the appropriate […] Read more

Money for on-farm projects has dried up, but EFP’s still have value

Environmental Farm Plan workshops are still going in Saskatchewan and will start up again in Alberta next month. Manitoba awaits a funding announcement from the federal government. The EFP program, which was launched in Western Canada five years ago under the federal Agricultural Policy Framework, essentially wrapped up early in 2008. This put program delivery, […] Read more


Bull problems, and a wonderful trip

SEPTEMBER 22 It’s been freezing hard every night. Andrea and a friend helped us get some firewood. Winter is on it’s way! I’ve been working on a revision and update for my book Storey’s Guide To Raising Beef Cattle. My publisher (Storey) likes to update their books, and since it’s been 10 years since this […] Read more

This is what General Motors claims for its GMC Sierra and Chevrolet Silverado hybrid pickups — which are new for 2009

Like other hybrids, the Sierra and Silverado operate in autostop mode, where the gasoline engine shuts off when operating conditions are right and the vehicle is at a stop. As soon as power is required from the gasoline engine, the transmission electric motors instantly start it up. GM’s two-mode hybrid powertrain first appeared in the […] Read more


Sinking grain and oilseed prices combined with uncertainty over input costs has farmers throwing all sorts of ideas into the mix for 2009. Summerfallow is, at this point, a slim possibility for farmers who don’t normally plan to leave fields idle

Roller coaster markets and soaring input costs have many Western Canadian farmers in a complete state of confusion this fall. Are markets going to stabilize or rebound? Will input prices — particularly the price of fertilizer and fuel — drop by spring? It is a tough call and there doesn’t seem to be any clear […] Read more

French wines, wind mills and Swiss chocolate

That headline about somes up 10 days in Europe, with five more ’til I get home. So far I have hit three countries — France, Holland and Switzerland — and what I have seen is a world of entrepreneurs, marketers, challenges and opportunities. I came to France to attend SIAL Paris, one of Europe’s largest […] Read more


Alberta woman creates works of art

Artworks by Sandra Scherger encompasses a wide variety of art forms — pencil sketches, acrylics, coloured pencil, watercolours and DVD slide shows. Sandra, who has always been involved in art and was always encouraged by her family, was nine when she realized that perhaps she did have a talent for art. At this point her […] Read more



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