Plant pathologist Ieuan Evans looks at still-circulating miconceptions about pine and spruce trees, shelterbelts, salt, dog food, bison, milk and more.
Tag Archives bison
Common mistakes and misinformation
Practical Research: A compendium of miscellaneous misconceptions now floating around farm country
Where species conservation was the aim of the game
Practical Research: The Alberta Game Farm was the visionary innovation of a remarkable Canadian
When I moved from Guelph to Edmonton in 1974, I quickly found out Alberta had the world’s biggest and most innovative game farm. It was called the Alberta Game Farm, later called Polar Park, some 25 km west of the city. This farm, situated on 500 hectares (1,236 acres), was truly incredible. The huge open-air […] Read more
At Agribition: Northern community integrates tech, education into market garden
Flying Dust working to improve operation's food distribution
Riverside Market Garden, operated by Flying Dust First Nation, started in 2009 with two people and an old alfalfa field. Today it employs about 20 people, plus summer students; provides food for the community and some wholesalers; and gives youth a chance to learn about agriculture. Over the years the First Nation, just north of […] Read more
Applying management to pasture weed control
Maintaining a healthy forage stand is best defence against weeds
Peter Tokar and Jacques Saquet are two Manitoba livestock producers who have applied changes in management practices to help control some particularly difficult pasture weed infestations. Tokar, who owns a mixed farm — primarily a beef cow-calf operation — near Swan River in west-central Manitoba, deals with patches of burdock on his pastures. Saquet, who […] Read more
Bison industry expanding, becoming mainstream
Bison meat emerging from 'seasonal' perception
MarketsFarm — The Canadian bison industry has been through some difficult times during the last few years but is now emerging from those doldrums, according to Manitoba Bison Association president Robert Johnson. “Between the two drought years and the COVID-19 pandemic, then high feed prices, probably the last two years have been pretty crappy for […] Read more
Bison, buffalo and beefalo
A brief history of the North American bison and how its story almost ended in extinction
What’s in a name? The big imposing animals that roamed the North American prairies and northern woodlands were called buffalo. Strictly speaking, buffalo are African and Asian cattle, distinct species from the North American and European animals. Technically and biologically speaking, our buffalo are not buffalo but bison. The North American Plains buffalo is classified […] Read more
Set-aside funded for Quebec hog, cattle, big game producers
Feds, province pledge $21.8 million AgriRecovery plan
Farmers tending feeder hogs, fed cattle and big game animals such as elk, red deer, bison and wild boar in Quebec can expect $21.8 million in AgriRecovery to compensate for COVID-19’s drag on the province’s slaughter capacity. Federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau and her Quebec counterpart Andre Lamontagne on Thursday announced their governments’ respective 60-40 […] Read more
Cattle set-aside programs winding down
Final enrolment deadlines set for Saskatchewan, Alberta programs
AgriRecovery programs set up in Saskatchewan and Alberta to help cover feed costs for cattle producers unable to ship livestock to slaughter are gearing down, while Ontario’s program begins a third intake. Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. announced Friday that the province’s AgriRecovery set-aside program will end March 31, 2021, with Jan. 19 now set as […] Read more
Bison and sheep need to keep their distance
Animal Health: Malignant catarrhal fever can quickly kill mature bison
One of the serious diseases we see in bison but much less frequently in cattle is MCF or Malignant catarrhal fever, usually resulting from some interaction between bison and sheep. The MCF family of diseases is seen in 33 species. Clinical signs are a high fever, lethargy and weakness, with ocular and nasal discharge leading […] Read more
Mother and daughter both use bison for their cottage industries
Whether it’s tallow for soap or fibre for yarn, bison are a handy, nearby source
One of Barb Janzen’s enjoyable summer activities is roaming the quiet countryside foraging for wild rose petals, wild chamomile, sage, yarrow and mint to use in her homemade soap. Janzen, her husband Don, and his brother Larry raise bison near Glenbush, Saskatchewan, and having now retired from a long nursing career, she is eager to […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
