Michael Hicks first realized he had wild boar on his pasture after setting up a game camera over Thanksgiving. After Hicks shot two of the pigs, the rest scattered. But one pig keeps returning. Hicks thinks it lost its mate after the scramble, and is hoping to reunite. Note the long hair.

Wild boar cause trouble on farms

There are many feral wild boar across the Prairies, but few of us will ever actually see them

Michael Hicks likes to talk about wildlife. The Glaslyn-area farmer still chuckles about the time he watched a black bear stand as high as it could on its hind legs, longing for out-of-reach oats in a grain truck. But just after Thanksgiving, Hicks’ game camera recorded something new in his pasture near Thunderchild Reserve, in northwestern […] Read more

Mike Lamb, left, giving the author some last minute advice on the next well-planned pheasant hunting trip.

Southern Alberta pheasants can rest easy

Lee Hart is leaving his gun in the cabinet this season, but he still has all those memories

This is the first October in about 40 years my phone hasn’t been ringing daily to see if I am ready to go bird hunting. Got your gun ready? Got your shells? Got your licence? When are you coming down? (That referred to me leaving Calgary and travelling to southern Alberta). This is upland game […] Read more


3-D fence graphic

Defend against deer with a 3-D fence

When tried and true methods just don’t work, a 3-D fence can keep deer out

With the increasing number of grain bags in the countryside, deer have learned that there is a feast waiting for them in grain bags. Once a bag is opened, other animals join the buffet. Never mind what gets eaten, but storage losses from moisture entering the bags, excreta, downgrading factors and foreign material add up […] Read more

grain bag in a field

Keep wildlife away from grain bags

As grain bags become more popular and are in use for more time, farmers 
are looking for new ways to keep wildlife away from their grain

The amount of grain being stored in bags has increased greatly in recent years. This winter, producers are faced with the task of preventing damage to the 2014 crop still stored in bags. Many producers are asking what the most effective, simplest and economical means of reducing damage are because, as one farmer said, “It’s […] Read more