“That’s a $2.5 billion hit. They call that leakage. I call that a flood.” – DAN MAZIER Dan Mazier has a bold vision for the future of the small towns and villages across the windswept Prairies. He pictures wind turbines above every community that would work night and day to harvest energy from the sky,
Community development blowing in the wind, says Mazier
New twists on growing nitrogen, building soil organic matter
It is well known that alfalfa and other legumes in a crop rotation fix nitrogen from the atmosphere into the soil. What may be less widely understood, however, is the extra boost that more diverse crop rotations offer to long-term yields in the form of increased organic matter. This phenomenon is described by soil scientists
Answer to fertilizer woes blowing in the wind, says researcher
Brandon Here’s an interesting experiment: On a hot day, open a six-pack of beer with your buddies and start drinking. When there’s only two left, observe the dynamics. The degree of thirst and the attitudes of the company present will determine how the situation gets resolved. That in a nutshell, describes the current global fossil
Bison meat now on shelves at Wal-Mart, Target stores in U. S.
“We learned a lot of lessons throughout BSE, and now it’s working out for us.” – LEN EPP Cattle producers who may have smirked when the bison breeding stock bubble burst just over half a decade ago, may now be biting their lips. Driven by strong demand from the United States, the shaggier bovines are
Three Cs still affecting cattle prices
“Consumers continue to choose to eat beef, but we see a change in eating habits in favour of less expensive meats.” – LYNDSAY SMITH Don’t pin your hopes on a quick recovery in the cattle market just yet. Although the Canadian cattle herd has been shrinking by leaps and bounds over the past year, volatility
Feeding cattle on the cheap
Brandon When does one plus one equal four? It can, according to Duane Thompson, who operates a mixed grain and cattle operation on an eight-section block of land south of Kelliher, Saskatchewan. Tying up all the loose ends on his farm creates looped synergies for an optimized system that keeps his production costs low and
Pigeons more popular, interest in poultry plummeting
“When I was a kid, it was the other way around. Poultry was the thing and pigeons were less prominent.” – O Pilchar Brandon In a huge room at Brandon’s Keystone Centre, the cages are filled with countless breeds of pigeons. Near the back, are a few rows of colourful chickens and ducks. It wasn’t
New use found for flax byproduct
On blustery nights in the dead of winter, sometimes the wood stove just doesn’t seem big enough to fit all the wood needed to keep the house warm until morning. Kevin Lumb believes he has the solution: a log made from highly compressed flax shives that burns cleaner and hotter than oak and belts out
Biodiesel back on the radar
“Now that the bubble has burst, they’re getting more serious about it again.” – DUSTIN WILLIAMS With canola prices yanked back down to earth from last spring’s stratospheric highs, talk about crushing the oilseed into an environmentally friendly substitute for petroleum-based diesel has been revived. “Is it coming back into fashion? The answer is probably
Fresh ideas for rejuvenating country fairs
“Our last two generations have forgotten how to cook, how to garden, how to sew, how to can.” – Doris Fletcher The volunteers who log countless hours organizing community fairs should not lose sight of why they got involved in the first place, community development expert and motivational speaker Paul Born says. “Caring is the
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
