Author: Megan Oleksyn

By Megan Oleksyn Peas, barley and corn, oh my! Here in Western Canada, there are many different forage crops that can be cost-effectively turned into silage for cattle. High River area rancher, Phil Rowland, comments that silage is €œthe easiest way to put up a consistent quality forage crop in Alberta€™s variable climate conditions.€ And… Read More

By Megan Oleksyn Recently I attended the Western Stock Growers€™ Association€™s (WSGA) summer meeting, this year held in Donalda, AB. Why Donalda, you ask? I asked the same question after I got out my google map and found out just where Donalda was. The answer to €˜why Donalda?€™ really intrigued me.  In this small Alberta… Read More

By Megan Oleksyn, It all started as an alternative market for Lanigan, Sk area farmers to sell their grain. It is now a 28,500 head/year feedlot, a 13 million litre ethanol plant and a great asset to the community. Pound-Maker began in 1970, as a 2500 head feedlot so local farmers had an alternative market… Read More

By Megan Oleksyn Many Western Canada farmers are asking themselves €œWhat next?€ After a dry, cold spring and summer, we are now faced with a wet, cold harvest. When the snow first flew two weeks ago, it was expected to melt and disappear. But now, moving into the middle of October, farmers are hoping not… Read More

From roping and riding to pulling a calf at 40 below, there are many traditions that go along with the ranching lifestyle. Branding livestock is one of those traditions that is still upheld to this day in Alberta. But when did the smell of burning hair become indicative of a tradition? And when did that… Read More