By Eric Volmers, Calgary Herald August 2, 2013 8:09 AM

© Copyright (c) The Calgary Herald

Written by Garrett Simmons

Wednesday, 31 July 2013 16:42

 Corn season is now upon us.
But it’s a season that almost wasn’t for some growers, however, as late-June hail and frequent July storms put some of the famous Taber corn crops in jeopardy. But yesterday by mid-morning, Taber corn stands popped up throughout the area.
“We’re on schedule,” said Taber-area grower David Jensen. “The stuff that wasn’t hit by hail is on schedule. It looks good.”
He added even though his fields were the victim of summer storms, along with the crops of many other local growers, the early varieties now on sale are available throughout the region.
“We’re in all southern Alberta.”
But just how much Jensen corn will be available throughout the summer and into the early fall is anyone’s guess at this point.
Hail and wind storms are just part of that equation, according to Jensen.
“There’s been less acres seeded than normal,” he said of Taber’s 2013 corn acreage, which will be greatly influenced by the weather from here on out.
“It depends on what the grade out is for the acres affected by the hail.”
What percentage of his corn that can’t be sold is yet to be determined, according to Jensen, who added the crops hit by hail are recovering, as it was early enough in the season for regrowth to occur.
“It’s coming back nicely,” said Jensen, who added those crops will take longer to mature. “It set it back a week to 10 days.”
Speaking of a week to 10 days, that is the timeframe other growers will likely have their corn available to the public.
“We’re hoping to be out by the beginning or the middle of next week,” said James Molnar, of Molnar’s Corn and Pumpkin Farm near Barnwell, who added none of his fields were hit by hail, even though he planted more acres this season.
“We’re up probably five to seven acres. We have enough for 30,000-40,000 dozen.”
That’s about 5,000-7,000 dozen more than last year, added Molnar, who added he’ll also have seven varieties for sale this year, up from four in 2012.
“It’s looking pretty promising,” he said of the crop, who added this week’s cooler temperatures will slow its maturity.
Molnar added he is looking to expand operations into Lethbridge this year, along with the farm’s traditional roadside location on Highway 3 near Barnwell.
As for Jensen’s corn, which was available in Taber on the weekend, a few days before it made its way to the city, the grower said southern Albertans should be prepared for higher prices.
“Our prices are raised a little higher,” he said, as he mentioned the $7.50 cost per dozen in Lethbridge is not due to decreased supplies due to hail, but other factors. “Labour costs are higher, fuel costs are higher and production costs are higher.”
Just how long southern Albertans will be shelling out for corn this season will be up to Mother Nature. A late-season hail storm, or cool, wet weather would likely limit corn growth from here on out.
Jensen, for his part, added his corn is typically available until about the 10th or 11th of September every year, while other growers, who enter the fray a little later each season, will have product available for a few weeks after that.
“I’ve got corn that will be on track until we get some frost,” said Molnar

Written by Garrett Simmons

Thursday, 06 June 2013 16:36

 The Alberta Beef Producers are not COOL with what the organization calls a failure to comply by the United States with World Trade Organization policy.
The recent deadline for the U.S. to bring its Country of Origin Labelling requirements into compliance with international obligations came and went, as the United States Department of Agriculture published a regulatory change Alberta producers say actually increases the discriminatory impact of COOL.
“It’s not good,” said Bob Lowe, the Nanton-area Zone 2 director of the Alberta Beef Producers. “It’s funny how the U.S. can blatantly disregard the rest of the world.”
What isn’t a laughing matter is the impact COOL could have on the province’s cattle industry, which Lowe added could experience a dramatic hit to its bottom line.
“There’ll be such stringent requirements in the U.S. with product segregation and labelling, and those costs are going to be passed down.”
As requirements will be put in place to inform American shoppers where the animal they are eating was born, raised and slaughtered, Lowe added it’s simply going to cost more in the future to produce a pound of beef. That’s not only bad news for local ranchers and the like, but there are also negatives for facilities down south.
“It could close down plants in the northern U.S. that rely on Canadian cattle,” said Lowe, who’s heard rough estimates over 50,000 jobs could be lost south of the border from a policy which gained steam through two main lobby groups. “From what I understand, RCALF and the National Farmers’ Union were the two groups behind it.”
It all comes down to an issue of fairness, according to Lowe, who added international rules regarding trade are there for a reason.
“The Americans, they are actually close to neutral — they can produce enough beef for themselves, but at the same time, the issue is trade,” said Lowe, who added Western Canadian producers ship a lot of cattle to the U.S., while Eastern Canada imports a lot from its neighbours, which should result in a mutually-beneficial system.
Should COOL produce the type of impact north of the border some fear, Lowe added some agricultural sectors here could be in serious trouble.
“The feeding industry is in dire straights right now, and this is just one more nail in the coffin,” he said, as he also pointed to negatives which will face the cow-calf industry in Alberta.
The Alberta Beef Producers, who also cited additional handling costs on imported livestock in the U.S., put the cost at $25 to $40 per head for Canadian producers, which totals about $640 million per year, as losses incurred since COOL was implemented in late 2008. As a result, the Alberta Beef Producers has joined the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association, and others across the country, to urge the government to take action.
“All we can do is make sure our provincial government and our federal governments realize, and I think they do, how dangerous this is,” said Lowe. “We have to retaliate. We have to make it right, and we can’t take this lying down. This is a major blow to the cattle industry and we will take it before the WTO again and say the U.S. is not complying.”
Alberta cattle producers did receive some good news however, as the federal government announced Canadian beef producers now have full market access to Chile for beef exports, under an agreement which has the potential for growth of up to $10 million in three years.
“We definitely need to create markets outside the U.S.”?said Lowe, who added the U.S. market is still key for Albertans. “Every little bit helps and I?have no idea what kind of a market that is, but 90-per-cent of our exports to the the U.S., so it will never come close to that.”

Irving Oil follows up with announcement it will build $300-million marine terminal in Saint John

By The Canadian Press and Edmonton Journal, Edmonton Journal August 1, 2013 9:36 AM

By William Marsden, Postmedia News July 31, 2013

‘This is why a cleaning protocol is necessary. If Enbridge cannot clean their equipment…STAY OFF MY LAND!’ — Dan Hacault

Experts tell farmers with infected fields to thoroughly clean equipment before moving to a new field — but many question whether the time-consuming chore is worth it. Click here to read more.

EDMONTON- The Redford government has outlined new regulations it says will protect consumers by bringing more transparency to electricity costs. However, not everyone is convinced the move will benefit consumers.

The new regulations come after a review of Bill 50, the legislation that allowed transmission lines to be approved without the regular public hearing process, and deemed lines like the Heartland Transmission Line critical infrastructure.

Now, companies will now be required to prove the cost of all transmission projects is reasonable and prudent. Prior to this, it was up to consumer groups to challenge the cost before the Alberta Utilities Commission (AUC) and prove it was unreasonable.

“We’ve said to companies, ‘you’re going to have to prove that every cent that you say that this is going to cost is a reasonable cost,’” said Bart Johnson, communications director with Alberta Energy.

Wildrose Environment Critic Joe Anglin says the changes don’t go far enough to protect consumers from escalating electric bills. He says the regulations don’t do enough to ensure costs aren’t overrun.

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“We’ve got a real problem with this because we’re not talking hundreds of millions, we’re talking billions and billions of dollars and consumers are going to pay this and there’s absolutely no accountability,” Anglin explained.

The new regulations will apply to all transmission projects, including those that have already been approved, like the lines that will run between Edmonton and Calgary and the portion of the Heartland Transmission Line that is yet to be built.

Karen Shaw, who has long opposed the Heartland because of its cost and location, says it’s too little too late.

“They weren’t willing to do it when these lines first went to the AUC,” she said.

A portion of the line runs right behind her Fort Saskatchewan area farm. She says she hopes the new regulations will be effective in the future.

“To me it’s like closing the door after the horse has gone out.”

With files from Vassy Kapelos, Global News.

Written by Trevor Busch

Tuesday, 16 July 2013 23:02

In preparation for the creation of a draft municipal development plan, the Town of Taber is asking citizens to give their two cents about the future development and direction of the community through a public survey.
“There are some questions that we would like to get feedback on from the residents of Taber, as part of our high-level policy strategy,” said Cory Armfelt, contract director of planning. “What it comes down to at the end of the day is an investment of council dollars for development issues, and the look and feel of the community — where does the money get invested, and what does Taber ultimately look like? The survey is giving us tips on those two items, of how to create that in a draft plan, when we go to write the actual draft plan.”
Town of Taber administration has been working with a steering committee of local residents to identify challenges and opportunities the town faces over the next 20 years. Major items of focus include the industrial area, the downtown, unsightly premises, and economic development. The survey’s purpose is to solicit feedback on a number of key points raised during meetings with the steering committee.
“We are looking for information on the vision statement, what are the good things and the not so good things about life in Taber,” said Armfelt. “We’re looking at residential density — Taber has quite a low residential density, and so how is that handled, is that continued? When things aren’t very dense, you get what we call sprawl.
Sprawl ultimately is much more expensive at the end of the day than a community that has everybody packed into a tighter footprint — there’s expenses with mowing lawns, repairing lots of pipes, and fixing lots of roads.”
Armfelt noted lot splitting and infill developments have become increasingly popular on large lots located on Taber’s south side.
“Is their an appetite to intensify things a little bit more? With lot splits, which were seeing right now especially on the south side, people will buy one lot with a house oriented on either the right or left hand side of it, there’s an opportunity for someone to build another house there, because the original lots are really wide. Some of them are 80’ to 100’ wide. A typical lot is half of  that now. So we’re inquiring about stuff like that.”
With the downtown area experiencing challenges related to building vacancies, unsightly premises, and a lack of vision for the future, Armfelt pointed out there are options for the town to consider when planning for the future of the retail district.
“The downtown is obviously a big one, with the appearance of it, and revitalization. And we’re trying to gauge how far should the town go. There’s been a lot of studies and a lot of work done identifying the problems, but not much on the implementation side. So the questions around the downtown, what we’re trying to do is orient them to the implementation side — these are the issues that we see, these are the issues that these other studies have brought forward, what can we do to resolve some of these things, and what is actually implementable.”
One strategy that could be considered for Taber’s downtown area could involve restricting future retail commercial development to that specific area, among other options.
“With land-use, on the actual use side itself, there’s an area that’s designated as comprehensive commercial around the Wal-Mart area,” said Armfelt. “Businesses that locate around that Wal-Mart are taking opportunities for revitalization away from the downtown. Is that OK with people? Is that not OK? There’s a planning tool there that we could use that says any new commercial business, if you’re a retail commercial type of business, you must locate in the downtown core. Is that something that people have the appetite for or not?”
The survey can be found and completed on online on the Town of Taber’s website, or hard copies can be acquired at the Town of Taber office.
“We’re going to put hard copy surveys, with a poster and some instructions, in the library and at the pool,” said Armfelt.
The deadline for completion and return of the survey by town residents is September 2013. A chance to win a $500 shopping spree in town is being offered for those who attach their names to a completed survey.
“This is a way to help administration formulate that draft plan, so when we actually get down to the writing of that draft plan, what we write is as close as we can get to what people are going to be looking for. So if the community is going to be looking for a kind of made-in-Taber type of plan, that has a lot of Taber voices to it, they should get out and do the survey,” said Armfelt.

Written by Trevor Busch

Thursday, 11 July 2013 20:34

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Rolling blackouts that affected the province’s electrical grid last week are symtoms of weakness in a system that needs to be assessed and overhauled, says Cardston-Taber-Warner MLA Gary Bikman.  “I think it’s an indication that the system itself — I won’t say it’s broken, but it is inadequate, and there are some areas that need to be fixed. The AESO has said the rolling blackouts were the result of low wind generation and planned and unplanned maintenance, and that a transformer substation near Edmonton had failed.” “But with the blackouts last year it just seems we haven’t learned what we perhaps should, or could, have learned. It’s unacceptable for two years running Alberta power consumers have been put at risk, and inconveienced at the very least.” Six northside districts of Lethbridge were affected by the rolling blackouts. Surrounding communities remained unaffected. Ordered by the Alberta Electric Systems Operator (AESO), the blackouts lasted for nearly an hour before AESO lifted the order, as power demand had dropped from a high of 10,062 MW to 9,876 MW. Consumption on July 2 was well below the maximum generation level the province can actually produce, according to Bikman. “(Minister of Energy) Ken Hughes I think is a really good guy, very bright, but I think he needs to drill down a little deeper in his department to get all of the facts. We’re going to need his kind of leadership, or somebody else to step forward to fix the problem. On July 2 there was a peak usage of 10,062 MW — that’s well below the 10,609 MW record consumption in January 2012. Our system has the capacity to supply up to 14,000 MW when all the generators are running at full capacity.”  Hard questions need to be asked about anticipation of electrical demand amongst the province’s electrical producers to prevent these kinds of situations in the future, added Bikman.  “For our system to fail, and for the system to fail to be prepared for hot weather in summer, that puts a lot of us at risk, and I don’t think that’s acceptable. There’s got to be a more efficient and stable way to resolve this and create a system that is capable of handling these peak demands that come along, especially when we’re in the situation we are with the problems with the flooded areas — they’re relying on electricity. Even so, we still didn’t match the peak demand from January 2012.”  Reform may be needed with regard to how power is bought and sold in Alberta, amongst other efforts.  “I think there needs to be (reform),” said Bikman. “We’ve talked about this in our caucus, and I think a lot of right thinking people believe that there needs to be a better job done in that area, and that our core system needs to be redesigned to take advantage of more of the kinds of fuels that are so prevelant and clean burning within out own province, natural gas obviously being one. And too heavy a reliance on wind power, as we seem to be moving toward, as green as it appears to be — the wind doesn’t always blow, and when it doesn’t you have to have redundancies to back it up. I think there are improvements that need to be made in how we purchase electricity.”