Spreading agriculture awareness through the airwaves. Growing up on a mixed grain and cattle farm, Emmett Sawyer was involved in agriculture from a young age, balancing chores, schoolwork and team sports. “I wouldn't have traded those experiences of growing up on the farm for anything,” Sawyer said. “I think the best part about growing up on the farm is that you really get a great idea of where your food comes from and how your food is produced.” Originally from a farm just w

In Canada, it’s common to find a grocery store, convenience store, or even a farmers’ market in your area. How often have you visited, pushed a cart around, and seen the variety of available food on the shelves? Maybe you’ve selected the best fruits and vegetables from the stacks or picked your favourite meat and dairy products from the refrigerated displays. But have you ever stopped to think about how it got there? Food goes through a cycle from production to waste manageme

Grow your very own gratitude garden and watch the good things in your life flourish! This craft is a simple and fun way to reflect on all...

Gluten is a protein found in most grains, including wheat, rye, spelt, and barley. It is found in the endosperm (a type of tissue produced in seeds that are ground to make flour) and nourishes plant embryos during germination. Gluten is an enormous composite protein, the largest known, that consists of a strong, stretchy mesh of smaller proteins linked by molecular bonds. These smaller proteins are glutenin, which has a long, chainlike shape, and gliadins, which are shorter a

Cinnamon reminds me of the holidays. The smell and taste brings me to a magical place. Once an exotic spice that only the wealthy could afford, cinnamon is now a popular pantry staple used to flavour both sweet and savoury dishes. Cinnamon comes from the inner bark of a medium-size evergreen tree whose outer bark has been scraped off at harvesting. The inner bark, beaten out in long lengths, curls as it dries to form the familiar hard brown rolls or quills. Cinnamon originat

Colouring can be a useful tool for relaxation, and it's not just for kids! Colouring has been shown to have similar effects as...

The Mental Health Commission of Canada, along with allied mental health organizations, have been working hard over the past several...

It's holiday season and for many this includes a family gathering and a feast of turkey. We recently visited with Laurel Winter of Winter's Turkeys to learn more about turkey production from farm to fork.

This month in our Story of Food series we are featuring - Cranberries. We recently had a visit with Bruce May at CranWest Farms who connects the cranberry story from farm to fork, or in this case crantini glass.

As part of our Homegrown series, we recently zoomed in to chat with Joe Chowaniec about his new book 'Abandoned Alberta.' The history of Alberta as seen through the lens of a camera. Enjoy!

In the second edition of Ag for Life's Nourishing Minds Lunch and Learn series, I had the opportunity to visit with Kim McConnell, Founder of AdFarm and Scott Bolton, CEO and President of United Farmers of Alberta Co-operative Limited. Kim and Scott are the principal authors of the Strategic Action Plan report created as an output of the Business Council of Alberta's Agriculture & Forestry Sector Table. The report outlines six planks for growth for agriculture and forestry in

Youth in Canada have faced many unforeseen challenges this school year. Challenges such as navigating the new restrictions imposed...

The Christmas season is upon us, and as the weather turns frosty and the snowflakes fall, festive decorations and glowing lights begin to spring up around the country, keeping our spirits bright. Christmas trees are a big part of the holiday season for many families—a tradition that started in Germany in the sixteenth century and is still going strong today.(1) In Canada, Christmas trees were introduced in the eighteenth century with the arrival of German settlers, but gained

So what exactly is fear and where does it come from? Fear is a natural, powerful, and primitive human emotion. Fear can surface when one...

We are living in a day and age where we are constantly plugged in. Our attention is being pulled in many directions with the use of...

2020 has brought an enormous amount of change to our daily lives, as we have been forced to continually adjust our lifestyle due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Many companies have transitioned employees into working from home scenarios as a means to minimize unnecessary contact and to mitigate the spread of COVID-19. Working from home brings about new challenges when it comes to finding a work-life balance. In many ways, working from home has introduced more convenience and flexib

Your mindset impacts your emotions and reactions in any given situation. Mindset has a critical role in how you cope and navigate life’s...

Personal Protective Equipment Even with safety guidelines and protocols in place, incidents in the workplace can happen. The primary function behind personal protective equipment (PPE) is to minimize the risk of exposure to workplace hazards—it does not prevent or reduce the them. According to Mark Tse, director of engineering, environment, health, and safety at United Farmers of Alberta (UFA), the first line of defence against workplace incidents are safety regulations and p

Everyone eats. We need to in order to survive, but our relationship with food has grown far beyond basic survival and into another human...

Have you ever wanted your very own cow? This paper cow may not be exactly like the real thing, but hey---a paper cow is better than no...