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As ASB chairman,
and on behalf of my
fellow colleagues, I
would like to wish each
and every one of you
a very Merry Christmas
and all the best in
the New Year!
SANDRA MELZER
Councillor
[email protected]
780.307.3173
Message from the Chairperson
2019 was a Challenging Year
As we near the end of 2019 and look back at the year that was, plenty of
negative thoughts surface. 2019 was a challenge in practically every facet of
the agricultural industry. Another wet year after a series of others; downward
livestock markets; rising input costs; and let’s not forget about world politics.
We have little or no control over all of these factors, and yet they affect our
everyday lives. Each of these damning events affect the marketplaces for our
products and the value we receive for them.
But let’s put that aside for a moment and remember all the incredible
things we do have! As rural residents, we possess gifts that cannot be taken
away as they exist in our hearts and souls. They are borne of many years
of perseverance, defined by the backbone in our rural communities. We just
need to stop for a moment and think of all the good things that we have
in our lives: freedom, family, friends, our community spirit and the roof over
our heads. When we look closely around the world, we are indeed very
fortunate to be where we are today!
At this special time of the year, please take a few moments to share and
enjoy the holiday season with your friends and family. Remember how
blessed we truly are; when it is all said and done, those moments are
the moments most precious.
Clubroot of Canola
This season offered unique
challenges to the municipality and
producers alike. Mother Nature
was uncooperative for most of
the 2019 summer season as it
rained incessantly and only offered
moments of sunshine. Preliminary
surveys were successfully
completed for 88 percent of the
planted canola fields within the
municipality. This survey was
conducted to scout for symptoms
of clubroot in the field primary
entrance. Precedence is given to
those fields that have been known
to previously have had clubroot
symptoms found, parcels of land
surrounding those infested and
parcels with back to back canola
grown. 51 parcels of land were
planted to Canola, 45 fields of
Canola where surveyed and none of
the quarters missed were of priority
or high risk. No symptoms of
clubroot were found in the surveys.
Sniffing out Clubroot
This fall in canola fields near Brooks
and in Leduc County, two sniffer
dogs were on the hunt for clubroot
galls. Michael Harding, a research
scientist of plant pathology with
Alberta Agriculture and Forestry,
and dog trainer Mario Bourque
from New Brunswick teamed up
to perform a field test for the
dogs. Josie, a 2-year-old German
Shepherd and Adi, a 13-month-old
Golden Doodle, had been training
for three months prior to and
once they were successfully able
to detect clubroot in clinical trials
they were ready to go out into the
field. Harding also stated that these
canines have the possibility to be
trained to alert their trainer to
other diseases such as Fusarium,