What is the general history of farming in Edmonton and specific information on the overall industry?

Question

What is the general history of farming in Edmonton and specific information on the overall industry?

Answer 1

Lots of history regarding farming in the city of edmonton and surrounding areas there are many farms on the outskirts of the city and few on the borders within city limits. But all and all out of the city limits. Mainly cattle and feed farms are around edmonton , you will find chicken farms as well,very common. Grain is sparse but mainly feed farms for cattle cand cattle farms.

Answer 2

for the best info go to a piggley wiggley or a moms an pops hardware store an find a farmers almanic

Answer 3

Hi - It's me again - Pampopwheely.  I hope I can answer your question about farming.  Because Edmonton is the capital city of the Province of Alberta, there is no actual farming right in the city.

However, the entire province surrounding Edmonton is full of farms.  There are only a few areas far north in the province that do not successfully farm because some of those areas have too many trees or are too mountainous.  There are a lot of high mountains in the western part of Alberta (the Rocky Mountains).

But for the most part, Alberta is a farming province as well as an oil producing province.  There are all kinds and sizes of farms - some are called ranches.  The farm animals consist mainly of cattle, horses, sheep, pigs and chickens.  There are even a few with bison and elk. Some farms have only one kind of animal and others have two or more kinds.  Many smaller farms or acreages are called "hobby farms' where they have more unusual kinds of animals such as pygmy goats, llamas, alpacas and even peacocks and geese.

The cattle farms or ranches are often huge, having hundreds of cows, some are dairy cows, producing milk and others are beef producers.  The province also has many processing plants so that the milk you drink or the cheese and beef you may eat are all ready for the market before they are sold to them.  Many are kept here in Alberta and its towns and cities but lots are sent further away to the rest of Canada and the United States, just like the oil and gas products are as well.

The other type of farm is that which produces grains - oats, wheat, alfalfa, canola and many other kinds. (Canola is made into the kind of cooking oil you can buy and of course, wheat is made into bread and other similar foods).  Many of the farm animals eat some kinds of these grains as well so some farms are called 'mixed farms.'  As an example, a farmer can have cattle but also grow his own food to feed them and not have to spend more money than necessary to ensure his herd is fed properly.

Owning a farm is very expensive if large enough because it takes a lot of machinery to operate both a grain farm or an animal farm.  Because some farms are so large, a farmer needs a lot of equipment to help him perform his duties.  Otherwise, it would be too much for him to handle, even when he has other people to help him.

Edmonton itself does not do farming exactly but they do have one well-known but different kind of farm, the University Farm.  This is a large piece of land on the south side of the city that has several buildings.  This is where they do studies on all kinds of animals to make sure they are vaccinated properly as well as teaching others how to ensure that their animals are disease-free.  They employ many veterinarians and have done a lot of research over many years.

There is also a college in southern Alberta, located in the town of Olds, called Olds Agricultural College.  This is where people actually learn how to become farmers or want to learn more about the farm they already operate.

Near Olds is another big city similar in size to Edmonton, called Calgary.  Much of the grain farming as well as cattle farming is done around the areas outside Calgary.  The city of Calgary also has a well known exhibition or fair, called the Calgary Stampede.  Many horses and cattle are bred for performing in this stampede and there are other smaller rodeos around the province that take place.

Sometimes, people compare the province of Alberta as being like Texas only colder - we have mainly the same industries - oil and farming or ranching.  The biggest difference is really the weather.  Closer to Edmonton, the farmers have to ensure that their animals are kept warm when the cold and snow arrive.  There are some days that they can only be outside for short periods of time.  

I have often driven by farms to see horses outside on a cold day and they are all wearing their colorful blankets to keep warm.  They likely do not have this as a major problem in Texas.

I hope I have helped a little more in describing Edmonton as well as the province of Alberta and its farm industry.

Answer 4

Wow Creepy....

I live in Edmonton.

Unfortunatly farming is not really my forté sorry :(