Grow, find and connect at the Westerner Park Urban Farm Festival!

Westerner Park has strong agriculture roots as one of the largest agricultural societies in Alberta and what better way to showcase our agriculture then through a celebration of food! The Westerner Park Urban Farm Festival focuses on education, encouraging and inspiring people to be knowledgeable about food production and preservation.

Urban Farm Festival & Planting

Westerner Park Urban Farm Festival, presented by Peavey Mart, is going to have a full day of activities, workshops and demonstrations. The community will learn what they can grow in their own backyard, and so much more! The Festival will be an environment where local producers can showcase their products and share their agricultural story. Guests will enjoy a petting zoo, face painting, local vendors, and local producers.

Let’s come together, learn to grow local food and connect with the community at Westerner Park Urban Farm Festival! Keep reading for details on our keynote speaker and the many awesome workshops you can participate in!

Key Note Speaker:

Shannon and Danny Ruzicka- Pioneer Principles In The Land Of The Entitled
12:30 pm

Shannon Ruzicka, along with her husband Danny, own and operate Nature’s Green Acres, a small farm near Viking, Alberta. There they raise grass fed nouveau beef, pastured lamb and bush-raised heritage pork, which they direct market to individuals and RGE RD restaurant in Edmonton, Alberta. On top of the physical farming, Shannon takes care of the marketing, customer service and troubleshooting of Nature’s Green Acres all the while homeschooling their three children.

In 2016 the Ruzicka’s successfully completed a year long quest to grow and raise all their food. Shannon is in the process of writing a book about their year. Shannon has had the pleasure of speaking at numerous food and farming conferences over the years and looks forward to many more!

Workshops:

Butter Making Presented by Butter Babes
10:30 am
$35

Join me for a fun workshop on making butter where you will learn about what can be made just by using 1 Liter of cream and which household items to use in order to make your own creamy fresh butter! You will be making your own flavorful Compound Butter by selecting fresh herbs and spices from the “butter bar”. All ingredients are included.

Veggie Container Garden Presented by TJ’s Market
12:30 pm
$30

Learn how to grow a bountiful garden in a container. Walk away with your mini garden patch ready to go! Choose from a tomato combo or a pepper combo and add chives, basil, thyme, cilantro or oregano.

Hanging Basket Presented by TJ’s Market
10:30 am
$30

Learn how to plant and grow a beautiful hanging basket. Choose any 4 from Petunias,Lobelia,Pansy, Calibrachoa, Bacopa and Dianthus.

Soil Health & Garden Planning Presented by TJ’s Market
2:30 pm
Free

We want to get you started thinking about how to plan your garden, and taking the first important step of getting the beds ready for planting. Soil health plays a big factor in the success of your garden. In this workshop you will learn how soil compaction, disturbing soil hardpan, living organisms in the soil, weed controls, composting, fertilizers, crop rotation, and raised beds affects your growing potential.

Canning Presented by Peavey Mart
12:30 pm and 2:30 pm

Just like Grandma and Grandpa used to do! Come learn a traditional way to make pickles and jam from the fruit and vegetables in your own garden. We will guide you through how to make your own pickles and jam, explain the basics, tools needed, food safety and more.

Urban Bees Presented by Peavey Mart
10:30 am
Free

Many are becoming aware of the importance of pollinators. While there are a variety of pollinators, this introductory presentation will focus on honeybees. Some municipalities in Western Canada are allowing small scale apiaries. Come hear from a hobbyist beekeeper to provide an introduction to honey bee basics including life cycles, identification, good husbandry, necessary equipment, honey extraction & more.

Urban Hens Presented by Peavey Mart
10:30 am and 12:30 pm
Free

Have you ever wondered what owning backyard chickens would be like? Whether you’re in the city, acreage or even a farm. Red Deer is one of the many cities in Alberta that allow hens in city limits, come hear from chicken owners & experts. This session will cover: A guide to getting started, breed selection, coop set-up, illness and disease, good husbandry, bio-security and more.

Succulent Driftwood Planter
2:30 pm
$95

Succulent Driftwood Planter Join in for a fun, on trend succulent workshop! The rectangular log planter provides a perfect space for arranging a natural looking, unique design. With high-quality everlasting succulents, various mosses for colour and texture and bird’s nest you’ll achieve a whimsical affect, which extends its use for all seasons.

Extending The Gardening Season In Central Alberta Presented by Linda Tomlinson
10:30am
Free

Do you want to get started gardening as early in the spring as possible? Would you like to be able to extend your growing season here in Central Alberta? Learn different methods of extending the season for vegetable gardens including: mulches, fences, early plantings, hoops, plastics and polyspun cloth, and how early can you plant.

Dividing perennials to keep them healthy Presented by Linda Tomlinson
2:30 pm
Free

Learn when and how to divide your perennials to keep them healthy and share with friends. In this workshop you will learn how to divide and propagate and when is the best time. As well as how to divide perennials based on their root system. You will also learn about tap roots, tubers, creeping roots and ground covers.

Native Bees In Your Habitat Presented by Charity Briere
2:30 pm
$30

When people hear “Save The Bees” they usually think of honey bees, however there are 400 species of native bees that live in North America that need help to. Red Deer is home to 250 species of native bees, and by providing them with food and habitat, we can help ensure that they continue to thrive. This workshop will cover some basic bee biology, diversity, life cycle. You will learn how you can support them in your yard and finish up by building your own pollinator hotel to take home with you!

Rainwater Harvesting – From Buckets to Barrels
Free

As a project lead for Rethink RedDeer, Rene Michalak has helped bring resilient community planning to the forefront of public dialog in Central Alberta

Rene is an accredited rainwater harvesting system installer and as of 2012, a practicing permaculture designer (2009) and certified permaculture educator (2016). His urban homestead has collected 4000 liters of water over the winter of 2017, which was used to irrigate the properties perennial food forest and annual gardens.

In this workshop you will gain an understanding of what rainwater harvesting is, and how it is being used to benefit consumers, municipalities and the environment. We will go over the basic components and operating considerations of indoor and outdoor rain water harvesting systems in Alberta, and showcase examples of residential and commercial systems in operation!

The Westerner Park Urban Farm Festival takes place on Saturday, May 12 from 10am to 4pm at Westerner Park

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Agriculture

Canada Greenlights Mass Culling of 400 Research Ostriches Despite Full Recovery from Bird Flu Months Ago

Published on May 13, 2025

Todayville

Nicolas Hulscher, MPH

Federal court upholds CFIA’s reckless cull order—setting a dangerous precedent for the unscientific mass depopulation of genetically important animals.

In March, I interviewed Katie Pasitney of Universal Ostrich and Connie Shields to discuss the alarming implications of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) order to cull 400 research ostriches at Universal Ostrich Farm in British Columbia over bird flu:

Canada Orders Mass Culling of 400 Research Ostriches Over Bird Flu, Refuses to Test Surviving Birds for Natural Immunity

Nicolas Hulscher, MPH

·

Mar 11

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) has ordered the culling of 400 ostriches at Universal Ostrich Farm in British Columbia, citing concerns over H5N1 bird flu. However, this decision is not based on sound science and could have serious consequences for both food security and medical research.

Read full story

Universal Ostrich Farm is a research facility focused on studying the unique antibody-producing capabilities of ostriches. Their research has demonstrated potential in neutralizing viruses, bacteria, and even COVID-19, making it an important contribution to medical science.

In December 2024, the CFIA claimed that two deceased ostriches—which had been lying outside for over 16 hours—tested positive for H5N1 via PCR testing. Just 41 minutes after receiving these results, the CFIA signed an order to cull the entire flock.

The CFIA initially granted the farm an exemption, recognizing the birds as “genetically important.” Later, without clear justification, they reversed this decision, ordering their destruction.

Despite the importance of this research, the CFIA has refused to conduct further testing on the birds and has banned the farm from conducting its own tests, under threat of heavy fines and possible imprisonment. Why is the Canadian government refusing to study the potential antibodies ostriches have developed against H5N1 bird flu?

On January 31, 2025, a court granted a temporary stay of execution, halting the cull. However, the CFIA is appealing this decision, which means the culling could still proceed.

Today, we have received news that the reckless mass cull order will proceed despite their ostriches having already recovered months ago and developed natural immunity against H5N1:

Official Announcement: Federal Court Decision in Universal Ostrich Farms Inc. v. Canadian Food Inspection Agency

Dear friends and supporters,

We are absolutely devastated to share today’s Federal Court decision, issued on May 13, 2025. The court ruled in favour of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA), upholding their order to destroy our beloved ostriches and rejecting our plea to save them.

The court’s decision accepted the CFIA’s justification under the Health of Animals Act and their use of the Stamping-Out Policy, which mandates the destruction of animals to control disease outbreaks, regardless of their health status. The court confirmed the CFIA’s approach, prioritizing trade obligations over the welfare of our animals.

In addition, we’ve been ordered to pay $15,000 in CFIA’s legal costs. You can read the full decision here: (2025 FC 878). https://saveourostriches.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/05/JR-T-294-25-and-T-432-25-Final.pdf

We are heartbroken by this outcome and uncertain about the future of our farm. As we navigate this incredibly difficult time, we ask for your patience and continued support. If you are able, please consider making a donation to help us manage the financial and emotional toll this has taken.

Thank you,

Universal Ostrich Farm

http://SaveOurOstriches.com

This deeply misguided decision sets a dangerous precedent for the Canadian government to recklessly depopulate animals at will.

By upholding the CFIA’s reckless cull order, despite the ostriches’ recovery and natural immunity, the court has prioritized trade protocols over scientific inquiry, animal welfare, and the advancement of life-saving medical research.

Nicolas Hulscher, MPH

Epidemiologist and Foundation Administrator, McCullough Foundation

www.mcculloughfnd.org

Please consider following both the McCullough Foundation and my personal account on X (formerly Twitter) for further content.

Agriculture

Canada is missing out on the global milk boom

Published on May 6, 2025

Todayville

This article supplied by Troy Media.

By Sylvain Charlebois

With world demand soaring, Canada’s dairy system keeps milk producers locked out of growth, and consumers stuck with high prices

Prime Minister Mark Carney is no Justin Trudeau. While the team around him may be familiar, the tone has clearly shifted. His first week in office signalled a more data-driven, technocratic approach, grounded in pragmatism rather than ideology. That’s welcome news, especially for Canada’s agri-food sector, which has long been overlooked.

Historically, the Liberal party has governed with an urban-centric lens, often sidelining agriculture. That must change. Carney’s pledge to eliminate all interprovincial trade barriers by July 1 was encouraging but whether this includes long-standing obstacles in the agri-food sector remains to be seen. Supply-managed sectors, particularly dairy, remain heavily protected by a tangle of provincially administered quotas (part of Canada’s supply management system, which controls prices and limits production through quotas and tariffs to protect domestic producers). These measures stifle innovation, limit flexibility and distort national productivity.

Consider dairy. Quebec produces nearly 40 per cent of Canada’s milk, despite accounting for just over 20 per cent of the population. This regional imbalance undermines one of supply management’s original promises: preserving dairy farms across the country. Yet protectionism hasn’t preserved diversity—it has accelerated consolidation.

In reality, the number of dairy farms continues to decline, with roughly 90 per cent now concentrated in just a few provinces. On our current path, Canada is projected to lose nearly half of its remaining dairy farms by 2030. Consolidation disproportionately benefits Quebec and Ontario at the expense of smaller producers in the Prairies and Atlantic Canada.

Carney must put dairy reform back on the table, regardless of campaign promises. The sector represents just one per cent of Canada’s GDP, yet
wields outsized influence on policy, benefiting fewer than 9,000 farms out of more than 175,000 nationwide. This is not sustainable. Many Canadian producers are eager to grow, trade and compete globally but are held back by a system designed to insulate rather than enable.

It’s also time to decouple dairy from poultry and eggs. Though also supply managed, those sectors operate with far more vertical integration and
competitiveness. Industrial milk prices in Canada are nearly double those in the United States, undermining both our domestic processors and consumer affordability. These high prices don’t just affect farmers—they directly impact Canadian consumers, who pay more for milk, cheese and other dairy products than many of their international counterparts.

The upcoming renegotiation of CUSMA—the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement, which replaced NAFTA—is a chance to reset. Rather than resist change, the dairy sector should seize the opportunity to modernize. This includes exploring a more open quota system for export markets. Reforms could also involve a complete overhaul of the Canadian Dairy Commission to increase transparency around pricing. Canadians deserve to know how much milk is wasted each year—estimated at up to a billion litres—and whether a strategic reserve for powdered milk, much like our existing butter reserve, would better serve national food security.

Global milk demand is rising. According to The Dairy News, the world could face a shortage of 30 million tonnes by 2030, three times Canada’s current annual production. Yet under current policy, Canada is not positioned to contribute meaningfully to meeting that demand. The domestic focus on protecting margins and internal price fairness is blinding the sector to broader market realities.

We’ve been here before. The last time CUSMA was renegotiated, Canada offered modest concessions to foreign competitors and then overcompensated its dairy sector for hypothetical losses. This created an overcapitalized industry, inflated farmland prices and diverted attention from more pressing trade and diplomacy challenges, particularly with India and China. This time must be different: structural reform—not compensation—should be the goal.

If Carney is serious about rebooting the Canadian economy, agri-food must be part of the conversation. But that also means the agriculture sector must engage. Industry voices across the country need to call on dairy to evolve, embrace change and step into the 21st century.

Dr. Sylvain Charlebois is a Canadian professor and researcher in food distribution and policy. He is senior director of the Agri-Food Analytics Lab at Dalhousie University and co-host of The Food Professor Podcast. He is frequently cited in the media for his insights on food prices, agricultural trends, and the global food supply chain.

Troy Media empowers Canadian community news outlets by providing independent, insightful analysis and commentary. Our mission is to support local media in helping Canadians stay informed and engaged by delivering reliable content that strengthens community connections and deepens understanding across the country.