The Western Producer takes a weekly look at some of the stories that made headlines in issues of the paper from 75, 50, 25 and 10 years ago.
75 years ago: Sept. 17, 1942
Canada’s wheat crop came in at 619 million bushels, which was a record. The Dominion Bureau of Statistics said it was almost double the 312 million bu. crop harvested the previous year.
Canadians were asked to not buy fresh pork, bacon or ham for seven weeks. J.G. Taggart, chair of the bacon board and foods administrator of the Wartime Prices and Trade Board, said the appeal was made to help the country maintain satisfactory weekly shipments of bacon to Britain.
50 years ago: Sept. 21, 1967
J.W. Pickersgill, described as Canada’s colourful transport minister, was named chair of the new Canadian Transportation Commission.
He was replaced in the transportation portfolio by Defence Minister Paul Hellyer.
Egg producers were told they needed to reach a production level of 19 dozen eggs per hen housed and 85 percent grade A eggs to remain competitive.
The Saskatchewan research paper also said new commercial flocks needed 100,000 laying hens to offset the declining number of smaller flocks.
25 years ago: Sept. 17, 1992
A killing frost that hit Alberta over the Labour Day weekend devastated special crops and vegetables. The temperature in Lethbridge dipped to -5.4 C Sept. 7.
Dairy Producers Co-operative delegates agreed to stop processing farm separated cream by Aug. 1, 1993. If acted upon, it would mean no more independent cream producers in Saskatchewan.
10 years ago: Sept. 20, 2007
The United States was expected to soon reopen its border to Canadian cattle. The border had been closed following the discovery of BSE in Canada four years earlier.
A load of grain was shipped from the port of Churchill in northern Manitoba to another Canadian destination — Dover Mills in Halifax. It was said to be the first time this had ever happened.
