Dene Moore

SASKATOON – Potatoes are popular with Canadians. Baked potatoes, mashed potatoes, potatoes au gratin, the list goes on. But Abe Dyck, president of Saskatoon Fresh Pack Potatoes, wants to put another kind of potato on the Canadian menu: Sous vide potatoes. Sous vide means products are partially cooked, then vacuum-sealed. Cooks in restaurants, hospitals and […] Read more

SASKATOON – Crystal Zimmer was two years old the first time she saw how easily accidents can happen. She was playing outside as her mother mowed the lawn on their farm near Handel in west-central Saskatchewan. Seconds later, she was caught underneath the lawn mower, crying. She was rushed to Saskatoon where she was given […] Read more

SASKATOON – For Canadian companies importing food from the United States, the border is more than a line on a map. It is a place that can cost them a lot of money. Shipments from across the border must wait until the cargo is approved by Revenue Canada and Agriculture Canada. Companies have to pay […] Read more

SASKATOON – With the precision of a surgeon, Dr. Chris Belan slides fine needles into his patient’s body. Using acupuncture to relieve pain is an age-old practice. It’s been around since ancient times in China. But what’s surprising here is that Belan is a veterinarian and his patients are animals. Belan began using acupuncture in […] Read more

SASKATOON – Canada’s sunflower growers are a quiet bunch. But that could change if plans to form a Canadian Sunflower Association take shape later this month. “There’s an association representing every other crop these days,” said Clarence Leschied from Keystone Grain, a sunflower processor in Winkler, Man. Leschied said having an official association gives growers […] Read more

SASKATOON – Looking at the llamas she entered in the Grey Cup parade Nov. 18, Jean Wright shakes her head and laughs. “It takes a lot of work to get them cleaned up for the show.” She and her son Kevin will spend a week grooming four llamas. They will have to brush each one […] Read more

VISCOUNT, Sask. – Melanie Wagner has a thirst for knowledge, but she doesn’t want to leave her husband, two children and a job in Viscount, Sask. to continue her education in a big city. Her situation is common throughout rural Western Canada. Many people living outside major centres have family or job responsibilities that prevent […] Read more

SASKATOON – Like many other prairie farmers, Rene Gauthier started thinking about diversifying when the Crow Benefit ended last year. “We were looking for something to get going in the valley area and create some jobs,” said Gauthier from his home north of Rosthern, Sask. But grain farming is a full-time job and Gauthier couldn’t […] Read more

SASKATOON – Steer legs, bugs, cows …. It doesn’t read like a typical university wish list. But a lot of western Canadian agriculture programs rely on unusual gifts like these to keep their doors open. “We can’t afford to buy everything that is essential for the college,” said Sidney Indig of the Olds College Foundation […] Read more

SASKATOON – Western Canadian barley is the new target for genetic engineering research in Saskatchewan. Researchers at the Plant Bio-technology Institute and the University of Saskatchewan spent the last six years genetically engineering wheat. Now, Ravindra Chibbar and Brian Rossnagel want to use the technology developed for wheat to make new breeds of barley. Chibbar […] Read more