Diane Rogers

HARRIS, Sask. – When construction costs for the community hall in Harris, Sask., exceeded what had been raised, the local district came to the rescue. A committee of six residents has planned two new fundraisers, both of which are under way. In a cropping project, residents donated labour and local businesses the seeds, fuel and […] Read more

Some women took the joshing seriously when told their gender wasn’t allowed to play in the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association summer golf tournament. So they organized their own. Born in humour, the Cattlewomen for the Cure golf tournament has a serious purpose. In its inaugural year it raised $35,000 for breast cancer research. The Aug. 21 […] Read more

ROSETOWN, Sask. – Neil Gibbings doesn’t know why his grandfather Wes selected this land north of Rosetown for his homestead in 1906. But the grain farm has stayed in the family’s hands ever since and on July 22, the Gibbings family celebrated its century farm designation with 60 relatives and neighbours. Located on flat land […] Read more

Carol Skelton disagrees with a report released last month that says farm women aren’t heard by government or in farm organizations. “We’ve got a farm woman that’s the minister for National Revenue and Western Diversification, and that’s me. I sit at the table and talk agriculture all the time,” said the Conservative MP for Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar. […] Read more

Farm women aren’t happy that their views are rarely solicited when government forms agricultural policies, says a report prepared for the National Farmers Union. “Many government officials are male, urban and unaware of the reality of life on family farms and in rural communities,” said the report, which was released in late July. “The policies […] Read more

The findings of a gender-based study are nothing new. “It’s an old issue that’s always been there,” Vancouver Island farmer Jennifer Dyson said about the lack of a female face on agricultural policy. Dyson used to be the women’s representative on the Canadian Federation of Agriculture board, a position that was eliminated a few years […] Read more

HANNA, Alta. – They crawl, they talk, they smile, they frown. All 4,000 faces confront visitors as they walk into the bright and colourful room at Violetta Link’s doll museum in Hanna. People from all over the world have stopped in since the tearoom and museum were built on the eastern edge of town in […] Read more

When the Federation of Women’s Institutes of Canada adds up the hours its members spend on volunteer activities in their rural communities, the numbers confirm what Statistics Canada already knows. People who live in rural areas of Canada are more likely to devote time to volunteer work than their urban counterparts, said a government study […] Read more

Amanda Miller of Calmar, Alta., already has a full resume when she starts her marketing course at the University of Lethbridge this fall. She was part of a team of eight 4-H members who dedicated six days in April and June to developing an advertising campaign to draw new members to 4-H. The ads they […] Read more

RED DEER – There is scant research into the health status of rural women and what has been found is generally bad news. When compared to urban women, rural folk live shorter lives, have higher infant mortality and lack good access to doctors and other health-care services. Beverley Leipert, a nursing professor from the University […] Read more