Diane Rogers

Todd Hirsche says he’s not a futurist, but when his boss at the Canada West Foundation think-tank asked him to look ahead at the western Canadian economy, he complied with a 114-page book. His crystal ball holds few favourable images of agriculture and rural areas. In a news conference March 8 in Saskatoon, Hirsche outlined […] Read more

MEADOW LAKE, Sask. – Don’t dismiss the Saskatchewan consumer, magazine publisher Lionel Hughes told a rural business conference here Feb. 28. He was one of several speakers touring the province last week as part of a promotion by the government’s Action Committee on the Rural Economy. Hughes gave his message to the ACRE group, which […] Read more

British Columbia is the first off the mark in selecting its nominee for Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmer competition. Pieter and Anita deBruin of Devan Greenhouses in Abbotsford were named the 2006 B.C. region finalists on Feb. 17. They will compete with six other regional winners in the national judging in Saskatchewan in November. The deBruins […] Read more

ARELEE, Sask. – Dennis Pashovitz smiles at the look on his alpacas’ faces as they hum and chew sideways through some grass. He said the 11 animals are “a big stress relief” on his family’s grain farm in west-central Saskatchewan. His wife Karen added that before their two children were born, she and Dennis would […] Read more

HOLDFAST, Sask. – You might have seen some of Kelly Thorson’s work and didn’t know it. In the 15 years she has been in business, she has made dozens of signs for retail co-op stores in Alberta, British Columbia and Saskatchewan. In fact, the Federated Co-op system is one of her oldest and best customers. […] Read more

Two women disenchanted with the fact the popular board game Trivial Pursuit has no version focusing on women have developed their own gender-based game. “We’re not man-bashing,” says Odette McCarthy. “Men can play it, too.” The former Regina woman who now lives in Montreal said her business partner Joanna Broadhurst came up with the idea […] Read more

Hot sunshine in a tropical resort isn’t the only way tourists can feel the warm fuzzies. Bill Ark, an artist and carpenter from Invermere, B.C., is suggesting that people who travel to poorer countries take along a bicycle they no longer use and donate it to somebody there. He explains how to do it on […] Read more

A computer has become a big part of Wanda Wolf’s business, but the spice and herb grower and shipper from Phippen, Sask., says the slow dial-up internet system in rural areas adds hours to her work days. Wolf was showing members of the Saskatchewan Herb and Spice Association’s annual conference held in Saskatoon on Jan. […] Read more

Caraway and dill growers are trying to figure out what to do with the leftover hulls once the essential oils are steamed out of their spices. Each year Saskatchewan growers of these spices end up with 1,000 tonnes of screenings. The problem is carvone, a naturally occurring compound left after the spice flavour has been […] Read more

Midwives in Saskatchewan are optimistic the province will cover their service under medicare this year. The provincial government is planning to set up an advisory committee to look into the issue, said Rosalind Lydiale, president of the Midwives Association of Saskatchewan. While British Columbia, Manitoba, Ontario and Quebec pay for midwife services under the health-care […] Read more