Diane Rogers

There was an “official wringing of hands” over the plight of the hungry but no commitment made by the nations of the world at last week’s food summit in Rome, says a member of Canada’s delegation. Nettie Wiebe, speaking from her Laura, Sask. farm, said the summit focused global attention on food security but failed […] Read more

Eric Jones is enthused about organizing farmers with disabilities on a national basis. As an Alberta Agriculture safety specialist, he tries to ensure farm accidents don’t happen. But as a director of the Canadian Coalition for Agricultural Safety and Rural Health, he has accepted the task of building links with already-injured farmers. The coalition is […] Read more

WAPELLA, Sask. – From the men’s Canadian Wheat Board caps to Betty’s women’s march T-shirt, the Gordons wear their politics. Les and Betty Gordon, former dairy farmers, and their son John, are strong board supporters. On the day a vote on barley marketing was announced, the three Gordons were clear on how they stand. “We’re […] Read more

SASKATOON – When Debbie Thoms drove out to talk to her husband while he was baling, she noticed his hat on the ground but didn’t think anything about it. Then she saw one running shoe and “I thought he’d be gone.” Her husband Doug was caught in the baler up to his hips. His face […] Read more

LADYSMITH, B.C. – A couple of kilometres away from this dairy farm planes land, golf balls fly over the fence and fish swim in the ocean. But the Cuthberts don’t feel hemmed in on their Vancouver Island farm. Their 220 acres feels roomy because most of their neighbors have about the same acreage and are […] Read more

SASKATOON – Cape Breton women came out of their kitchens and church halls to stare down an American corporation. Keynote speaker Gregory Mac-Leod told a prairie community development conference how of Catholic, Anglican and United Church women demonstrated in front of a bankrupt rope company in Atlantic Canada to prevent the American manufacturer from removing […] Read more

VICTORIA, B.C. – Debate about how to ensure farm safety can be as entangling as a power take-off. The best system covers all three E’s: Engineering, education and enforcement, said Larry Chanasyk, a director of the Canadian Coalition for Agricultural Safety and Rural Health. He represents machinery manufacturer New Holland on the coalition. Others disagree, […] Read more

VICTORIA, B.C. – Most victims of farm injuries arrive at the nearest hospital without lights blazing or sirens sounding. They come in private vehicles, not ambulances. Dr. Jim Merchant, a Iowa University professor who has gathered American statistics, told a Canadian farm safety conference here that 92 percent of all farm accident victims arrive by […] Read more

SASKATOON – No one should believe that closing more rural schools will save scads of money, say two rural trustees from opposite corners of Saskatchewan. Allen Henderson, a local school board trustee for Gainsborough in the southeast, says Arcola and Gainsborough schools are sharing maintenance staff and a director of education and “we don’t see […] Read more

BOISSEVAIN, Man. – Art Peters was a bit distracted one recent Saturday morning. He was trying to get the harvest finished, dealing with a flat tire and wet conditions while doing a newspaper interview. But he handled it calmly and with an understated wry humor. The pressure began right from his decision to buy a […] Read more