Saskatchewan has reinstated its grant program for short-line railways, although at a lesser amount. The recent budget allocated $530,000 for the province’s 13 short lines. That compares to $900,000 available in the program before it was cancelled in 2017. The short lines used the money, which was cost-shared, on maintenance and track infrastructure upgrades. “It’s […] Read more
Karen Briere
Stories by Karen Briere
Farm cash receipts rise 8.1 percent
Farm cash receipts were up 8.1 percent in 2020, led by a 14.2 percent increase in crop receipts. Statistics Canada data show that total receipts were $71.7 billion last year. Seven provinces saw increases, including Saskatchewan, up $2.6 billion, and Ontario, up $1.3 billion, accounting for more than two-thirds of the national hike. Receipts were […] Read more
Farmers turn up heat on carbon credits
An online petition designed to draw attention to the fact that governments don’t intend to credit farmers for past carbon sequestration had about 2,200 signatures April 12. The petition on change.org was sponsored by Saskatchewan farmers who say they are being penalized for being early adopters of technology like no-till. It says they have to […] Read more
Rural internet needs focused approach: APAS
Sask. farm group says buildings owned by the province and municipalities could be used to deploy better service
The Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan has issued 43 recommendations to improve broadband and cellular service. Chief among them is a more focused approach to providing better service in rural and remote areas. The APAS Rural Connectivity Task Force studied the issue for several months. They talked to providers and users and offered an internet […] Read more
Sask. budget increases agricultural spending
Most of the increase will cover business risk management changes, including crop insurance, AgriStability and AgriInvest
The April 6 Saskatchewan budget added $23.1 million to agricultural spending for this fiscal year, pushing it to $386.97 million. Most of the increase is for business risk management spending to cover a rise in crop insurance premium costs, the recent removal of the AgriStability reference margin limit and an extra $2.7 million for AgriInvest. […] Read more
Regina land squabble points to possible canola crush plant
Multiple reports say Viterra has purchased a block of land in northeastern Regina next to Federated Co-operative Ltd.’s refinery to construct a canola crushing facility. Viterra hasn’t confirmed it is the buyer or that it plans a crush plant. However, during the April 12 meeting of Regina city council, FCL expressed its objection to the […] Read more
BSE suit underway
The class action lawsuit launched by cattle producers against the federal government for damages caused by BSE is being conducted over Zoom. The Ontario Superior Court began hearing the case in mid-February and is expected to continue to June. Duncan Boswell, senior partner at WLG Gowling in Toronto and a lead counsel, said he expects […] Read more
Compensation registration closes for dairy
Registrations have closed for the second round of dairy compensation payments from the federal government. Agriculture minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said April 8 that 9,682 farmers had registered for this year’s program. Payments totalling $459.4 million will be made this month as part of the $1.75 billion effort to compensate farmers for lost markets due to […] Read more
Co-op renames ethanol plant
The ethanol plant at Belle Plaine, Sask., has a new name, nearly two years after new owners took over. The former Terra Grain Fuels plant is now the Co-op Ethanol Complex to align it with the Federated Co-operatives Ltd. brand. FCL bought the 150-million-litre per year facility in June 2019. It employs 47 full-time workers […] Read more
APAS executive unchanged
The executive of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan remains the same for this year after the organization’s recent annual meeting. Todd Lewis of Gray begins his fifth year as president, while Ian Boxall from Tisdale and Bill Prybylski from Willowbrook return as vice-presidents. Lewis and Boxall were both elected to two-year terms as directors […] Read more
