It’s young farmer day at Canada’s Farm Progress Show. A highlight will be the announcement of Saskatchewan’s Outstanding Young Farmer for 2018. Three couples were nominated: Jordan and Jennifer Lindgren from Lindgren Farms Ltd. at Norquay; Michael and Jessica Lovich from Lovholm Holsteins at Balgonie; and Lee and Shannon Sluser from LS Sluser Farms Inc. […] Read more
Karen Briere
Stories by Karen Briere
Farm Progress Show recognizes innovation on Day 1
Fifteen innovative products have been recognized at the kick-off to Canada’s Farm Progress Show in Regina. The 41st annual show began this morning. A record-breaking 22 innovations entered the innovation program this year. Seven entries received the highest Gold Standard Award and eight received the Sterling Standard. Gold winners are: • Intelligent AG Solutions for […] Read more
Negotiators remain steady on NAFTA talks
SWIFT CURRENT, Sask. — Canada would meet with United States negotiators to continue North American Free Trade Agreement talks despite the political rhetoric surrounding them, a Canadian negotiator told the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association convention June 11. Karen Hodgson, deputy director of trade negotiations at Agriculture Canada, said about a third of the chapters, including […] Read more
Farm income levels off
Canadian farmers’ realized net income dropped in 2017, marking the first decline since 2013. The 2.5-percent drop to $8.3 billion marks only the second decrease in the last 10 years, according to Statistics Canada. Realized net income is the difference between cash receipts and operating expenses, less depreciation, plus income in kind. Farm cash receipts […] Read more
Ag in the Classroom takes kids to hands-on experiences
RICHARDSON, Sask. — Grade 4 students are running around Richardson’s Bennett Farm shaking little vials. Even as the students from Regina’s Lakeview School move from one learning station to another, their arms go up and down. It’s one of the more popular ways they are learning about where their food comes from, said Susan Jorgensen, […] Read more
Canada considers WTO appeal
Federal agriculture minister Lawrence MacAulay says Canada is considering appealing to the World Trade Organization Italy’s country-of-origin labelling rules on pasta and other products. MacAulay told the Senate during its Question Period May 29 that he believes the policy violates trade rules under the Comprehensive Economic Trade Agreement. Ontario senator Robert Black noted that since […] Read more
Tory members call for end to carbon tax
The other 18 recommendations to the federal government contained in the report are:
Conservative members of the House of Commons agriculture committee want the government to abandon its planned carbon tax. In a dissenting opinion attached to the committee’s latest report tabled in the House last week, the Conservatives said the measure “disproportionately harms the agriculture sector and rural communities.” The report, Toward a Resilient Canadian Agriculture and […] Read more
Bison ranch keeps tabs on health of species at risk
The Wigness family knows all about the important relationships between their bison and species at risk. They’ve been ranching southwest of Swift Current, Sask., for more than 20 years and are currently running about 200 cows on 3,600 acres. Merek Wigness said a check last summer identified at least seven different species co-existing with the […] Read more
CN Rail hops to it
Canadian National Railway’s purchase of 1,000 new grain hopper cars represents the first tangible results of Bill C-49 and a major step forward in fleet renewal, say industry observers. The company announced May 24, the day the transportation modernization act received royal assent after a year of political back-and-forth and hard industry lobbying, that it […] Read more
Farm groups applaud passing of Bill C-49
Grain transportation measures four years in the making will be in place for the next crop year now that Bill C-49 has received Royal Assent. Then, the analysis of its effectiveness will begin. Most farm organizations widely lauded the legislation and lobbied for its passage even while acknowledging it isn’t perfect. Jeff Nielsen, president of […] Read more
