ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Thin, rocky soil doesn’t deter farmers on The Rock. Agriculture, although far different from that on the Prairies, has a long history in Newfoundland and Labrador, and the provincial government thinks it also has a strong future. Expansion plans for the sector announced earlier this year would more than double the […] Read more
Karen Briere
Stories by Karen Briere
Sask. launches new rural crime reduction team
Saskatchewan conservation officers and commercial vehicle enforcement officers will be able to arrest and detain suspects as part of a new Protection and Response Team designed to reduce crime in rural areas. Justice minister Gordon Wyant announced the team Aug. 22 in response to recommendations from a caucus committee on crime. Expanding the powers of […] Read more
‘This is what they mean by dry land farming’
Never, it seems, have a few tenths of rain made so many people so happy. Aug. 1 brought as much as seven-tenths, about 18 millimetres, to parts of southwestern and south- central Saskatchewan, sending people to social media with photographs and comments of relief. The first decent rain in more than a month still won’t […] Read more
Farmed fish will be main seafood source in the future
MOOSE JAW, Sask. — Aquaculture is the future of seafood supply, a Norwegian marine economist told a prairie audience at a recent conference. Frank Asche from the University of Florida said trying to maintain wild fisheries for human food supply is “useless” and farmed fish will actually help wild fish stocks recover. “Fishing is our […] Read more
Biofuel plant diversifies into new markets
Company shifts gears to target specialty markets as carbon pricing moves toward renewable and alternate fuels
UNITY, Sask. — North West Bio-Energy Ltd. is moving more into specialty alcohol markets after expanding its ethanol facility two years ago. Chief Executive Officer Jason Skinner said the plant is selling a range of higher grades of alcohol since it added distillation capacity. “When we make fuel alcohol, it’s probably the lowest grade of […] Read moreGoat show pays off for producers
MOOSE JAW, Sask. — Exhibitors withstood some of the hottest days of the summer recently to show off their finest goats at a triple-sanctioned event hosted by the Sask-atchewan Goat Breeders Association. The first ever Summer Extravaganza featured more than 200 animals competing over three days for three different judges, and ended with an elite […] Read more
Cattle producers lose access to Sask. river
Several cattle producers along the Wood River in south-central Saskatchewan have to move about 1,000 head to different pastures after water quality in the river declined unexpectedly. The issue arose earlier this week after Saskatchewan Mining and Minerals, based at Chaplin, diverted water from the river for its sodium sulfate operations. As a result, oxygen […] Read more
U.S. sugar beet growers may have misjudged market: prof
MOOSE JAW, Sask. — Hindsight is 20/20, and American sugar beet growers are wondering if they did the right thing when they switched to genetically modified varieties. Lynn Kennedy, an agricultural economist at Louisiana State University, said beet growers have adopted GM varieties in a dramatic fashion in the last decade. No GM beets were […] Read more
Farm programs need more than tinkering: farm groups
Farm organizations are pinning their hopes for change on the one-year review of business risk management programs. The clock is ticking on the process, but the review parameters haven’t yet been announced. Canadian Federation of Agriculture president Ron Bonnett said tinkering around the edges, as was done in the recent changes announced for AgriStability and […] Read more
Farm leaders confident heading into NAFTA talks
ST. JOHN’S, N.L. — Canadian farmers say their industry appears to be in a good position heading into NAFTA renegotiations even though the United States has targeted dairy, wheat and wine. The Canadian Federation of Agriculture and the country’s agriculture ministers, both in St. John’s for summer meetings, heard from federal officials that they still […] Read more
