As tempting as it might be to turn the cows out on the spring grass and in the warm weather, don’t do it too abruptly, says Alberta livestock and forage specialist Grant Lastiwka. The consequences could be deadly if cattle develop grass tetany or bloat. Organisms in the rumen have been dealing with winter feed […] Read more
Karen Briere
Stories by Karen Briere
Short-line rail operators say cut to sustainability grant a hit to economy
Saskatchewan short-line railways say the chance to buy provincially owned rail cars doesn’t offset the loss of a $900,000 annual sustain-ability grant they would no longer receive . Perry Pellerin, president of the Western Canadian Short Line Railway Association, said the 13 short lines could use the cars but he doesn’t know if they could […] Read more
Rural Sask. hit with funding, bus transportation cuts
Rural residents will notice the loss of the Saskatchewan Transportation Company, says the head of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities. Ray Orb said the government’s decision to close the provincial bus company to freight as of May 19 and passengers as of May 31 is a concern. “It’s still a fairly valuable service, especially […] Read more
Sask. to nix community pasture program
Consultation began this week on the Saskatchewan government’s decision to wind down its community pasture program. The measure was announced in last week’s provincial budget, al-though the government said there is no financial impact in 2017-18 and the program operates on a break-even basis through the Pastures Revolving Fund. This grazing season will be the […] Read more
Sask. gov’t cuts education spending
Other announcements in the 2017 Sask. budget include:
Education spending is down, education property tax is up and Saskatchewan school boards will remain as they are, taxpayers learned in last week’s provincial budget. Operational spending for K-12 education in the 28 school divisions dropped $67 million or 1.2 percent from last year. Divisions will get $1.86 billion from government and property taxes. Overall, […] Read moreSask. to use AgriRecoveryto fund TB quarantine costs
Saskatchewan has signed an agreement with Ottawa to try to recover funds it spent to help producers affected by bovine tuberculosis quarantines. The AgriRecovery initiative was signed earlier this month after the province helped producers with the costs of keeping animals that should have gone to market. Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart had said in January […] Read more
Farmers take hit on fuel exemption, education tax
Tax exemptions remain for seed, pesticides and new equipment, but taxes on agricultural land will climb
Saskatchewan farm leaders say they expected the hits they took in last week’s provincial budget, knowing that the pain of the drastic drop in resource revenue would have to be spread around. The province is expecting a deficit of at least $1.3 billion in the last fiscal year. The 2017-18 budgets hiked taxes and cut […] Read moreFarmers welcome federal budget’s ag recognition
Canadian farmers say last week’s federal budget indicates that the government recognizes the economic growth the sector can drive. The budget was short on details but set a goal of increasing agri-food exports to $75 billion annually by 2025. It proposes to invest $70 million over six years to support “agricultural discovery science and innovation,” […] Read more
Survey finds trade, market access top priorities in Sask.
Tapping export opportunities ranked number one, followed by expansion of the value-added and food processing sector
Saskatchewan producers say trade and market access are top priorities for the next agriculture policy framework. According to the provincial government, 887 people, three-quarters of them producers, responded to a recent online survey on the non-business risk management components of the framework. Other respondents were consumers, organizations, processors, researchers and business. Of the producer participants, […] Read more
Producer upset with SCIC policy
A farmer from Pangman, Sask., says he and several others in the area were denied unseeded acreage coverage last year, even though it was too wet to seed. He wonders how many others were also left out. Jim Liggett appealed the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp.’s decision locally and to the provincial appeal panel but was […] Read more
