Raising cattle, running a tack supply business and serving on producer associations while raising three children keep family busy
WHITEWOOD, Sask. — Raising cattle in southeastern Saskatchewan is far different than in the southwest where Ryan Beierbach grew up. However, a desire to walk his own path led him and his family to the Whitewood area from the Cypress Hills south of Fort Walsh about 15 years ago. Here, he and Tania, who grew […] Read more
Karen Briere
Stories by Karen Briere
Sask. budget: PST, land, education farm fuel taxes increased
Rural Saskatchewan is taking its share of the hit in the provincial budget announced March 22. The budget was expected to be tough, considering a continual decline in resource revenue since 2014 that has led to a deficit of at least $1.3 billion. Premier Brad Wall took to social media earlier in the week to […] Read more
Sask. to use AgriRecovery for 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
Trade, market access top priorities in Sask. APF survey
Saskatchewan producers say trade and market access are top priorities for the next agriculture policy framework. The provincial government said this morning that 887 people, three quarters of them producers, responded to a recently completed online survey on the non-business risk management components of the framework. Other respondents were consumers, organizations, processors, researchers and business. […] Read more
Neonic hearings get variety of opinions
The Pest Management Regulatory Agency’s decision last fall to phase out imidacloprid within three to five years continues to reverberate through the agricultural community. The House of Commons agriculture committee began examining the issue during meetings last week, although the PMRA is a Health Canada agency. The PMRA made its decision based on harmful effects […] Read more
VIDEO: Farm takes plunge to improve animal health
VIBANK, Sask. — Zeus calmly enters the enclosure that will soon have him belly-deep in room temperature water. The treadmill starts, water begins to flow in and he walks for 25 minutes. At one point, he dips his head for a drink. As his hydrotherapy treatment ends, the water level drops and the tank empties, […] Read more
Saskatchewan flood risk low
Last week’s blizzard likely didn’t add enough to the snow pack to change the spring runoff forecast, says Saskatchewan’s Water Security Agency. Officials were already expecting above-normal spring flows for southeastern Saskatchewan based on wetter than normal conditions last fall and above-normal snowfall. “A lot of that snowstorm … there wasn’t a whole lot of […] Read more
Ag committee gives policy input
The House of Commons agriculture committee has tabled 18 recommendations in a report to the federal government on what the next agriculture policy framework should contain. The federal, provincial and territorial ministers are expected to sign the next five-year agreement in St. John’s in July, although Saskatchewan minister Lyle Stewart said they are still in […] Read more
Survey seeks to improve ag services
Saskatchewan farmers, ranchers and agribusiness operators have until the end of this month to let the government know how they prefer to receive advice and information. Agriculture Minister Lyle Stewart last week announced an online public survey on agricultural extension services. He said the ministry wants to ensure it is meeting farmers’ needs. “We’re asking […] Read more
Carbon pricing sparks frustration at CFA meeting
Western Producer reporter Karen Briere attended The Canadian Federation of Agriculture annual meeting in Ottawa and filed this report Frustrated farmers lined up at a microphone during the Canadian Federation of Agriculture annual meeting last week to vent about provincial carbon policies. One delegate noted Saskatchewan, which is staunchly opposed to any scheme, probably has […] Read more
