The short-term funding comes after all five major grocery retailers in Canada announce that they will sign on to the code
WHITEHORSE — Agriculture ministers have agreed to spend $1.2 million to fund Canada’s new grocery code of conduct. During their annual meeting in Whitehorse last week, ministers heard that all major retailers had agreed to the code. Walmart and Costco were the final holdouts. The money is short-term assistance to support the code’s adjudication office. […] Read moreStories by Karen Briere
Ag ministers discuss BRM changes

Pasture provides space for cattle, nature lovers
The Nature Conservancy of Canada’s Cave Pasture is adjacent to Swift Current, Sask., which provides easy access
SWIFT CURRENT, Sask. — It’s almost unbelievable that a large piece of native grassland lies exactly north of Swift Current’s city boundary. Much of the province’s native grass has been lost over time, but anyone driving in and out of the city on Highway 4 passes by the 707 acre pasture on the west side […] Read more
Clubroot removed from official declared pest list in Sask.
Richardson’s ground squirrel, grasshoppers and the warble fly are also no longer on the province’s list of declared pests
REGINA — Clubroot is among several pests the Saskatchewan government has now deregulated. The government in June repealed the Pest Control Act and replaced it with the Plant Health Act and its accompanying regulations. As a result, clubroot, Richardson’s ground squirrel, grasshoppers and the warble fly are no longer on the list of declared pests. […] Read more
Sask. to impose moratorium on wild boar farms
Current operators have about six months to comply with new regulations, but a researcher says a moratorium is too late
REGINA — A moratorium on wild boar farms will help Saskatchewan better deal with the threat of African swine fever and other diseases, the provincial government said. However, University of Saskatchewan researcher Ryan Brook said it’s far too late to control the feral population. The moratorium was announced in a package of new regulations under […] Read more
Dry weather, heat hit southwestern Sask. producers hard
Lots of rain has fallen across the Prairies this year, but not everyone has been fortunate enough to receive the moisture
REGINA — Some crops are running out of moisture despite decent spring rain through most of Saskatchewan. Last week’s high temperatures took their toll in parts of the southwest that hadn’t yet recovered from previous years’ drought. Both field crops and pastures were suffering. Tyler Wilson, who farms near Admiral, said some crops still looked […] Read more
Weather helps gophers get ahead of producers
A cool, wet spring and delayed crop development are blamed for the damage that prairie producers are seeing this year
REGINA — The cool, wet spring may have given producers a false sense of security when it came to Richardson’s ground squirrels. They’ve since become the talk of the town, said James Tansey, Saskatchewan’s insect and vertebrate pest management specialist. Some producers have had to reseed canola after significant damage, including Scott Anderson, who farms […] Read more
Ag ministers take their concerns to Whitehorse
PMRA, country-of-origin labelling and rail strike priorities as federal, provincial and territorial ministers meet July 17-19
REGINA — Canada’s agriculture ministers meet next week in Whitehorse, but it seems unlikely there will be fireworks of the agricultural policy kind. The Whitehorse meeting happens once every 11 years, and the last two have been notable. The first Agriculture Policy Framework was signed there in 2001, launching the then-Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization program […] Read more
Moisture welcome, but some areas receive too much
A western Sask., farmer says a moisture probe in one of his canola fields has indicated saturation every day since June 2
REGINA — The 2024 growing season for many Prairie farmers is characterized by the old saying, it never rains but it pours. Most of Manitoba has received far beyond 100 per cent of normal rainfall, leading to unseeded acres and flooded crops. Saskatchewan’s most recent crop report highlighted crop flooding in low lying areas and […] Read more