Managing the boom | Saskatchewan’s potash boom is unleashing enormous rural development. Existing mines are expanding and 20 companies are exploring potash deposits. Work has begun on two new mines, K+S Potash Canada’s Legacy project north of Moose Jaw, and BHP Billiton’s enormous Jansen Lake project southeast of Humboldt. They require road construction, hundreds of building permits and an unheard-of level of planning and oversight by local government. As The Western Producer’s Karen Briere learned, affected rural municipal governments are on a steep learning curve to keep up.
Saskatchewan’s potash boom is unleashing enormous rural development. Existing mines are expanding and 20 companies are exploring potash deposits. Work has begun on two new mines, K+S Potash Canada’s Legacy project north of Moose Jaw, and BHP Billiton’s enormous Jansen Lake project southeast of Humboldt. They require road construction, hundreds of building permits and an […] Read more
Karen Briere
Stories by Karen Briere
Bjornerud wants answers on shelterbelt centre
Saskatchewan agriculture minister Bob Bjornerud says he will raise concerns about changes at Agriculture Canada’s Agroforestry Development Centre when he meets with his federal and provincial counterparts tomorrow. The Indian Head tree nursery, formerly known as the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration’s Shelterbelt Centre, has supplied millions of trees to prairie farmers since its inception in […] Read more
Sask. sets up review for Viterra takeover
May 7 due date | Third party review is expected to cost $125,000 and will be in addition to two reviews set up by the federal government
The Saskatchewan government will rely on an independent review of the proposed Viterra takeover to decide if the deal is in the best interests of the province. Premier Brad Wall said March 29 that Informa Economics will conduct the review at a cost of $125,000. The report is due May 7 and will be released […] Read more
BSE samplings fail to meet test target
Provincial sampling under par | Industry must maintain surveillance to reduce risk, says CFIA
Canada is still meeting its BSE surveillance targets, but the provinces with the two largest herds are falling behind. That concerns the Canadian Food Inspection Agency, which sets the targets and answers to the international community. The agency has met with industry and provincial representatives to discuss how to meet the targets and remind producers […] Read more
Provinces await word on 85 federal pastures
Control may revert to provinces | Provinces could opt to sell the land, which has some worried about environmental issues
The future of the federal community pasture system remains unclear following last week’s budget. Agriculture minister Gerry Ritz floated the idea of unloading agri-environment services branch pastures in discussions with cattle organizations and provinces several months ago. And although his department took the largest budget hit on a percentage basis compared to other federal departments, […] Read moreSwamp fever on the rise
Sask. numbers high | 102 horses tested positive in 2011
Swamp fever continues to turn up in Canadian horse herds, particularly in Saskatchewan. Dr. Betty Althouse, a Canadian Food Inspection Agency veterinary disease control specialist, told the recent Saskatchewan Horse Federation conference that nearly 60 new cases were found in the first three months of this year. In 2011, 102 horses on 15 premises tested […] Read moreAg budget allocated for farm programs, insurance coverage
Budget includes $1.9 million for irrigation funding
It was a stay-the-course budget as far as agriculture was concerned when finance minister Ken Krawetz delivered Saskatchewan’s 2012-13 financial plan last week. Most of the $430.8 million allocated to agriculture this year — the second largest agriculture budget in the province’s history — will fully fund the business risk management programs that Ottawa and […] Read moreSask. school funding model overhauled
Anxious Saskatchewan school divisions now know how much money they will get this year under a new funding formula announced in the March 21 provincial budget. All will see increases from $10 million in transition funding to help mitigate the impacts of the new distribution model. If the model had been introduced without mitigation, eight […] Read more
Dairy to chicks: new opportunities
B.C. family moves to Saskatchewan
DALMENY, Sask. — Diane and Mark Pastoor desperately wanted to be dairy farmers. Both were raised on dairies in the Abbotsford, B.C., area and entering that industry seemed a natural fit. “We dreamed of cows,” Diane said. But it was chicken production and a move that got them on their own farm. In British Columbia, […] Read more
Viterra sale in hands of regulators
More analysis needed | Competition Bureau will review Glencore, Agrium, Richardson deal
A deal to purchase and divide the assets of Viterra Inc. is in the hands of shareholders and regulators. Farmers and industry observers are waiting to see if the $6.1 billion acquisition offer from Glencore International PLC stands. Richard Gray, an agricultural economist at the University of Saskatchewan, said more analysis is required before the […] Read more
