This winter’s snow pack would suggest no repeat of last year’s spring flooding, but officials in Saskatchewan and North Dakota are preparing just in case. North Dakota governor Jack Dalrymple and senator John Hoeven met with premier Brad Wall in Regina recently to discuss short- and long-term flood control plans. Officials have been meeting since […] Read more
Karen Briere
Stories by Karen Briere
Flood costs in Sask. total $360M; tally expected to grow
Saskatchewan’s flood costs have ballooned to $360 million in the third-quarter financial report released Feb. 10 from a projected $244 million at mid-year. Finance minister Ken Krawetz said those costs have been offset by a $193 million contribution from the federal government for its portion of cost-shared programs and a $120 million special dividend from […] Read more
Outlook bright for Canadian beef sector
SASKATOON — The Canadian beef herd should stabilize and perhaps expand slightly in 2012, say industry officials. That could better position producers to take advantage of the continual slide in U.S. herd numbers. Canadian Cattlemen’s Association president Travis Toews said market signals point to stabilization followed by expansion, but other variables are also at play. […] Read more
Writing a prescription for health care
Saskatchewan’s health regions are working to change the way they deliver patient services, with the goal of ending wait times and ensuring services are available when patients need them. That would be good news for rural residents who sometimes find their hospitals closed or wander through a maze of appointments and waiting rooms to get […] Read more
Grain drying turned upside down
Use fans only at night | Throw what you thought you knew about drying grain out the window
MELVILLE, Sask. — Farmers can dry their binned grain more quickly by running aeration fans only at night, new research has found. That contradicts decades-old wisdom that suggested fans should run continuously until grain is dry. In fact, that practice can actually damage grain by heating it and adding water to the kernels, said Ron […] Read moreRural population shrinking: 2011 census
The number of people living in Western Canada is growing, but few of them are choosing to live in rural areas. According to the 2011 census released today, the population of all provinces west of Ontario now accounts for 30.7 percent of the total 33,476,688 who call Canada home. That is larger than Quebec and […] Read more
Bunge Canada fined in injured worker case
Bunge Canada was fined $42,000 in Nipawin, Sask. court recently after pleading guilty to one count under the provincial Occupational Health and Safety Act. A worker was injured Aug. 13, 2009 while inspecting a rail car. The worker received an electrical shock while trying to remove foreign material below a power line. Bunge’s plea was […] Read more
U.S. beef consumption to fall
SASKATOON — The United States faces a sharp decline in per capita beef consumption by consumers battered by ongoing economic woes and record retail prices. “Demand is strictly an economic measurement based on what people will pay,” said Steve Kay, editor and publisher of Cattle Buyers Weekly. High unemployment and energy prices, along with record […] Read more
U.S. widens test for E. coli strains in ground beef
SASKATOON — The U.S. Department of Agriculture will begin testing March 5 for six E. coli strains that aren’t 0157:H7 serotypes. The agency announced last fall it would begin testing for 026, 0103, 045, 0111, 0121 and 0145. Raw ground beef, its components and tenderized steaks that test positive for these strains will not be […] Read more
Check-off hike destined for research, trade promotion
SASKATOON — Saskatchewan beef producers have voted to double the provincial refundable checkoff to $2 per head, hoping to stem a tide of red ink. The checkoff has been $1 since 1987, and raising it would put the province on par with British Columbia, Alberta, Manitoba, Ontario and New Brunswick. Those in favour of the […] Read more
