The number of unseeded acreage benefit claims in Saskatchewan has surpassed the 2010 record. As of July 18, the Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. had registered 13,243 claims. That compares to 12,314 last year. So far, 5,104 claims worth $155.5 million have been paid out. Last year, total payout for unseeded acreage claims was $221.4 million. […] Read more
Karen Briere
Stories by Karen Briere
Research to determine trees best suited for job
INDIAN HEAD, Sask. – Millions of trees have been distributed from the federal nursery at Indian Head since it opened 110 years ago. Now known as the Agroforestry Development Centre, the former Shelterbelt Centre continues to develop new trees and examine their importance in prairie agriculture. Researchers highlighted some of their current work at an […] Read more
Local food not always best solution
MOOSE JAW, Sask. – Food security is a much broader concept than being self sufficient and eating locally, said experts speaking at the recent Farming For Profit conference. The issue has become a priority for consumers recently, and many of them have gravitated to the 100 Mile Diet and farmers’ markets. But eating locally is […] Read more
Massive U.S. budget deficit will affect its next farm bill: ag economist
MOOSE JAW, Sask. — The United States’ $1 trillion budget deficit will affect the size of its next farm bill, says an American agricultural economist. Agricultural spending is an easy target, even though it is less than one percent of the federal budget, said Flynn Adcock, assistant director of the Centre for North American Studies […] Read more
Woody biomass studied for farm heating
INDIAN HEAD, Sask. — It wasn’t so long ago that most people heated their homes by burning wood. That fuel could soon return as an important heat source but in a cleaner, more efficient way. A pilot project at the federal Agroforestry Development Centre near Indian Head will use woody biomass, mainly chips from willows, […] Read more
Insurance system ‘makes sense’
An insurance type program could be a better way for the Canadian Grain Commission to provide producer security in the event of a grain company folding, says chief commissioner Elwin Hermanson. “I think there’s a better formula that would reduce the cost to producers and perhaps could even provide them with greater security,” he said […] Read more
Viterra helps stakeholders donate to Telemiracle
Viterra has announced a way for small shareholders to get rid of their shares through a charity program. Shares typically trade in lots of 100 or more. But Colleen Vancha, senior vice-president of investor relations and corporate affairs, said nearly 40,000 former Saskatchewan Wheat Pool co-operative members have fewer than 99 shares each. Many of […] Read more
Timing is everything with fungicide
SWIFT CURRENT, Sask. – The timing of fungicide applications on cereal crops is critical to protecting yield potential, says Saskatchewan’s plant disease specialist. Faye Dokken-Bouchard told producers at the Wheatland Conservation Area field day near Swift Current that they must know at what growth stage a particular crop sets its yield. That in turn determines […] Read more
Researchers unsure why hay yields are falling
SWIFT CURRENT, Sask. — Hay yields in Saskatchewan are declining while cattle numbers are increasing, and that concerns Paul Jefferson of the Western Beef Development Centre. The centre’s vice-president of operations told the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association annual meeting that falling hay yields affect producers’ competitiveness. The data shows that the decrease has occurred slowly […] Read more
Two Sask. labour disputes approach final resolution
Two labour disputes in Saskatchewan appear to be nearing settlement. Last week, health workers who are members of the Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan and had been staging rotating walkouts across the province since May 9, reached a tentative agreement with the Saskatchewan Association of Health Organizations. And, a mediator’s report on the dispute between […] Read more
