Bargaining between Saskatchewan Crop Insurance Corp. and 470 members of the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees Union resumed late June 22 after tough talk from the premier earlier in the day. The talks wrapped up around midnight and were set to resume today. The workers walked off the job June 21 after being in a […] Read more
Karen Briere
Stories by Karen Briere
Sask. seeding ahead of last year
Saskatchewan Agriculture says 82 percent of the 2011 crop has been seeded. That compares to 76 percent last year at this time. The southeast is least advanced at 44 percent, while the southwest is 82 percent done, the east central 86 percent, west-central and northwest both 99 percent, and northeast, 98 percent. Within those numbers, […] Read more
Swollen river forces southern Sask. residents out of homes
Several hundred residents in the village of Roche Percee, the Rural Municipality of Estevan and the cities of Weyburn and Estevan were evacuated last weekend as water rushed through the Souris River system. Government officials said some of the evacuees had registered at shelters set up in the two cities, but most found accommodation with […] Read more
Farm progress show plans changes
The world of agricultural trade shows is changing and the Western Canada Farm Progress Show refuses to be left behind. Show organizers engaged German trade show consultant Tobias Eichberg last year to review the event and recommend ways to keep it relevant. The first change was unveiled this year: a new way to honour innovations […] Read more
CWB chair lashes out at gov’t
Canadian Wheat Board chair Allen Oberg insisted in a speech in Regina last week that the federal government’s vision for the board in a post-single desk world is unworkable. He urged farmers to sign a petition requesting their right to decide the board’s future. However, CWB director Jeff Nielsen, who opposes the monopoly and supports […] Read more
Grain bag roller easy on wallet, environment
Steve Greenslade got to work when a customer told him that what he really needed was a grain bag roller. The owner of Greenslades Northern Welding Ltd. in Hanna, Alta., has spent the last couple of months taking the idea to prototype, patent and product. Last week he attended the Western Canada Farm Progress Show […] Read more
International gathering to review FMD threat
SWIFT CURRENT, Sask. – It’s not a human health issue, nor is it particularly production limiting, but foot-and-mouth disease has the potential to grind Canadian beef trade to a halt. Dr. Greg Douglas, Saskatchewan’s chief veterinary officer, said that possibility always exists and would be catastrophic for the industry. He and other provincial and state […] Read more
Sask. livestock auctioneer honoured
Saskatchewan livestock auctioneer Roy Rutledge was momentarily speechless upon learning of his induction into the Livestock Markets Association of Canada’s Hall of Fame. That will surprise anyone who knows him. Rutledge is always outspoken and often controversial. “I don’t be outspoken just to be rude,” he said. “I try to question things.” Usually, he finds […] Read more
Conservative MP says Sask. NDP leader no fan of the CWB
A Conservative MP says Saskatchewan’s NDP leader is at odds with his party’s position on the Canadian Wheat Board. The NDP is on the record as supporting the wheat board’s single desk powers and insisting that farmers be allowed to vote on any changes to those powers. However, David Anderson, an MP from southwestern Saskatchewan […] Read more
Wall takes stern approach to Sask. crop insurance strike
Saskatchewan premier Brad Wall has given the union representing crop insurance workers 24 hours to get back to work or the government will take action. He would not say whether that meant recalling the legislature to force the 470 members of the Saskatchewan Government and General Employees Union back to work. The workers walked off […] Read more
