SGI is once again waving the seeding eligibility requirement for Saskatchewan farm plates in 2011. Farmers must usually seed a minimum amount of land to qualify for the plates. The crown corporation granted an exemption last year because of wet conditions, but it was set to expire June 1. The requirements are now: the vehicle […] Read more
Karen Briere
Stories by Karen Briere
More water released from Lake Diefenbaker
The Saskatchewan Watershed Authority is releasing more water from Lake Diefenbaker through Gardiner Dam. Effective May 13, the flow will increase by 450 cubic metres per second to 820 cubic metres per second. Director of regional operations Doug Johnson said the release will reduce potential for flooding from mountain runoff, which is above normal this […] Read more
Flood risk easing in southeastern Sask.
Water in the Souris River downstream from Rafferty and Boundary reservoirs near Estevan, Sask., will remain high for several weeks, but officials now believe the worst is over. Barring a significant rainfall, the flows should be manageable, said Doug Johnson, the Saskatchewan Watershed Authority’s director of regional operations. The authority reduced the flow out of […] Read more
Sask. seeding well behind average
Saskatchewan farmers have seeded five percent of the 2011 crop, according to the provincial government’s May 12 crop report. The five year average is 14 percent. Southwestern farmers are furthest ahead at 13 percent, while only one percent is in the ground in the east-central, northeastern and northwestern regions. Topsoil is still very wet: 55 […] Read more
Flooding risk high in southeastern Sask.
Two families in the Rural Municipality of Estevan have left their homes after berms built to protect them from flooding failed. Duane McKay, Saskatchewan’s director of emergency response, said today that the dirt berms had been built by the homeowners and were washed out in places by the water. Crews from corrections, public safety and […] Read more
Ranchers suffer calving losses in southern spring squall
Tom Grieve could hear a calf bawling, but the only thing he could see was snow. A storm that walloped southeastern Saskatchewan the weekend of April 30-May 1 had piled the snow as high as the two-bale windbreak he had made and about 15 metres out from it. The Fillmore area farmer already knew he […] Read more
Flooding threat worsens in Sask.
Southeastern Saskatchewan was preparing for a deluge earlier this week as weather forecasters predicted as much as 50 millimetres of rain on top of an already saturated landscape. Few welcomed the news of any amount of rain after a late April snowstorm dumped wet snow on the region and residents prepared to clean up from […] Read more
Grazing land said lost due to lack of use by producer last year
A Saskatchewan producer who has grazed cattle in Moose Mountain Provincial Park for years says he has been unfairly banned from the practice this year. Jack Bryce of Arcola said he was told he couldn’t use grazing land within the park because he had not used his allocation last year. Park officials would say only […] Read more
Sask. teachers, province at odds over pay rate
Saskatchewan’s 12,000 teachers walked off the job for a day last week to draw attention to the fact they don’t have a contract. The May 5 job action was the first-ever complete withdrawal of services in the 78-year history of the Saskatchewan Teachers’ Federation. Teachers withdrew extracurricular services 11 years ago during negotiations. The last […] Read more
Union seeks arbitration
About 60 health-care workers in Prince Albert, Sask., walked off the job May 9 after the Health Sciences Association of Saskatchewan announced it was calling a strike. They were the only workers on the picket line on the first day of the strike. The union represents a diverse group of workers, including addictions counsellors, paramedics, […] Read more
