KENNEDY, Sask. – The days of bringing the cattle home for the winter and confining them in corrals have been giving way to alternative feeding methods. Judging by the response to a tour and presentations of several options in southeastern Saskatchewan, many cattle producers are weighing those options and looking for new ideas to feed […] Read more
Karen Briere
Stories by Karen Briere
Waterlogged fields may make encore
On the Prairies, the phrase “next year country” generally reflects the need for more rain. But with the exception of farmers in Alberta’s Peace region, few will be wishing for moisture heading into the 2011 growing season. An estimated 10 million acres, mostly in Saskatchewan, went unseeded last year due to excess moisture. Some say […] Read more
Ducks Unlimited honours Sask. environmental group
A producer group in southeastern Saskatchewan was honoured with the 2010 Lieutenant Governor’s Greenwing conservation award for its work promoting sustainable agriculture practices. The North Moose Mountain Creek Agri-Environmental Group Plan Inc. has hosted eight events since it formed 16 months ago. Chair Les Johnston said the organization was honoured by the award. “As stewards […] Read more
Store offers earth friendly products
LUMSDEN, Sask. – To earn shelf space in the Acorn Eco-Boutique, a product has to meet owner Amy Wilker’s specific standards. It should be made of recycled, organic or renewable sources, or be recyclable. It could be locally made, or should at least employ local people in the region where it’s made. It should have […] Read more
Invisible inhabitants vital to soil health
The evidence of healthy soil is as much what you can’t see as what you can. Billions of microorganisms live in the soils that feed the world and they all have a purpose. Keith Hanson, a microbiology specialist who works in the soil lab at the Semiarid Prairie Agricultural Research Centre in Swift Current, Sask., […] Read more
Slimy engineers build soil structure
Rare is the soil without earthworms. Good thing, too, because they play a huge role in keeping soil healthy and fertile. “They’re humongous vacuum tubes and they inoculate things along the way,” said Jill Clapperton, the North American expert on earthworms. The founder of Worm Watch, Canada’s ecological monitoring and assessment program, and a former […] Read more
Flooding claims still accepted in Sask.
Claims under the Provincial Disaster Assistance Program may still be made by those affected by the severe weather of 2010. The Saskatchewan government said flooding damage such as cracks in buildings may just be occurring now. The ministry of corrections, public safety and policing said some people might think they can’t file a claim because […] Read more
Tree tells residents ‘I’m home’
PERCIVAL, Sask. – This is a Christmas story about a tree and a community. And because it’s a Christmas story you know this isn’t just an ordinary tree, and that the story has a happy ending. Millions of people have passed this tree during its nearly 85 years stretching toward the sky. To some, it’s […] Read more
Waste not, want not: benefits of field grazing
KENNEDY, Sask. – Producers who use bale grazing, swath grazing and other winter feeding or extended grazing methods can’t exactly tell their cattle to clean up their plates or they won’t get dessert. There’s a tendency to move on to a new, fuller bale or plumper swath. But producers say the level of waste is […] Read more
Sale requires age verified cattle
Age verification isn’t mandatory in Saskatchewan but all cattle coming into the commercial show at Canadian Western Agribition required their birth certificates when they arrived. Ross Macdonald, chair of the commercial cattle events, said the committee had surveyed previous buyers and learned that they would like age-verified cattle in the sale ring. “The commercial cattle […] Read more
