Increasing water demand in the Regina-Moose Jaw corridor could benefit Saskatchewan farmers who have long wanted to irrigate. Provincial government officials say they are looking for money for a feasibility study to determine how best to deliver more water to the region from Lake Diefenbaker. That could mean irrigation opportunities for farmers along the route. […] Read more
Karen Briere
Stories by Karen Briere
Flax straw home first step to more ecological living
DRINKWATER, Sask. – Yars Lozowchuk says he is changing his lifestyle before depleting world oil stocks do it for him. The Regina resident built a new home that meets his commitment to a more environmentally sustainable life in the tiny community of Drinkwater, population 65. Work began in 2008 and continued through 2009 on a […] Read more
Agrium expands retail arm
A rebranding program is underway at 33 agricultural retail outlets in Alberta and Saskatchewan acquired by fertilizer maker and agricultural product seller Agrium Inc. The 27 businesses in southern and central Alberta and six in southern Saskatchewan will bear the Crop Production Services (Canada) Inc. name within months. The outlets have total annual revenues of […] Read more
Sask. co-op joins U.S. Organic Valley
Regina-based Farmer Direct Co-operative Ltd. has joined the largest U.S. organic farmer-owned co-op, gaining a secure market and stable price for its members’ feed grain. General manager Jason Freeman said Jan. 13 the membership agreement includes $400,000 in annual feed sales to Organic Valley Family of Farms’ dairy members. That represents about 10 percent of […] Read more
Flaman donates $500,000 toward Haitian relief efforts
Well-known agricultural businessman Frank Flaman donated $500,000 to earthquake relief efforts in Haiti Jan. 15, hoping it would spur others to give what they can. The founder of the Flaman Group of Companies gave $250,000 to the Salvation Army and the same amount to Oxfam, saying he couldn’t sit by and do nothing. “I’m the […] Read more
Big Sky’s farmer creditors look at 15 percent payment
The more they are owed, the less unsecured creditors of Big Sky Farms will get under a plan approved by Court of Queen’s Bench in Saskatoon last week. Creditors will vote on the plan Feb. 8. The plan calls for the Humboldt, Sask.-based hog company to pay about $4.7 million of the $32.5 million it […] Read more
Busing issue sees solution
Parents from Glenavon, Sask., have won a two-year-long battle. The Prairie Valley School Division board has agreed to provide a bus for their children to attend school in Wolseley. The parents had been paying for busing, on their own and through fundraising, since the division closed their school in 2007 and announced that the students […] Read more
Producers, RMs take aim against invasive weed
WOODROW, Sask. – Next spring, the now-frozen Wood River in southern Saskatchewan will twist and turn its way from the Wood Mountains to Old Wives Lake carrying more than just snow and ice melt. Romanticized and made popular by singer and songwriter Connie Kaldor, the picturesque watercourse has unwittingly become known, at least to locals, […] Read more
Dams, irrigation early focus of PFRA
The Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration must have been a godsend for the thousands of farmers struggling through the Dirty Thirties. Established in 1935 during the prolonged drought that earned the decade its name, the PFRA became synonymous with soil and water conservation. The federal organization played a key role in securing water supplies for farmers, […] Read more
Reservoir plan involved irrigating 450,000 acres
Lake Diefenbaker lies like a glittering jewel in southern Saskatchewan, 225 kilometres of water that for more than 40 years has been the subject of many irrigation studies. The potential has been talked about for so long that many close to the issue are frustrated. It’s time for the provincial government to act, says AECOM […] Read more
