MOOSE JAW, Sask. – Food is the original worldwide web, says Wayne Roberts, food activist and Toronto Food Policy Council director. Throughout history, food has connected humans with other species and brought people together. In fact, farmers’ markets led to the creation of cities, he said. In Roman times, farmers would use the place where […] Read more
Karen Briere
Stories by Karen Briere
Local produce comes with price
MOOSE JAW, Sask. – Saskatchewan could support more vegetable production, as long as consumers are willing to pay. Kim Sakundiak, who with Wayne Gienow operates Lincoln Gardens in the valley between Lumsden and Craven, told people attending a Food Secure Saskatchewan workshop that there is room for more growers. There used to be 11 farms […] Read more
Food box program helps low income
MOOSE JAW, Sask. – Twice a month, volunteers meet at a Moose Jaw church to pack as many as 150 containers with fresh vegetables and fruit. The goal of Hunger in Moose Jaw’s good food box program is to make nutritious food available to everyone at a reasonable price. Programs like this also aim to […] Read more
Hog loan helps, but slow coming
The opportunity to access advance AgriStability payments will help some hog operations stay afloat, says SaskPork chair Joe Kleinsasser. The federal and provincial governments have announced that targeted advance payments will be available to those who qualify. Letters were to be in the mail this week, telling producers how to apply and how much they […] Read more
Agriculture plans scarce in Sask. throne speech
The Saskatchewan government didn’t include new significant agricultural programs in its Oct. 21 throne speech. The agriculture portion of the speech, read by lieutenant governor Gordon Barnhart to open the third session of the 26th legislature, included only a summary of what the two-year-old government has already done or announced. It listed taking over the […] Read more
Canola processor begins accepting seed
YORKTON, Sask. – LDM Foods is accepting canola seed now as it moves toward full operation in late November. LDM is the first of two canola processors to be built within sight of each other at the west end of Yorkton. It is a joint project of Louis Dreyfus Canada and Mitsui Canada. Richardson Oilseed […] Read more
Sask. cattle election begins
Voting begins Oct. 20 for directors of the Saskatchewan Cattlemen’s Association. The elections mark a shift for the province’s beef industry as it moves toward a producer-administered checkoff, similar to other commodities. Membership in the SCA is automatic, as long as a producer has paid the beef checkoff and not received a refund in the […] Read more
Hog producers offered AgriStability advances
Saskatchewan pork producers say targeted advance AgriStability payments will help prevent some operations from going under. Letters will be mailed to eligible producers next week, telling them how much they could receive and how to apply. Producers can receive up to 75 percent of their estimated 2009 payment. At least half of their income must […] Read more
Retroactive natural gas decrease would help farmers drying grain
A pending natural gas rate cut will come too late to help farmers forced to dry grain this fall, says NDP leader and agriculture critic Dwain Lingenfelter. Late last week, he repeated his call for the proposed reduction to be retroactive to Sept. 1 rather than take effect Nov. 1. Rainy weather has replaced the […] Read more
Union rejects offer from Sask. XL plant
Workers at the XL Foods beef slaughter plant in Moose Jaw, Sask., who are laid off and locked out, have rejected a contract offer from the company. About 145 of a possible 200 United Food and Commercial Workers members voted Sept. 27. Local 1400 president Norm Neault said the vote was soundly rejected because the […] Read more
