Horse welfare advocates hope the loss of a Saskatchewan slaughter facility doesn’t lead to the kinds of problems experienced in the United States after that country’s plants closed. Natural Meat Company, formerly Natural Valley Farms, closed at the end of January. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency had suspended the company’s operating licence in December because […] Read more
Karen Briere
Stories by Karen Briere
Poet finds muse in tractor seat
You know you can hear when you hear tractor through the trees. The voice of the tractor is the voice of pain it takes to live in this world. You know you can see when you see a dozen versions of the same field, same stone, same wheel. You know you can love when you […] Read more
Semple in Hall of Fame
Gavin Semple, president and general manager of the Brandt Group of Companies in Regina, was one of six people inducted recently into the Canadian Manufacturing Hall of Fame. Semple is well known for his role in building a thriving manufacturing sector in the province, including his company’s agricultural division. Brandt is the largest privately owned […] Read more
Committee of young farmers tout lifestyle to counterparts
Saskatchewan agriculture minister Bob Bjornerud has asked seven young farmers to help him help others like them. The agriculture youth advisory committee will meet eight times a year to discuss how to attract more young people to the industry. Chair April Nichol, who operates a 2,000-acre grain farm with her husband near Qu’Appelle, said the […] Read more
Pay farmers for ‘environmental solutions’
Proponents of a system that rewards farmers for the ecological goods and services they provide hope to generate momentum from a recent Regina meeting. Farmers, scientists and academics attending the symposium organized by the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan and the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation heard about projects underway on the Prairies and how they might […] Read more
Trade office tracks interest in Sask.
A one-two punch of technology will raise Saskatchewan’s profile on the international stage, attract more investment and increase trade, business leaders told a Regina news conference April 2. The Saskatchewan Trade and Export Partnership launched a flash drive containing information about STEP, Enterprise Saskatchewan, tourism and immigration, while Enterprise Saskatchewan unveiled a marketing DVD using […] Read more
Public gets say on nuclear
The Saskatchewan government will ask the public for its opinion on nuclear energy now that a report on the future of the province’s uranium industry has been released. The Uranium Development Partnership, led by Richard Florizone, a nuclear physicist and vice-president of finance at the University of Saskatchewan, made 20 recommendations about how to develop […] Read more
Recyclers in red from going green
A sharp drop in the price for cardboard collected by Saskatchewan’s recyclers has resulted in tonnes of the material piling up across the province. It’s also left recyclers in financial difficulty. Rail City Industries in Melville said earlier this month that its shortfall could be $40,000 to $60,000. The provincial government stepped in recently with […] Read more
Sask. gets flood cash
Two years after flooding ruined roads, bridges and other infrastructure in Saskatchewan, the federal government has announced it will pay the province its share of response and recovery costs. High water levels caused by excessive snow melt and spring runoff in northeastern and east-central Saskatchewan caused problems from March to November 2007. The province provided […] Read more
Listeriosis fresh in minds of consumers
Consumers may appreciate how Maple Leaf Foods took responsibility for a listeriosis outbreak last summer, but not all of them are buying the company’s meat products. According to a survey conducted by two University of Regina researchers in February, 69 percent of respondents thought the company handled product recall well. However, one-quarter of those who […] Read more
