Saskatchewan producers should receive about $2 billion in business risk management support payments this year, the provincial and federal governments said last week. Forecasts based on the 30 percent of Saskatchewan Crop Insurance claims paid out so far show those payments alone could reach $1.85 billion. According to the corporation, the reserve fund would still […] Read more
Karen Briere
Stories by Karen Briere
Landowner protections to take effect in Sask. next year
Amendments were made to make sure that oil and gas companies pay landholders for surface leases and damages
Legislative amendments the Saskatchewan government said were designed to protect landowners if energy companies fail to pay them are scheduled to take effect Jan. 1. The government announced the implementation date last week. The changes include amending the Surface Rights Acquisition and Compensation Act so the board of arbitration can hear cases and issue compliance […] Read more
Rural municipalities support new Saskatchewan marshals service
Saskatchewan rural councillors defeated a motion asking the provincial government to stop implementing its marshals service, but they still have questions about how it will work. At last week’s midterm convention of the Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, delegates voted 61 percent against the resolution from the RM of Elfros that observed the RCMP, which […] Read more
Truckers request more flexibility
Sector cites animal welfare concerns as it asks for more flexibility in enforcing hours of work while transporting livestock
The Canadian livestock sector wants flexibility in the enforcement of truck driver hours-of-work rules to account for unforeseen circumstances. Animal transporters said they don’t want to be fined for taking animal welfare into consideration if they are unexpectedly delayed and exceed the maximum 13 hours of truck operation per day. However, Transport Canada said the […] Read more
Ag labour challenges continue
The latest agricultural labour market information shows shortages cost the sector billions and the problem is likely to grow. The Canadian Agricultural Human Resource Council’s most recent survey, conducted by the Conference Board of Canada between March and September, found 28,200 jobs were unfilled during peak season in 2022. That resulted in a 3.7 percent […] Read more
War veteran nears 100th birthday
The aircraft mechanic from Saskatchewan was posted in England, Holland and Germany during the Second World War
MAPLE CREEK, Sask. — In December 1942, just days before Christmas and days after his 19th birthday, Robert Tracy Cross left the family farm and headed five miles into Yorkton, Sask. There, he signed up for the war effort. “I figured maybe they needed a little more help,” said the Second World War veteran who […] Read more
Senators vote against changes to carbon pricing exemption bill
The Canadian Senate rejected amendments to Bill C-234 in a pivotal vote Nov. 7. By a 42-28 margin, with three abstentions, senators voted against a change to the bill that would remove heating and cooling of barns and greenhouses from a potential carbon tax exemption. The amendment had been passed during agriculture committee scrutiny and […] Read more
Targeted feed assistance under fire in Sask.
Livestock producers question targeting AgriRecovery to certain areas, saying it should have been offered to everyone
HERBERT, Sask. — Applications for the latest livestock program assistance program are open in Saskatchewan but some cattle producers are less than enthused about this version of AgriRecovery. They’d prefer something like the 2021 drought recovery program that paid $200 per head to all producers. The 2023 program is targeted to certain areas and pays […] Read more
Producers oppose carbon tax bill amendment
A Senate amendment to a private member’s bill would exempt grain drying but not barn heating and greenhouses
Farm organizations and farmers across the country urge senators to defeat an amendment to Bill C-234 that removed barns and greenhouses from a potential carbon pricing exemption. The proposed changes mean the bill, which would amend the Greenhouse Gas Pollution Pricing Act, would exempt natural gas and propane used for grain drying but not barn […] Read more
New Sask. sow processing plant opens its door
Moose Jaw facility is largest of its kind in the country and will process cull sows and off-spec hogs from Western Canada
MOOSE JAW, Sask. — A new state-of-the-art sow processing plant begins accepting animals this week at the former beef plant in Moose Jaw. North 49 Foods is a division of Donald’s Fine Foods, which also owns Thunder Creek Pork in the city, and the first major pork plant to be built in Western Canada in […] Read more
