Saskatchewan farmers are getting more crop insurance coverage but they’re going to have to pay for it. Premiums are rising an average of $2 per acre for 2008 as coverage levels go up to reflect increased commodity prices. The average coverage level will be $128 per acre, compared to $86 last year. Agriculture minister Bob […] Read more
Karen Briere
Stories by Karen Briere
Select pulse fields based on moisture
MOOSE JAW, Sask. – Moisture is the limiting factor for most pulse crops in the brown and dark brown soil zones of southern Saskatchewan. Provincial soil specialist Ken Panchuk said producers should select fields on which to grow pulses based on moisture availability, not nitrogen. Since pulses don’t require additional nitrogen fertilizer, moisture is the […] Read more
Sask. gov’t gives biofuel a boost
The Saskatchewan government has made it easier for people to invest in biofuel facilities. Acting on a recommendation from the Saskatchewan Biofuels Development Council, enterprise and innovation minister Lyle Stewart announced changes to a four-year, $80 million program announced by the previous government last summer. The Saskatchewan Biofuels Investment Opportunity program provides repayable capital loans […] Read more
Help lines busy as farm stress piles up
Farmers are typically thought of as stoic, resilient and able to deal with the many hardships that come their way. But Josephine Smart, a University of Calgary anthropology professor, says higher suicide rates in rural areas show the need for better services for farmers under stress. Smart is co-leading a three-year study of the social […] Read more
Business built on red genetics
BALCARRES, Sask. – Perseverance, luck and a willingness to learn have taken Dennis and Donna McMorris from the bottom to the top with their purebred cattle. They still recall, with some chagrin, the first time they went to Canadian Western Agribition 10 years ago with their “three little animals,” as Donna puts it. Taken under […] Read more
Trial fails in early ascochyta blight detection
MOOSE JAW, Sask. – A project designed to develop an early warning system for ascochyta blight in chickpeas didn’t do the trick in the first year of a three-year trial. However, the sentinel plant trap-line project will be refined for 2008 as researchers continue to look for ways to control ascochyta. Penny Pearse, Saskatchewan Agriculture’s […] Read more
Processors encouraged to try automated bagging
MOOSE JAW, Sask. – Special crop processors could save thousands of dollars a year by automating their bagging lines, says a representative of industrial manufacturer Weitek USA. National sales manager Nico Nicoletti said 95 percent of companies in Western Canada are still bagging by hand. Weitek is based in Italy and entered the crop packaging […] Read more
Pulse research geared to market gain
MOOSE JAW, Sask. – Research scientists continue to look for ways to increase pulse and special crop pro-duction in Saskatchewan. Pulse crops are the smallest in terms of acreage devoted to growing them – 4.6 million acres in 2007. Total special crop acreage, including pulses, was 5.5 million acres. Yantai Gan, an alternative crop agronomist […] Read more
Sask. poultry producer wants more compensation
The effects of avian flu on a Saskatchewan broiler breeder operation are not yet over, says the owner, even though he has birds in his barns again. James Glen said Feb. 7 that normal operational cycles have resumed at Pedigree Poultry with about 20,000 birds having been placed so far. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency […] Read more
Canada eager to find niche in Middle East, North Africa
MOOSE JAW, Sask. – Canada is investigating bilateral trade agreements with countries in the Middle East and North Africa. James Hannah, senior international marketing officer with Agriculture Canada, said although Canada is participating in the World Trade Organization talks there is concern that “the multilateral might not work, so we’ve started to do things on […] Read more
