CRESTWYND, Sask. – Not many university students can say they spent the day moving cows, artificially inseminating them and then driving 250 kilometres, round trip, to write a final exam in the evening. Jordan Newhouse did that last week. And he’ll probably do it again. The 20-year-old is running 40 purebred Red Angus cows, 110 […] Read more
Karen Briere
Stories by Karen Briere
EU delays prompt Sask. packer to lay off staff
Delays in obtaining European Union certification have caused layoffs at Natural Valley Farms operations in Neudorf and Wolseley, Sask. The slaughter and processing company announced April 19 it would lay off 56 employees in management and union positions, which is one-third of its workforce. President Ken Piller said a custom contract to process 600 head […] Read more
Investigation examines pipeline leak
Cleanup continues after a ruptured pipeline spilled 5,660 barrels of heavy crude oil on farmland in southeastern Saskatchewan April 15. The spill, about the size of a football field, occurred about 2.5 kilometres downstream from the Enbridge Glenavon pumping station. A company News release news said the line was immediately shut down and isolated as […] Read more
Sask. water funding expanded
Farmers and cattle producers in 34 Saskatchewan rural municipalities affected by drought are first in line for a share of $1 million to develop water projects. The provincial government has released details of a one-time grant to help producers secure on-farm water supplies. The Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration will administer the program, and all projects […] Read more
Regina Agribition hires new manager
Jason Pollock’s diverse background has landed him the top administrative job at Canadian Western Agribition. The board of directors announced last week that Pollock of Qu’Appelle, Sask., will take over as chief executive officer and general manager effective May 21. Current manager Leon Brin is stepping down after five years. Pollock was raised in the […] Read more
Sask. grain cars get new look
Twenty-one bright green Saskatchewan hopper cars hit the rails April 5, the first of about 100 that will be refurbished this year. Along with the new paint, the cars feature decals of a prairie lily and yellow stripes to represent wheat and canola. Along the length of each car runs the word Saskatchewan! “You will […] Read more
Ethanol creates run on Andrew seed
The demand for soft white spring wheat as an ethanol feedstock has strained the seed supply of AC Andrew. Dale Alderson, western marketing manager for SeCan, said there is still some seed available but getting it won’t be easy. “Nobody anticipated the ethanol opportunity two years ago,” he said. Even SeCan, a dominant player in […] Read more
Deadline nears for ethanol venture
The end of April is a significant deadline for a proposed ethanol venture near Melville, Sask. If enough shares aren’t sold by then, the project could be in jeopardy. Blue Sky BioEnergy Ltd. intends to build a 40 million litre ethanol plant just south of Melville on Highway 10. The project will cost about $30 […] Read more
Lack of TB testing in export cattle prompts fine
A former Saskatchewan livestock company has been fined $172,023 for shipping cattle to the United States without testing for bovine tuberculosis. A lawyer for Frank Eaton Livestock Ltd., which is no longer in business, entered a guilty plea on behalf of the company in a Regina courtroom March 30. Federal prosecutor Frank Impey said the […] Read more
Lower rental rates charged on Sask. Crown land
More than 10,000 Saskatchewan crown land lessees will see their rental rates drop this year. The province has announced that rental rates on cultivated land will drop eight percent while grazing leases will decline 11 percent. The rates are determined using a formula specific to each type of land. Saskatchewan Agriculture’s lands director Al Syhlonyk […] Read more
