Karen Briere

Delegates to last week’s Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities mid-term convention want to regulate both stray animals and long-winded speakers at their convention. Among the resolutions passed at the two-day meeting was one to limit all speakers during the bear pit session with provincial government to three minutes so more questions could be asked. Others […] Read more

SALTCOATS, Sask. – The grass may not be greener on the other side of the fence but these cattle know there’s something good to eat beyond the electric wire. As soon as the wire is disconnected and dropped to the ground, they charge into the corn, some of them disappearing among the yellow stalks. They […] Read more

STOCKHOLM, Sask. – The idea of a reliable supply of high quality feed located close to his ranch appeals to cattle producer Bruce Chern. Now he needs to convince several of his grain-farming neighbours to let him rent some of their land to grow alfalfa and put his plan into action. Chern believes the benefits […] Read more

The Saskatchewan government moved Nov. 2 to protect residents from escalating natural gas costs, limiting an energy rate increase to 10 percent for at least the next five months. Premier Lorne Calvert said the government decided not to grant the 41 percent hike SaskEnergy had asked for because of the financial burden it would cause. […] Read more

The problem is easily identified but the solution still eludes the man studying it. Wayne Easter told farmers attending a symposium on farm income in Regina last week that their lack of market power means they have to take the prices they’re given. He identified that in a 48-recommendation report released last summer. “Agriculture contributes […] Read more

Farmers across Canada could learn a lesson from their counterparts in Quebec, the president of L’Union des Producteurs Agricoles told a farm income symposium in Regina last week. Laurent Pellerin said Quebec farmers had to learn to work together to gain market power and boost their incomes after several disastrous years. But he said it […] Read more

Saskatchewan will fully fund its share of Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization program payments for 2005. The government made that commitment during the Nov. 7 throne speech to open the first legislative session of the province’s second century. Agriculture minister Mark Wartman said the government recognizes the stress farmers are under as they make management plans. […] Read more

The Saskatchewan government is converting its struggling meat processing facility in Melfort into a toll processing plant designed to help companies take their products to market. Agriculture minister Mark Wartman said many companies have developed good products, often at the Food Industry Development Centre in Saskatoon, and they need to move into commercial scale production. […] Read more

As 270 employees of Worldwide Pork in Moose Jaw entered their sixth month on layoff, their union lawyer last week called on the Saskatchewan government to take action. Larry Kowalchuk, counsel for the Saskatchewan Joint Board of the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union, said the workers are waiting for the government to make good […] Read more

Western farmers perusing statistics on the website of the Canadian Agricultural Income Stabilization program might be taken aback by the amount of money going to New Brunswick claimants this year. Interim payments calculated so far for the 2004 CAIS program claims show 115 New Brunswick farmers received a total of almost $11.6 million, or more […] Read more