Karen Morrison

OUTLOOK, Sask. – Food wholesalers are looking for consistent quality in every shipment, food buyer Mike Fury told a Saskatchewan Vegetable Growers Association conference here Feb. 28. “Your standards have to be brought to the level of the consumers,” said Fury of the Grocery People, a food wholesaler and retailer owned by Federated Co-operatives Ltd. […] Read more

OUTLOOK, Sask. – Crop insurance based on production rather than acres would work best for vegetable growers, said the president of the Saskatchewan Vegetable Growers Association. Wayne Gienow, a market gardener from Lumsden, said his group hopes to study its insurance needs this summer and present the findings to Canada-Saskatchewan Crop Insurance, which is exploring […] Read more

Councillors in the Saskatchewan rural municipality of Foam Lake will vote March 5 on whether to go ahead with an intensive pig operation amid mounting opposition. Petitions with 600 signatures opposing the construction of Big Sky barns at six sites near Foam Lake will be presented at the council’s next meeting. Reeve Gerald Holowaty is […] Read more

Canadians who want to maintain a storybook image of agriculture should think about how much that will cost them, participants heard at a conference on environmental farm planning in Saskatoon. “It’s fine to expect it but they should be prepared to pay for it,” said Ed Tyrchniewicz, a retired agricultural economist speaking at the meeting […] Read more

Insurance rebates More than 5,100 Alberta farmers who bought straight hail crop insurance in 2002 will receive premium rebates totalling $3.7 million. Farmers who bought hail insurance and made a claim in 2002 will receive a 15 percent premium rebate, while farmers who did not make a claim will receive a 30 percent rebate on […] Read more

SWIFT CURRENT, Sask. – A half-dozen crinolines hang in a spare bedroom, too billowy to fit in the closet alongside the pink and silver dance costumes of Art and Olive Waker. In a mirror-lined basement studio at their farm home, the couple slides about the hardwood floors to the beat of Kiss Me Quick. The […] Read more

GULL LAKE, Sask. – Standing at the base of one of two mammoth Sask Power wind turbines on his farm, Mike Magee’s face and hands turn red within seconds from the high windchill. “The wind really blows out here,” said Magee, speculating that the lay of the rolling hills near Gull Lake contributes to constant […] Read more

Consumers accustomed to 10 different kinds of lettuce at the supermarket will not settle for just one colour of ketchup, a farm business management conference heard Feb. 6 in Saskatoon. “The consumer is never going to be happy and is looking for more differentiation on the products you’re selling,” said University of Saskatchewan agricultural economics […] Read more

Saskatchewan firearm educators doubt the government can run gun safety courses more cheaply than they can. Effective Feb. 1, the federal government took over administering the classes, previously managed by the Saskatchewan Association of Firearms Educators. Michelle Snyder of the Canadian Firearms Centre in Edmonton said the switch was made as part of a government […] Read more

A new program will show cattle producers how their management practices can reduce greenhouse gas emissions. The Canadian Cattlemen’s Association has launched a demonstration under the federally funded Greenhouse Gas Mitigation Program for Canadian Agriculture. Pat Walker, who co-ordinates the program for the beef industry, said it will identify and highlight best management practices that […] Read more