Karen Morrison

Grocers sit at the other end of the food chain from farmers but are on the front line when it comes to consumer actions and expectations, says Linda Toby Oswald-Felker of Canada Safeway. “They expect advocacy, they expect us to go to the supplier to make sure it (animal abuse) doesn’t happen,” she told the […] Read more

Holding onto a noodle plant is proving to be slippery business for Mossbank, Sask. Mark Goldman, president of Encore Gourmet Food Corp. of Montreal, which owns the plant, said the rural Saskatchewan factory is not viable without government incentives to stay there. And so far, he said, his company isn’t getting much co-operation from that […] Read more

One of the groups fighting the federal government’s gun registry says it plans to ask the RCMP to charge industry minister Allan Rock with fraud under the criminal code. Rock was justice minister when the registry was created. Bruce Hutton, founder of the 25,000 member Law-Abiding Unregistered Firearms Association, alleges Rock provided misleading, distorted and […] Read more

An influx of immigrants around 1900 turned encampments into villages and lean-tos into farmsteads in Western Canada. The 1906 special Western Canada census is crucial in telling that story of agriculture, individuals and communal settlers, said Leonard Doell, chair of the Mennonite Historical Society of Saskatchewan. “It’s an incredible resource,” he said, noting the census […] Read more

Gerry Kraay chose the lab over the barn, after learning first-hand about farm life as a boy in Holland. Kraay, who received masters and doctorate degrees in animal science, blood typing and genetics in Holland, served as director of the genetics branch of the Saskatchewan Research Council, or SRC, until his retirement in 2000. “Having […] Read more

Eddystone, Man., is a little town with a big heart. Every Christmas for as long as 4-H leader Jeannette Richards can remember, the community has come together for a free Christmas meal. This year is no exception with the dinner provided by Richards’ Eddystone Combined 4-H Club on Dec. 22 at the Westlake Community Centre. […] Read more

A group of organic producers hopes to make British Columbia’s Saltspring Island a seed sanctuary. Dan Jason of Saltspring Seeds said 10 people are involved in the project to preserve edible and medicinal seeds and plants on the largest of the Gulf Islands. He believes its relative isolation, small population and acreage make it an […] Read more

Donations to the Canadian Foodgrains Bank are down by 2,000 tonnes this year, largely due to the prairie drought. Richard Phillips, director of resources for the Canadian Foodgrains Bank, said 4,900 tonnes of grain have been donated by farmers across the country this year. “Ontario farmers had a better crop this year and their increased […] Read more

Saskatchewan irrigators were told not to expect new money for irrigation development this year at their seventh annual conference. James Harvey, re-elected president of the Saskatchewan Irrigation Projects Association, said provincial and federal government representatives in attendance cited financial constraints this year but did not rule out future funding. Support is expected to continue in […] Read more

Two Saskatchewan elk farms have filed a class-action lawsuit claiming Agriculture Canada negligently allowed diseased animals into the country. Blane and Glen Heitt of Unity, with Rick Alsager of Maidstone, filed the suit in Regina on Nov. 28. Blane Heitt said they believe the government knew that diseases like chronic wasting disease and bovine tuberculosis […] Read more