Karen Morrison

Correction: A story on page 19 of the Sept. 12 issue about growing wasabi should have read that prices are as high as $100 US per 100 grams. COURTENAY, B.C. – The forest floor near this Vancouver Island town is a carpet of lush green wide-leafed plants. Far from weeds, these edible wasabi plants are […] Read more

Research on the protective and therapeutic benefits of elk antler velvet for humans is on hold after Saskatchewan Agriculture denied a University of Saskatchewan medical researcher’s grant application. Susan Hemmings of the university’s college of medicine has spent the last two years studying potential benefits of velvet in managing and preventing liver disease. She had […] Read more

ESK, Sask. – Wrenches set onto wooden peg boards form a steel mosaic adorning one long wall of Ernie Klatt’s workshop on his farm near Esk. Tools are liberally sprinkled throughout the main workshop and line shelves in an adjacent lean-to shed, while still others lay in piles on the ground or in a nearby […] Read more

SAANICH, B.C. – Each fall, Farmer Dan and his puppet sidekick, Jacques O’Lantern, show schoolchildren how the apples in their lunch bags grow on British Columbia farms. This hay wagon view of horticulture illustrates what it takes to grow food, flowers and trees in the fields and inside greenhouses. Daniel Ponchet, 46, his sister Patricia […] Read more

Western Producer reporter Karen Morrison covered the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements world congress in Victoria Aug. 21-24. VICTORIA – As fossil fuels become more scarce and expensive to extract, farmers will need to find new ways to produce food, said Fred Kirschenmann of Iowa State University’s centre for sustainable development. Speaking at the […] Read more

Western Producer reporter Karen Morrison covered the International Federation of Organic Agriculture Movements world congress in Victoria Aug. 21-24. VICTORIA – Organic products should not be sold on price but on their difference, said Peter Segger, a British food buyer. Consumers need to be educated on what distinguishes a certified organic product from the rest, […] Read more

VICTORIA – Increased scientific data and educational aids are needed to move organic agriculture from movement to mainstream, says Janine Gibson, president of the Canadian Organic Growers, or COG. She said organic farmers are their own researchers, largely because of the site-specific nature of their chemical-free farming practices. “We need that knowledge, to network and […] Read more

All grain movement at Vancouver’s grain terminals ceased at midnight Aug. 25 after the British Columbia Terminal Elevator Operators locked out approximately 600 members of the Grain Workers Union. BCTEO represents five Vancouver-based grain terminals in collective bargaining with GWU. They include Agricore United, Cascadia Terminal, James Richardson International Limited, Pacific Elevators and Saskatchewan Wheat […] Read more

A proposal to eliminate half of Saskatchewan’s farmed elk to control chronic wasting disease has been shot down. A small group of elk farmers filed the proposal with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency earlier this month. Bob Kirkpatrick, president of the Saskatchewan Elk Breeders Association, said the producers’ proposal was intended to wipe out CWD, […] Read more

Elk destroyed in Alberta and Saskatchewan due to risks of contracting chronic wasting disease have shown no signs of the disease in post-mortem tests. Ken Stepushyn of the Canadian Food Inspection Agency said all results were negative on slaughtered animals believed to be in contact with the two cases of CWD this spring. One animal […] Read more