Karen Morrison

Vaccinating piglets for mycoplasma pneumonia pays big dividends in increased carcass weights. A recent University of Montreal study found that animals that had more than 10 percent of their lungs affected by mycoplasma pneumonia lesions had an average weight loss of 2.2 kilograms. Weight loss fell to .34 kg when less than 10 percent of […] Read more

Informed ethical choices can help keep farms successful, says a financial and human resources consultant. “You may be bound by the law, but you need a higher level of principle,” John Spencer of Clavet, Sask., told an audience at Saskatchewan Pork Expo held in Saskatoon Feb. 26-27. “That’s where success is.” He said “doing the […] Read more

The recent death of a Lloydminster man from Creutzfeldt-Jakob Disease is one of 25 to 30 cases that occur in Canada annually, says Andrew Swift of Health Canada. He called CJD a naturally occurring disease, with the cases spread randomly across the country. “There is a one in a million chance of it happening.” It […] Read more

Any expansion of irrigated areas in Saskatchewan will first require improvements in infrastructure, says Leo Tomasiewicz, vice-president of the Saskatchewan Irrigation Projects Association. Tomasiewicz supports the Action Committee on the Rural Economy’s call for expansion of the irrigation system and opening new areas for diversified agricultural growth. It will be included in the 150 recommendations […] Read more

Gophers will have a bounty on their tails this spring as the Saskatchewan Wildlife Federation uses a gopher derby to control their teeming populations. From April 1 to June 23, Saskatchewan residents who turn in the most gopher tails will receive cash prizes. Gophers, also known as Richardson’s ground squirrels, must be collected in the […] Read more

Marketing clubs come and go, but good ones evolve and change with their membership. The popularity of marketing clubs, created to bring farmers together to share ideas, network and learn, has waned since their heyday in the mid-1990s, said Irvin Wiebe, farm management specialist with Manitoba Agriculture. Citing the experience of about 15 groups in […] Read more

The internet, busy lives and waning interest led to the decline of a female marketing club at Rosenort, Man. “People weren’t interested in it anymore,” said former member Elsa Wolf, who farms with her husband Klaus near Brunkild. “Once you get the basics, you think it’s not necessary anymore.” She said the club operated for […] Read more

MELFORT, Sask.- Labour uncertainty and a slow approval process for development projects could send investment dollars out of Saskatchewan, says Brad Wildeman of the Action Committee on the Rural Economy. ACRE was formed in 2000 to study strategies for stimulating the rural economy and is reporting its findings at public meetings across the province. “A […] Read more

PADDOCKWOOD, Sask. – John Dinius could put out fires, parachute from planes and shoot a gun to fend off enemies, but modern farming practices eluded him. He and his wife Marge began farming in the 1970s “with a great ignorance” despite their upbringing and numerous odd jobs in rural Saskatchewan. “I had never seen hydraulics,” […] Read more

An environmentalist says intensive agricultural operations are the best use of Canada’s precious land resource. Speaking at the Saskatchewan Cattle Feeders Association annual meeting in Saskatoon on Feb. 1, Patrick Moore said these kinds of operations can help curb worldwide deforestation. Moore, a founding member of Greenpeace who now heads the consulting firm Greenspirit, said […] Read more