Canadians are too polite to challenge “fear mongering” in health care, says Steven Lewis, a health policy and research consultant. “We never want to confront one another,” he told a gathering of Canadian health-care researchers and policy makers in Saskatoon Nov. 6. Lewis pointed to the need for discussions within bodies like elected health boards, […] Read more
Stories by Karen Morrison
Plan early for more tax options
The earlier a farm family starts succession and transition planning, the more tax options are available to them, says John Anderson of the Canadian Farm Business Development Council. Anderson used the analogy of eating fast food. “If you want a fast food meal, you can expect acid burning of taxes,” he said. “If you don’t […] Read more
Dairy business keeps family hopping
TOLSTOI, Man.- For Beerd Hop, Holsteins are more than a mainstay on his 760-acre family farm located minutes from the Manitoba-American border. “I love what I do; milking cows is my hobby,” he said. “I don’t feel the need to not be here.” Beerd is content to stay close to home, tending to the herds […] Read more
Special Report – Farmers slow to plan transition (story 1)
More than 120,000 Canadian farmers will turn 65 in the next decade, forcing some of the $50 billion in farm assets to change hands, according to a study by the George Morris Centre and the Royal Bank. Yet only two to four percent of farmers have a written farm succession plan. With 70 percent of […] Read more
Special Report – Farm succession (main)
DIDSBURY, Alta.- Louis Shultz lives across a gravel driveway from his son Shawn but they chose the neutral turf of a cafe in the city to talk about the family farm succession plans. “We sat in a restaurant to avoid being interrupted,” said Shirley, Louis’s wife. It was there that parents Louis and Shirley, their […] Read more
Special Report – Examine goals when considering farm transfer (story 2)
A solid farm transfer plan begins with a critical look at the operation’s books. Most approach farm transfers looking at the personal side, principally goals and objectives, said Merle Good of Alberta Agriculture. “We have to back ’em off that,” he said. “The first thing to look at is viability.” The tax specialist with the […] Read more
Saskatchewan bird makes beeline to southern climes
A Saskatchewan osprey travelled more than 1,000 kilometres a day en route to wintering grounds in Ecuador and Colombia this fall. Such detailed information came from a solar-powered transmitter that was strapped to the female osprey in Saskatchewan on July 2. Stuart Houston of Nature Saskatchewan marveled at the “fantastic information” sent daily via satellite. […] Read more
Mixed year in western Saskatchewan
COLEVILLE, Sask. – Grain bins in varying shapes, sizes and fading colours face each other in two neat rows at Ronald Whitfield’s mixed farm near Coleville. Only one is full after a dry summer left the region with short crops, low yields and uncertain futures. “OneÐthird of the bins are two-thirds empty,” Whitfield said. Number […] Read more
Budding business is barrel of fun
Swift Current, Sask. – Irene Friesen wants to see stout blue bins and rusting metal drums replaced with vase-shaped rain barrels in designer colours. The 37-year-old Swift Current entrepreneur hatched the soon-to-be patented plastic prototype for her Oasis Rain Collection System in 1999, and is now selling a variety of models in major gardening and […] Read more
Irrigators examine untapped potential
CABRI, Sask. – The mighty South Saskatchewan River looks more like a series of creeks north of Cabri this year, its eroded banks exposed and sandbars dividing it into water lanes. The unusually low water levels are due to below-normal precipitation during the winter and growing season. Irrigators like Willie Karwandy normally draw water from […] Read more
