Balancing work and home | Continuous cropping allows full-time farmer to make better use of time, land and equipment
LANDIS, Sask. — A cool spring wind sweeps across the open landscape of Jeffrey Wheaton’s farmyard as he reflects on his recent switch to direct seeding. “It’s definitely nice to see the land not moving,” he said. With the exception of trees planted on sparse home quarters in this west-central region of Saskatchewan, there are […] Read moreStories by Karen Morrison
Century farm likely to stay in family
Children keen on taking over | Sask. farmers ready to slow down and travel the world
DODSLAND, Sask. — Hap Bennett credits earlier generations for his family’s good life on the farm today. “We’re lucky to be a third generation farm and have an opportunity to pass it on to the fourth generation,” he said. “It’s hard to get a farm to pass on. It is a lot of co-operation and […] Read moreCo-op approach aids small farmers
As a new grower, Joel Comer looked to a co-operative to help launch his fledgling operation. The Creston, B.C., producer is one of 20 members of the Naturally Grown Herb and Spice Producers Co-operative. He and his wife are university graduates who have returned to his parents’ former cattle farm with plans to create an […] Read more
Short cuts to save time have lifelong repercussions, says accident victim
The prairie skies darkened as Darwin McClughan hurried to finish baling in August 2004. As he had done many times before, the farmer from Duval, Sask., left the tractor and baler running and stepped out to restart the twine-wrapping process. But this time, hay was built up on the ledge where his hand was and […] Read more
Safety balanced with efficiency
Safety, ergonomics and productivity are top of mind for longtime tomato grower Dave Ryall. Shortly before his retirement, he hosted a delegation from the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association for a tour of his Gipaanda Greenhouses operation at Ladner, B.C. “If owning or a supervisor, you always have to be walking the place thinking about ergonomics,” […] Read more
Dangers lurk behind monster machines
Severe consequences | As farm equipment gets bigger and heavier, there are more blind spots and less room for error
Better engineering has helped reduce farm fatalities, but bigger machinery presents new kinds of dangers for operators. Don Voaklander, director of the Alberta Centre for Injury Control and Research, said a gradual decline of four percent per year in farm fatalities is welcome news. A study by the Canadian Agricultural Injury Reporting System found that […] Read more
B.C. couple brings taste of Africa to Canada
CRANBROOK, B.C. — Rod and Mal Paterson are counting on South African-Canadians like themselves who crave a taste of home. Biltong Canada, their Cranbrook, B.C., company, cuts, marinates and dries beef using a recipe that dates back to the 1600s. “We’re not just selling food but selling nostalgia, home and life as it used to […] Read more
Couple shifts gears during economic downturn
A downturn in real estate markets forced two former Canadian farmers to revisit their roots and begin producing food again, this time in Costa Rica. Jessa York and Allan Shantz raise more than 70 free range chickens and ducks on a 35 acre farm near Tamarindo, as well as growing purple corn for feed and […] Read more
Long work days linked to higher farm injury rates
VANCOUVER – Longer hours at work on the farm result in a higher rate of injury, a two-year study of Saskatchewan farms found. Researcher William Pickett, a health sciences professor at Queen’s University in Kingston, Ont., said the farm and its inherent hazards also account for accidents. “If things are dangerous and people are working […] Read more
Church stands test of time
GRONLID, Sask. — Ukrainian settlers faced many hardships on the untamed Saskatchewan prairie near the turn of the 20th century, but they came together weekly to worship at a small rural church. St. Mary’s Ukrainian Orthodox Church had humble beginnings as a five by six metre log building erected in 1916. Families soon filled every […] Read more
