MOOSE JAW, Sask. – A 2,200 pound heavy horse bolts toward the open barn door where 21-year-old Lacey McNutt stands, waving her arms and hollering to stop the runaway. When that fails, she quickly pulls down the overhead door. “They’re a big horse and they’ve got big feet and can surely hurt someone,” McNutt said […] Read more
Stories by Karen Morrison
Close study reveals what horses really need
BLACKFOOT, Alta. –Elaine Hardstaff’s best days are spent looking at the side of a horse.The horse therapist has been soothing, healing and massaging the muscles and bones of horses for 12 years.“How can you call it a job when you love it so much,” she said from Blackfoot, where horse plates and ornaments decorate the […] Read more
Stakes are high for Sask. pulse exporters
LLOYDMINSTER – Ben Nelson marveled over the volume and variety of pulses in the Middle Eastern diet during a recent visit to the trading district in Dubai.“In stores here, it would be hard to find 100 kilograms; over there they’d have 80 tonnes sitting in the grocery store,” said Nelson, who operates Great Western Grain […] Read more
Bruised but not beaten, rancher still saddles up
TULLIBY LAKE, Alta. – At 83, Don Sidener still rides his horse every three hours during calving time to check on his herd.With a flashlight in hand at night and his horse, Buster, beneath a well-worn saddle, Sidener cuts out cows ready to calve and takes them to the barn for the big event.”That’s where […] Read more
Not where you expect to find vegetarian fare
MERVIN, Sask. – Tam Courtice won’t serve anything in her restaurant that she wouldn’t eat herself.That means a diverse selection of vegetarian, organic, fresh and dairy free at Bumbleberry’s Tea and Coffee House, which Tam operates in this small western Saskatchewan village with her husband, Jeff.”I try different things all the time, otherwise it gets […] Read more
Family sees bright future for cattle ranch
MAIDSTONE, Sask. – A second dose of snow and rain in a week recently slowed the daily cattle chores at Misty Valley Farms, but no one was complaining. “It really makes it miserable for calving, but it’s something we’ve got to have and we’re glad to have it,” said Maurice Oddan, who farms with his […] Read more
Ducks easy to raise, produce nutritious eggs
DALMENY, Sask. – The Hodges family is introducing consumers to exotic new tastes while at the same time striving to preserve rare and endangered waterfowl. Ian and Colleen Hodges raise 25 varieties of ducks for fresh eggs and breeding stock on 10 acres near Dalmeny. The varieties sport curious names such as Khaki Campbell, Ancona, […] Read more
Farm teaches life lessons
A baking, poultry and produce business is earning extra income for a Saskatchewan family while providing valuable life lessons for their children. Janet and Kevin Groat and their children, Andrew, Janaya, Jeffrey and Seth, all play a role on the farm at Ethleton. That role has increased since the family’s home-based business began four years […] Read more
Family has fingers in many pies
MINTON, Sask. – An organic inspector heads for his vehicle after a hot summer afternoon checking fields, bins and record books on Ken and Lana Tatarliov’s farm. The annual inspection is mandatory for the certified organic farmers, who credit organics with breathing life into their farm near southern Saskatchewan’s Big Muddy Valley. A slow start […] Read more
Patients are his passion
RADVILLE, Sask. – Dr. Werner Oberholzer goes to sleep at night with his clothes and shoes stashed beside his bed, knowing there’s a good chance he will wake up at least once to help a patient. He said it’s a fact of life for doctors practising in rural areas. “It’s a sacrifice that people do […] Read more
