An Ontario researcher is seeking native flower breeds that will be in sync with the Canadian climate and offer commercial growers new sources of income. Al Sullivan, a plant science professor at the University of Guelph, is studying plants like the white grandiflorum and red erectum from the trillium family. Few growers propagate indigenous plants […] Read more
Stories by Karen Morrison
Saskatoon orchard adds 100,000 trees
Prairie Berries is poised to become the largest saskatoon orchard in the world this month with the addition of 100,000 new trees. The 10-acre orchard run by Sandy Purdy at Keeler, Sask., will add 120 acres of saskatoon bushes with the investment of an Alberta business partner. Purdy, who declined to identify the partner, said […] Read more
Grads study bioventures
Hormone replacements made from plants, fish farming tied to hydroponic greenhouses and the propagation of hardy fruit for the Prairies are among the big ideas presented in the University of Saskatchewan’s BioVenture Challenge. Five finalists were named during a presentation at the university June 14. A winner, to be chosen in late summer, will receive […] Read more
Vegetable growers hope for more sun
Len and Edith Rook are hoping the sun will shine until the start of the Carman, Man., farmers’ market June 22. The Rooks supply a host of produce to it through their Dufferin Market Gardens, in addition to selling to wholesaler Peak of the Market each year. Frosts, cool weather and rain have slowed the […] Read more
Spleen forecaster dies
A Saskatchewan forecaster who used pig spleens to chart the weather has died at age 68. Glen Wickstrom, better known by his nickname Gus, was a well-known prankster and comedian who appeared on American and Canadian television shows and in the Farmers’ Almanac. He also was a fixture at trade shows as a representative for […] Read more
Alberta farms dripping wet
A slow moving cold front tapping moisture from the Gulf of Mexico brought wild spring weather to Alberta last week. “It all came together in one place and dumped 100 millimetres over Calgary,” said Dave Carlsen, warning preparedness meteorologist with Environment Canada. On June 5 more than 170 mm fell within 30 minutes at Hairy […] Read more
Stories revealed in bits and pieces
HARRIS, Sask. – Every artifact has a story to tell about how and when it was used and the people who once possessed it. It’s these stories strung together that present a clearer image of a community’s early days. Harris is just one community that is tackling the huge task of preserving historical pieces to […] Read more
New VIDO director daunted but excited
Replacing Lorne Babiuk is a little like curling against the skip that beat the best team in the league, says the incoming director of the University of Saskatchewan’s Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization. Andy Potter is the long-time curling enthusiast and vaccine researcher who will tackle that challenge in July when Babiuk moves to a […] Read more
Farmers anxious in wake of cold
Frost, snow and a cool May combined to set back crops on the Prairies, forcing some farmers to reseed and others to switch to early maturing varieties. Kerry Ogilvie awoke several times during the early morning hours of May 25 to find -2 C temperatures that had frosted his vehicles and flattened weeds in his […] Read more
Optimism evident on west-central farms
BROCK, Sask. – Small eddies of wind whip blackened dirt into spirals atop freshly planted fields in west-central Saskatchewan. Air seeders dragged over the land add to the swirl of earth this spring day, as farmers take advantage of warm weather and clear skies. Also in the air this spring is a feeling of optimism […] Read more
