Karen Morrison

BEECHY, Sask. – An alkali lake in Saskatchewan’s Coteau Hills holds the promise of business opportunities for one entrepreneurial couple and an economic boost for the town of Beechy and the Rural Municipality of Victory. Sylvia and Harvey Haugen are weeks away from making their first sale of magnesium sulfate, scraped from a lake 30 […] Read more

BEECHY, Sask. – An agricultural society generally organizes fairs in small towns, but in Beechy, it is in charge of economic development and rural revitalization. Matthew Hanke, president of the Victory Agricultural Society, said his group promotes new and existing businesses in the community. In Beechy, that includes a string of new enterprises from a […] Read more

Rain has quenched dry pastures and bolstered producers’ spirits in western Saskatchewan and eastern Alberta, some of the driest areas on the Prairies this spring. Jo-Ann and Dale Vayro grow feed for their 200 cow-calf herd near Sonningdale, Sask. This year, they had to buy more feed than usual for their animals and delay putting […] Read more

NORQUAY, Sask. – The stethoscope dangles from her neck like a piece of jewelry as she drives from farm to farm checking the hearts, lungs and well-being of her elderly home-care clients. Arlette Howard is one of two home care RNs who will make up to 28 visits this day to clients in and around […] Read more

The crops are thin and patchy. The roots and stems of the plants are eaten before they poke through the dry ground. All signs point to the work of wireworms, said farmer Doug McRae of Pincher Creek, Alta., who was forced to reseed the barley crop affected by the pests this spring. Painstaking searching and […] Read more

Foliar applications of nutrients could boost crops in moist Manitoba fields. Joe Tindall, general manager of Nexus Ag in Saskatoon, said excess water in Manitoba is pushing soil-applied granular fertilizer down beyond the reach of plant roots. He said foliar applications delivered through a crop sprayer is a low-cost solution that helps the plants until […] Read more

A Mervin, Sask., elk farmer will continue to fight to have his day in court. Dale Conacher is appealing a judgment rendered by federal court justice Douglas Campbell May 5. He ruled there was no evidence to support claims that Agriculture Canada was responsible for bringing bovine tuberculosis into farmed elk herds. Conacher represented himself […] Read more

Sprinkling a little cinnamon on toast and tea could go a long way to reducing blood sugar levels in human diets, says chemist Richard Anderson. Anderson said recent studies at the U.S. Department of Agriculture have isolated polyphenolic polymer compounds from cinnamon bark that can increase sugar metabolism as much as 20-fold. Problems with sugar […] Read more

ROBLIN, Man. – The rough seas tossed the landing boats around like bath toys and men like Albert McFadyen prayed that any bombs falling would be direct hits to limit further suffering. McFadyen and the Canadian Scottish Regiment were among the first infantry to hit the beaches of Normandy on June 6, 1944. The Allied […] Read more

Farmers will have more than their instincts to rely on when choosing female breeding stock with the introduction of an on-line cattle calculator from Alberta Agriculture. The Breeding Female Investment calculator is available online at www.agric.gov.ab.ca. Cattle producers generally rely on their gut feelings, market values and assumptions on the return expected for their investment, […] Read more