After 13 years, pottery artist Jeffrey Taylor plans to give up his part-time job as a bus driver. He took on the job to earn extra cash after he began working out of the 85-year-old schoolhouse-turned-studio in Duval, Sask. “I can’t make pottery for eight hours a day and driving bus at 3 p.m. breaks […] Read more
Stories by Kristen McEwen
Consumer views on animal care win attention
Defending reputation | Although the public perception of animal abuse may be wrong, ‘perception is reality,’ says poultry firm
An American poultry company had a problem on its hands in 2011 when an animal activist group conducted an undercover investigation at a North Carolina facility. The video, produced by Mercy for Animals, showed large tom turkeys kept four to a stall. Alice Johnson, vice-president of food safety and animal care with Butterball, LLC, said […] Read more
Saskatoon gets taste of Europe
Combining art and chemistry | Herschel Hills founder eager to share her love of cheese
One of Sharon McDaniel’s immediate goals for her cheese company is to find a processing space of her own. McDaniel started Herschel Hills-Saskatoon’s Artisan Cheese House in 2009 because she wanted to produce food that makes people happy. She also wanted a way to artistically express her scientific knowledge of food production. Like many beginning […] Read moreAdding copper can prevent lodging, increase yields
Lodging in this year’s crop could have been caused by a lack of copper in the soil. Agri-Trend agronomist Ieuan Evans told last week’s 2013 Farm Forum Event in Saskatoon that using copper on soil can prevent crops from lodging and increase yields. Copper is a micronutrient that is essential to forming lignin, which contributes […] Read more
Interning at WP interesting and unusual
These past 12 weeks have gone by in a blur of story assignments about subjects foreign to me. As I enter this last week of my internship, I wonder where the time went. While my experience at The Western Producer has definitely been a challenge, it does not mean I didn’t enjoy every second of […] Read more
Couple looks to downsize to enjoy more free time
Century farm’s evolution | Farm switches to April calving from January
PRINCE ALBERT, Sask. — The names Matthew, Laurel, Beth and Jaclyn, along with handprints, are etched into the slab of concrete that supports the porch stairs of the Zelensky home north of Prince Albert. For the Zelenskys, the mixed farm represents family. Whenever concrete was poured, Rod and Sandra gathered their children to write their […] Read more
Seniors have place to go, people to meet
CENTRAL BUTTE, Sask. — Football dominates the conversation during lunch at the adult day program held at Regency Manor in Central Butte. Joyce Langer leads the discussion. She is in charge of activities for clients during their day at the care home. “I usually have current events, a crossword puzzle, a joke and discuss whatever […] Read more
Viterra commits to food security
Viterra will contribute $2 million to the Global Institute for Food Security over the next five years. “We’ve had a lot of success in working with industry partners to find the best practices, whether those practices are in seed technology, items related to yield agronomic improvements,” said Viterra president Kyle Jeworski. “We’re really confident that […] Read more
Dream man found through WP
How Katherine Atkinson first met her husband, Dennis, is not a story she shares often with others. Not that she is hiding anything; it’s just that most people have never asked. Katherine met her husband by answering a personal ad in The Western Producer in April 1969. At the time, she was 23 years old […] Read more
Breeders explore pig temperament
Calm, cool and collected | Pigs with passive traits get less stressed, improving meat quality
Breeding pigs for passive, calm traits can increase producers’ bottom lines and reduce the stress of handling for both pig and human. Jennifer Brown of the Prairie Swine Centre near Saskatoon has studied pig temperament to find methods of determining traits so that producers can develop less stress-prone herds, lower mortality and increase meat quality. […] Read more
