Michael Raine

Research to prevent food borne illnesses is expanding in Saskatoon. Two new research chairs will lead and direct research into vaccines aimed at controlling E. coli 0157:H7 in cattle and salmonella enteriditis and campylobacter jejuni in poultry at the Vaccine and Infectious Disease Organization in Saskatoon. VIDO developed the first E. coli 0157:H7 vaccine. “It’s […] Read more

Satellite radio broadcasts are being heard in far-flung fields and mountain pastures across the United States and they are coming to Canada. Longer hours spent in the cabs of farm equipment mean that entertainment such as music, drama and talk radio are in high demand in rural communities. Satellite radio developers are hoping to cash […] Read more

Hiring a scientist for cattle feeding advice may seem a luxury in these troubled times, but now could be the time producers need nutritional services most. Nutrition consultants in the cattle feeding industry are common, but nutritionists are few and far between said one of the “three or so of us in Alberta.” Scott Schake […] Read more

The price of licences for Monsanto’s genetics technology used by seed companies to produce Roundup Ready soybeans is increasing in 2005. Trish Jordan of Monsanto said the company does not know whether the seed companies will pass the increase on to farmers. She did not disclose the amount of the increase. She said for many […] Read more

Poplar trees, if grown as a crop, don’t have one thing that most agricultural crops in North America depend on for viability – legal herbicides. Appropriate herbicides are available but they aren’t registered for use on tree plantations. Cees Van Oosten of SilviConsult Woody Crops Technology Inc. of Nanaimo, B.C., is a tree production veteran. […] Read more

Trees may be growing where canola once bloomed as more prairie producers consider poplars as a new hybrid plant for their land. Deb Weedon of the Saskatchewan Forest Centre said the demand from grain and oilseed producers for information about tree crops is fuelling the development of that sector. More than 300 Saskatchewan producers have […] Read more

Mapped from end to end, the first complete bovine genetic sequence has been publicly released to researchers worldwide. Scientists from across the globe contributed to the $63 million project that mapped the three billion base pairs of DNA that contribute to construction of a Hereford. The complete genetic picture is expected to advance agricultural production […] Read more

Producers should keep their pencils sharp when planning to dry crops this fall, says Ed Tanner of Saskatchewan Agriculture in Tisdale. “First get out pen and paper, put some fresh batteries in the calculator and figure out how to keep those costs down,” he said about the vast amounts of wet and frozen grain that […] Read more

More cattle producers may keep ownership of feeder animals this fall as feedlots, stung by heavy losses during the past cycle, try to share risk with cow-calf producers. “While it may be too early to tell, I expect we’ll see an increase in retained ownership again this year,” said livestock economist Sandy Russell of Saskatchewan […] Read more

Researchers in Saskatchewan intend to keep the manure from flying. Air travel via a manure spreader is the usual, final mode of transport for solid livestock manure, which represents 70 percent of all North American livestock waste. University of Saskatchewan engineers are developing a less aggressive method of delivering manure to the field. Besides providing […] Read more