Michael Raine

James Kroll spoke about Saskatchewan’s potential as a white-tailed deer producer the way a travel agent might discuss heaven as a tourist destination. The tall Texan college professor is known in deer circles as Dr. White-tail, because of the depth of his knowledge on the subject. His opinion of the Saskatchewan potential encouraged local breeders […] Read more

Canadian canola growers will still have the pesticide tools they need even though they are losing some seed treatment products, such as lindane, that they’ve come to rely on. The United States Food Quality Protection Act has set new standards for pesticides used in agriculture. And there are international agreements regarding persistent organic pollutants. “Lindane […] Read more

Eliminate the middlemen and keep those profits yourself. This mantra has long been chanted by business people, but for hog farmers, it may be a new lesson. Pork Links is a program that will link hog farmers directly with consumers. The Saskatoon-based project is designed to relieve the pressures that low-priced hogs are placing on […] Read more

Dale Cochrane responded to a Sunday call a week ago. That is not unusual for a rural veterinarian, but the rabid cow he found in the corral was. Cochrane said it was only the second time in his 25-year practice that he had found a cow with the condition. The Melville, Sask., vet says he […] Read more

Taking a sample of livestock blood or other matter to a laboratory is a trip that no farmer likes, and the faster results are available, the better for farmer and animal alike. A change to lab services in Saskatchewan will improve lab turn-around times and make it possible for more testing to be done without […] Read more

One year ago the Crops Processing Development Centre in Humboldt, Sask., was created as an addition to an existing program. Last week the Saskatchewan government announced that it would be providing money to equip the facility. Designed to research non-food uses for prairie crops, the $1.4 million centre has begun work on fibreboard technologies and […] Read more

Randy Jimmy faced a court interested in his wildlife activities – for all the wrong reasons. He was found guilty of trafficking four sets of white-tailed deer antlers, of profiting from the commercialization of wildlife and of weapons charges. His fines for the four Wildlife Act offences under which he was convicted totaled $11,000 and […] Read more

A call for straw contracts in Saskatchewan’s south is drawing interest from farmers over a six-million-acre zone. The straw draw is centered on the town of Assiniboia, where a proposal to build a strawboard plant is gaining steam. Strawboard is similar to high and medium density particleboard and is a replacement for the tree-based, formed […] Read more

Venturing into the uncertain area of agricultural trade shows does not always pay off. Saskatoon’s Prairie Venture Showcase, scheduled Feb. 26 to 27, has been postponed. Organizers at Prairieland Exhibition say more than 100 trade show exhibitors are needed to make the show viable, and one week after the registration deadline only 20 applications had […] Read more

and Reuters News Agency news Hard times on the farm have led to hard times on the farm equipment factory floor. Layoffs were announced last week at Flexi-Coil, Canada’s largest short-line farm equipment manufacturing plant, that will result in assembly line shutdown at the end of April. The Saskatoon-based firm will permanently lay off 65 […] Read more