Michael Raine

A new study suggests that Canada could fix its national highway with $17.5 billion. But government officials in the West don’t expect that money to come soon. “As provincial ministers we are not holding our breath. We have been lobbying the federal government for years and until they put it in a current budget we […] Read more

LAURA, Sask. – James Robbins and Nettie Wiebe know they are part of a community: A national community, a regional community and their farm’s neighborly community. Their farming life reflects that view. In the two decades the couple has farmed in central Saskatchewan, the pair has spent nearly as much time working for change as […] Read more

Whether calving starts in the depths of the January deepfreeze or with the first shoots of April, it presents a challenging time for cattle producers. Veterinarians say there are ways producers can improve the calving season for both man and beast. Being prepared for those inevitable difficult births is one way to avoid late-night searches […] Read more

In the feedlot of the future, pen checkers with electronic monitors might scan incoming cattle for developing but as yet invisible disease and direct them for treatment. Waving a diagnostic wand over a body might seem like something out of the medical bag of Star Trek’s Dr. McCoy. But it is within the realm of […] Read more

A new generation chicken co-operative is being proposed as a way to make it easier to double production in Saskatchewan. A deal signed in November that allows Saskatchewan to double the size of its provincial chicken flock over the next four years comes into force this month. But Sunnyland Poultry of Wynyard, Sask., Saskatchewan’s only […] Read more

Alberta resident Alan Hershberger pleaded guilty to fraud in Rosetown, Sask., provincial court recently and was given a one-year conditional sentence. In the winter of 1995-96, Hershberger was the owner and manager of a Rosetown-area feedlot, Spring Valley Feeders. At that time he defrauded two of his farmer customers by selling them cattle and feed […] Read more

REGINA – A quick turn, the kind people make when they think they have left the stove on, sends Bob Jackson scuffling across straw-strewn concrete. He covers the 100 metres between his barn and the arena show ring faster than a calf returns to its mother after branding. A radio slung on the hip of […] Read more

REGINA – As the eighth and final day rolled around, the directors of Canadian Western Agribition were still shuttling around Regina’s exhibition grounds. Just not as fast as they had been a few days earlier. The show is spread over a large area and speculation abounds throughout the many barns about the distances covered by […] Read more

REGINA – Indians once stampeded bison off cliffs and harvested meat from the fallen animals. Today, bison meat is again on the cliff edge, threatening to fall in price. But experts say good marketing can reduce the fall Producers have reached the inevitable point in the specialty livestock cycle where meat supply problems begin. In […] Read more

REGINA – Glen Seymour has a winning reputation. This fall even the seasoned victor was overwhelmed by the awards he collected. The Stewart Valley, Sask., farmer picked up seed grain wins at the Royal Winter Fair in Toronto and at last week’s Canadian Western Agribition in Regina. He won the grand aggregate cereal, grand champion […] Read more