Michael Raine

MARTENSVILLE, Sask. – Saskatchewan Wheat Pool seized the opportunity during the opening of Can-Oat Milling’s new oat processing plant in this community north of Saskatoon to announce it is buying sole control of the Manitoba company. Sask Pool bought Can-Oat, Canada’s largest oat processor, in a share swap and cash deal worth $62 million, from […] Read more

For salmonella, let us spray. American poultry producers now have a tool to fight the spread of salmonella in their flocks – bacteria. Good bacteria. And Canadian producers are watching closely. The concept is simple. Harmless bacteria are sprayed on chicks shortly after hatching. The bacteria quickly populate the digestive and mucus tissues of the […] Read more

Grain production and marketing is a time-sensitive business in Canada. Field crops are grown in a window of less than 150 days. Price is often based on delivery timeliness and anyone who has ever grown Canadian Wheat Board grains is familiar with demurrage costs that cut into the bottom line. Computers quietly form the backbone […] Read more

Sliding into the tractor seat, a farmer, weary from celebrating the new millennium, wipes sleep from her eyes. It is Jan. 1, 2000 and her alarm clock’s failure has made her late for feeding the cattle. She turns the key in the tractor but it won’t start. The computerized dash is flashing a warning she […] Read more

PIAPOT, Sask. – Balancing work and family on the farm can be a challenge. One Saskatchewan family has met it head on. The Brost family of Piapot, Sask., has taken the hands-on approach to getting the best of both work and family. Reducing the workload through time-saving strategies for the cattle and grain business has […] Read more

Milk and beef may become part of a diet to help avoid cancer. A study at Agriculture Canada’s Lethbridge Research Centre is under way to find out whether conjugated linoleic acid, or CLA, can be passed from safflower oil and canola oil into beef and milk. Cancer fighting properties in CLA are attributed in part […] Read more

Farmers now have a fragrant method of controlling nematodes in their crops. Vegetable growers are familiar with the nematode and the damaged yields that worm infestations can cause. Marigolds have a natural but not well understood ability to eliminate nematodes. The theory has been a long-held folk remedy for gardeners facing a variety of pests. […] Read more

The second-largest selling herbicide in the world is now available in Canada. Gramoxone PDQ is a non-selective herbicide designed to burn off annual weeds and the tops of most perennials. The Zeneca product has been registered for use this spring for western farmers. The company is focusing the product on producers with minimum and zero […] Read more

American subscribers to The Western Producer will not be receiving the March 19 edition of the newspaper. One of the largest copies ever for the 75-year-old paper exceeded the maximum weight for Standard A mail under United States Postal service guidelines and ended up at an American recycler instead of readers’ mailboxes. “Under U.S. Postal […] Read more

Alberta Agriculture calls poor soil sampling techniques a major problem that causes improper fertilizer applications. A repeatable soil sampling technique should begin with farmers recording each field separately in a log book. Include the sampling date, a summary of the topography and note areas to avoid when developing a representative sample. A field log gives […] Read more