CUPAR, Sask. – Thousands of gophers blanketed the roof of the local rink. More were floating in the community swimming pool and hanging out in small groups in the parking lot. One or two were even hidden in the limbs of trees. This wasn’t a job for a team of exterminators, or 50 loyal farm […] Read more
Stories by Michael Raine
Inventor tests his mettle for art
LAKE ALMA, Sask. – Wayne Hagen can’t afford the time to be running into town every time he wants to sheer some steel or roll some pipe. The southern Sask-atchewan farmer lives just 24 kilometres from the U.S. border and it’s a long way to anywhere that handles steel. And Hagen uses a lot of […] Read more
U.S. farmer speaks kindly of board
PIKE LAKE, Sask. – When Mark Watne spoke at the National Farmers Union’s annual meeting last week, he didn’t say the kinds of things Canadians usually expect from American farmers. “We would kill for a marketing board like the Canadian Wheat Board,” the North Dakota Farmers Union member said. “You will never hear the NDFU […] Read more
Storm photographs
Wide horizons give way to big skies. Drama in the clouds that blanket and dot the plains of North America provide some of the most dramatic backdrops that the eye can enjoy. Farmers by their nature continually look up to major uncontrollable factors in their lives, the elements of weather. Lightning is among the most […] Read more
What is precision farming anyway?
REGINA – Thousands of satellites circling the globe blink their lights, reflections and information toward the earth. But can these orbiting tin cans change more than the leisure time of prairie farmers, who until now have mainly collected the signals from satellites to increase the number of television channels they get? The speakers at the […] Read more
Chinese grain inspectors drop in on Saskatchewan
BRUNO, Sask. – The carefully laid plans of mice and Saskatchewan Wheat Pool delegates can easily go awry. A delegation of Chinese grain inspectors traveling through Canada on a two-week Canadian International Grains Institute tour made a stop at this central Saskatchewan town June 21. After a lengthy explanation by the elevator manager and a […] Read more
Computer program crunches the numbers
SASKATOON – Cowcockle got your goat? Shepherd’s purse emptying your wallet? Army worms marching against your profits? Crop protection can be a complicated matter, but a new computer program can help. Options for crop protection products often come from dealers or the product manufacturers themselves. Farmers can turn to their provincial crop protection guides, but […] Read more
Marketing info on the internet
SASKATOON – How do I market my bung caps in Thailand? Where do I get information on NAFTA and will that agreement affect my bean sales to Mexico? When I send my elk antlers to Korea, are they a food or a drug product and who inspects them? What feed formula can I use to […] Read more
High tech firms helped at the bank
SASKATOON – Western Canada’s small information technology and telecommunications companies can turn to an unexpected source of financing. The bank. High technology companies have long found financing a problem. Banks and other lending sources are often leery to invest in businesses they know little about or are part of a sector whose profile changes almost […] Read more
Saskatchewan community unites in war against water
EASTEND, Sask. – The waters of the overflowing Frenchman River are slowly receding this week. The river last week annexed the town of Eastend, in southwestern Saskatchewan. The river flowed across main street, and backed up in low-lying yards near its banks. The golf course and ball diamonds were committed to a watery grave and […] Read more
