Saskatchewan wild rice producers grew another bumper crop in 2003, a sizable portion of which ended up on the bottom of the lakes where it was grown. “Some people never even bothered harvesting at all or they did fewer picks,” said Gerry Ivanochko, a northern agriculture specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture. While it was a good […] Read more
Sean Pratt
Stories by Sean Pratt
Hog proposal worries band membership
CUT KNIFE, Sask. – At first blush it was just another town hall meeting about another controversial hog barn proposal. But this one came with a twist. Amidst the usual concerns about manure smells, a new complaint arose from the floor, one based on an affront to the soul rather than the nasal passage. “This […] Read more
Desperate producers shoot cull livestock
Difficult times are leading to desperate measures in the livestock industry. Producers are taking matters into their own hands by shooting culled animals and burying them. A dairy farmer from St. Labre, Man., recently disposed of 20 head in that fashion, dumping the bodies in a large compost pile. “He wasn’t breaking the law in […] Read more
Zapper fries grasshoppers on the fly
Two Alberta inventors hope to hear snaps, crackles and pops emanating from prairie fields next year. Ken Podgurney and Roger Beaudoin of Whitecourt, Alta., are marketing a giant towable bug zapper that kills grasshoppers in its path. “It’s quite loud when it’s killing,” said Podgurney, who runs an oilfield hauling and rental business in Whitecourt. […] Read more
Protesters block GM canola shipment
For the first time, the world’s most prominent environmental campaigner has targeted a shipment of Canadian canola. On Oct. 2, Greenpeace activists attempted to prevent the loading of an Agricore United shipment of 20,000 tonnes of canola destined for Japan. Climbers suspended themselves from cranes on a vessel docked in Vancouver. They held signs saying, […] Read more
Indians hope to raise presence in agriculture
By most standards a five-person increase in a college program is insignificant. But not when it’s five First Nations students attending the college of agriculture at the University of Saskatchewan. Those five students represent a 500 percent increase from two years ago and that is cause for celebration. “We’ve got a long way to go […] Read more
Forage industry miffed with lack of aid
Forage exporters are miffed they’ve been ignored by the federal government once again. Shippers of processed hay and alfalfa are reacting with “disbelief and disappointment” to a farm aid announcement that excludes their industries. “Despite extremely low yields in some areas for two consecutive years, we have been told we don’t qualify as producers for […] Read more
Cellulose-based ethanol plan still alive
Amidst the rubble of Saskatchewan’s crumbling ethanol plans, one project continues to slog away with little fanfare. In February 2003, a group of 100 investors from the Nipawin, Sask., area formed a new generation co-operative to get the ball rolling on an ethanol plant that will rival what Broe Companies Inc. was supposed to build […] Read more
Different shades of green seen in ethanol
There are two ways to make ethanol out of agricultural crops. Grain-based ethanol facilities like the one Broe Companies Inc. plans to build in Belle Plaine, Sask., use corn and cereal grains to produce the alternative fuel. Cellulose-based plants such as Iogen Corp.’s demonstration facility in Ottawa and the new plant proposed by the Nipawin […] Read more
Lentil crop pretty but yield, demand down
There’s not much lentil brokers and traders agree on this time of year but one thing is certain, the 2003 harvest is one of the best looking crops ever grown. “I have never seen lentils with that much brilliance in colour. It’s like they’re neon,” said Saskatoon commodity broker Larry Weber. Scott Cunningham, marketing manager […] Read more
