Tracy Tjaden

Gerard Oosterhuis’ canola crop was coming up nicely April 26 when he loaded up his sprayer and doused the entire 93 acres with a deadly shot of 2,4-D. “It was kind of a shock to have to do it,” said the Bow Island, Alta. farmer. “I put it in early ’cause we get so darn […] Read more

The recent recall of two varieties of Limagrain’s Roundup-resistant canola sounds familiar to some Saskatchewan farmers taking the company to court for allegedly selling them defective canola in 1993. But a spokesperson for Limagrain says the two cases are “totally unconnected. “I can see farmers saying it is the same marketing group but the case […] Read more

Collecting salamander toes might not be most people’s idea of a good time, but for Danna Schock, the excitement is building. The University of Regina biology student is on the lookout for tiger salamanders, the world’s largest land-dwelling salamander and the only species found in Saskatchewan. Once she has found some salamander sites Schock will […] Read more

A Lethbridge, Alta. hog marketer is hoping to turn bad news for some pig farmers into good news for both the company and its clients. The new broker, Paragon Livestock, sprung up following the collapse of Landmark Pork Ltd. last month. Landmark owner Jerry Beusekom initially confirmed his company’s collapse could cost producer clients up […] Read more

In the era of rail line abandonment, some prairie communities are planning ways to pick up where the major rail companies leave off. In Outlook, Sask., a group called Vital Ties has formed to organize public hearings later this month to gauge interest and rally community support. The town learned in April CP Rail wants […] Read more

All it takes is one bad seed. Or in Europe’s case, all it takes is one genetically modified seed to contaminate the whole bunch. Some canola experts say Canada stands to lose up to 400,000 tonnes in canola sales to Europe this year because Canada has decided not to segregate transgenic varieties from regular canola […] Read more

Flooded-out small business owners in Peace River, Alta. wonder why they’re being cast adrift from federal compensation programs handed out to their counterparts in Manitoba’s Red River Valley. The doors of Peace River’s main shopping centre and town meeting place, Riverdrive Mall, will be closed for good if federal or provincial governments don’t kick in […] Read more

People who have found success in their careers, communities and families are looking back to say thanks to 4-H. The lessons young people learn in 4-H about leadership, teamwork and the work ethic pay off, according to a three-year study the national organization released last week at its annual meeting in Saskatoon. In fact, the […] Read more

New legislation in Saskatchewan that would allow the province to dismantle marketing boards might be unpopular, but it is necessary, Eric Upshall told a Saskatoon chamber of commerce meeting. The provincial agriculture minister didn’t have a hard time selling the crowd on the merits of the controversial legislation. John Cross, Saskatoon chamber of commerce member […] Read more

A Canada/North Dakota beef co-operative that wants to build a producer-owned beef processing plant expects to fall short on investment shares. Northern Plains Premium Beef, with members in the northern U.S. and Canadian prairie provinces, needed to raise 250,000 equity shares by June 1. Instead, it has subscriptions from 1,100 cattle producers for 113,000 equity […] Read more