Tracy Tjaden

SASKATOON – Out of this world is how some Canadian elementary school students might describe their next science project. The subject: 100,000 space-savvy canola seeds. The mission: To find out if a seed which has flown 11 million kilometres through space at speeds of more than 27,000 km-h grows differently from one which has not. […] Read more

SASKATOON – A farmer-owned plant that cleans, processes and markets its own special crops turns one year old next month. Eagle Creek Processing, of Rosetown in west-central Saskat- chewan, is marking the occasion with a 120,000 bushel expansion to its storage facility. The producer-owned plant competes with larger grain companies and co-operatives to process and […] Read more

SASKATOON – The gene that makes fireflies glow is being used by University of Guelph researchers to test food for deadly bacteria like salmonella and E. coli which can lead to food poisoning, “hamburger disease” and meningitis in humans. The ground-breaking method that uses the luminescent lux gene to “light up” infected regions of eggs, […] Read more

SASKATOON – Once an inventor comes up with an idea, the hard part is over. But what if someone tries to steal the idea? How do inventors protect intellectual property? A new Saskatoon-based patent and trademark information service started last month to help prairie inventors get information on patents, trademarks, copyright options and market analysis. […] Read more

SASKATOON – SaskPower will cost its customers $273 million because it refuses to implement a conservation program that could render a new $40 million high voltage power line from Saskatoon to Regina unnecessary, said a group opposed to the project. “We keep telling SaskPower conservation will save your customers hundreds of millions of dollars and […] Read more

SASKATOON – A discovery by plant breeders at the University of Saskatchewan will be good news for backyard fruit growers who don’t want the hassle of climbing ladders to pluck their harvest and prune their trees. University horticulturists recently unveiled a new dwarf rootstock that can be grafted onto a normal apple seedling to produce […] Read more

SASKATOON – John Bielka is one farmer who’s not too concerned about the weather. Conditions at his farm are wet all year round, every year. Bielka manages a fish farm on Lake Diefenbaker, southwest of Saskatoon. While neighboring farmers watch the weather, Bielka keeps his eye on about 800,000 rainbow trout being grown for Canadian […] Read more

SASKATOON – A growing number of Saskatchewan farmers are being forced to pile grain on the ground after bin manufacturers, dealers and erection crews faced a jump in demand this summer. “Demand just shot up like a rocket in the middle of June,” said George Gamby, sales and marketing manager with Westeel in Winnipeg. “If […] Read more

SASKATOON – Crop inspection analysts have seen more of the damage caused by a record snowfall in southern Saskatchewan and the results don’t look good. Of the samples studied at United Grain Growers two weeks ago, 50 percent were coming in No. 1 and No. 2 grades for the Saskatoon region. Last week, that number […] Read more

SASKATOON – Canada’s malting companies won’t feel the pinch other grain dealers are experiencing following a record snowfall in southern spots on the Prairies last week. Steve Goossen, a grain buyer for Canada Malting Company in Winnipeg, said it is a good thing the company selected nearly all of the 600,000 tonnes of barley for […] Read more