Ritchie Bros. Auctioneers held its largest agriculture public auction for the year in Saskatoon Dec. 2. It sold more than $41 million of agricultural, construction equipment and trucks in a single day. More than 1,750 pieces of equipment were sold, including more than 90 headers, 90 combines and 85 tractors. New site records were broken […] Read more
William DeKay
Stories by William DeKay
Sask. RMs want more money for infrastructure
Flooding aftermath | Rural municipalities are considering public-private funding model to address infrastructure shortfall
Representatives of Saskatchewan’s rural municipalities recently passed a resolution asking the provincial government to increase its funding caps on infrastructure. The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities, which met in Saskatoon Nov. 13-14, wants the annual cap for road and bridge construction maintenance increased to $1 million from $750,000. Ongoing wet years and excessive rainfall are […] Read moreNorth West Terminal’s completes rail expansion
A $4.46 million rail expansion is complete at the North West Terminal in Unity, Sask. The company’s rail infrastructure now has access to the Canadian National Railway and Canadian Pacific Railway networks. Rail capacity has increased from 100 to 150 cars of grain and from 40 to 120 cars of crude oil. The company also […] Read more
Home announced for Sask. manufacturing centre of excellence
Saskatchewan Polytechnic will host the Saskatchewan Manufacturing Centre of Excellence at its Saskatoon campus. The Canadian Manufacturers and Exporters (CME) officially launched the centre Nov. 24, which coincided with the start of Saskatchewan Manufacturing Week. “Manufacturing is going on at an unprecedented rate here in our province,” said Bill Boyd, the province’s economy minister. He […] Read more
Photo Gallery: PBR Canadian Finals
It was a busy weekend for WP photographer William DeKay, who attended the 2014 PBR Canadian Finals in Saskatoon, Nov. 14-15. Thirty-five of Canada’s best professional bull riders, including some of the top riders in the world, competed for this year’s title and money. One of the event highlights was Aaron Roy’s amazing comeback. In his […] Read more
Sask. RMs want more money for infrastructure
Representatives of Saskatchewan’s rural municipalities passed a resolution last week asking the provincial government to increase its funding caps on infrastructure. The Saskatchewan Association of Rural Municipalities met in Saskatoon for the 2014 mid-term convention. SARM wants the provincial government to raise its funding caps for road and bridge construction maintenance. The resolution asks for […] Read more
Blaze lights up prairie sky
Natural gas escaped from one of seven caverns at a TransGas pumping station near Prud’Homme, Sask., at about 10 a.m. Oct. 4. Residents from several kilometres around the site report that they heard a piercing blast, followed by a giant flame that reached about 75 metres into the sky. Houses and barns shook and animals […] Read more
Higher prices are no obstacle
Farmers markets thriving | Local markets fill a void left by large grocery retailers, says analyst
Farmers markets continue to post significant increases in sales, says a University of Guelph professor. Sylvain Charlebois, who specializes in food distribution and policy, said the future looks bright. Farmers markets’ overall economic impact now exceeds an estimated $5 billion annually. Farmers markets and organic farming operations typically sell food at higher prices than traditional […] Read more
Farm’s small bulls give new riders stepping stone
Confidence builder | Inexperienced bull riders gain skills on miniature bulls before moving up to bigger animals
SWANSON, Sask. — Going small has been a going concern for Mickey and Shelley Ireland. For more than eight years, the husband and wife team have contracted their miniature bucking bulls at rodeo events throughout Western Canada. Their goal is to help fill what they see as a growing void at amateur rodeos: smaller bulls […] Read moreCN derailment forces evacuation of Sask. village
CLAIR, Sask., — The community of Clair was turned upside down yesterday. A Canadian National Railway train derailed there around 10:40 a.m. while carrying numerous cars. Some of them exploded during the derailment. The community was evacuated due to safety concerns and because of concerns about the air quality from the smoke that was coming […] Read more
