Western Canadian Livestock Expo | Sarah Chant picked Canada because of positive observations of Canadians visiting her Australian homeland: “They seemed like nice people”
Sarah Chant found a soft spot on top of a bale of straw to read her paperback. With chores completed, she seemed at home amid the milking activity at the Western Canadian Livestock Expo in Saskatoon April 13. Chant’s actual home is more than 20,000 kilometres away in Colac, Australia, about a two-hour drive west […] Read more
William DeKay
Stories by William DeKay
Clippers get workout before Saskatoon dairy show
Practice makes perfect, but Corban Friesen’s mother would be excused for thinking it can sometimes be taken too far. The night before showing his Holstein calf earlier this month, the two-year-old boy was caught clipping his own hair in the bathroom of his parent’s home in Drake, Sask., much to his mother Nancy’s chagrin. She […] Read more
Pest control in forages receives funding
Fighting forage pests just got a little easier. The Saskatchewan forage industry will continue to battle back with an investment of $290,000 from the federal government for two projects. The money will minimize and eliminate the damaging impact of parasites, diseases and invasive plant species on the province’s agricultural sector. These projects will identify threats […] Read more
Cowboy works the range, then works the ring
VAWN, Sask. — Boxing is in David Edwards’ blood, but being a cowboy comes first. While the 14-year-old dreams of boxing for Canada in the Olympics, he would like nothing better than to ride the range for a community pasture. He trains his own horses and en-joys riding on his family’s 600 acre spread, tucked […] Read more
Preventive strikes ineffective when fighting crown rust
Fungicide research | Apply only when crown rust is present in field
There’s a growing belief that foliar fungicides will increase the quality and yield of oats even if crown rust is not present. Not so fast, says William May, a crop agronomist with Agriculture Canada. May and his team from the department’s Indian Head Research Farm conducted three years of field tests in Western Canada to […] Read moreCanola research tax credit at 20 percent for 2012
Producers can apply for taxable benefits on canola check-off deductions that are used to support research and development. For 2012, individual producers can claim investment tax credits at 20 percent and corporate producers can claim 35 percent. Only part of the Manitoba Canola Growers Association’s research and development qualifies for the tax credits because research […] Read more
Ottawa opens wallet to tout hog genetics
Canadian hog producers will receive $1.3 million from the federal government to market Canadian purebred hog genetics. The funding is expected to allow Canadian Swine Exporters Association (CSEA) members to participate in key industry trade shows, including the International Livestock and Dairy Expo in Vietnam later this month. The association will help brand Canadian agricultural […] Read more
Fungicide use increasing on Prairies
Positive results for producers | Many things to consider before making second application
Western Canadian producers are warming up to fungicides as the number of sprayed acres steadily increases since 2006. “I think it comes down to the fact that the growers are seeing a value in fungicide application on a more regular basis,” said Glen Forster, technical development specialist with BASF. Forster told the Soils and Crops […] Read more
Bison prices, demand up
North Battleford sale | Producers worry higher prices may reduce demand
Attendance at the March 3 bison sale in North Battleford, Sask., was good news for Saskatchewan Bison Association president Les Kroeger. “Some of the bigger players in the marketing were there. The future looks pretty strong and the markets are holding very well,” he said. While record high bison meat prices have created optimism in […] Read more
Prairie farmers weigh options if moisture fails to improve
Too early to change plans | There is still plenty of time for snow or rain
Lack of soil moisture continues to deepen across much of the Prairies as spring nears. Above normal temperatures are also making March look more like May. A long finger of below normal runoff conditions now extends from west-central Alberta across Sask-atchewan and into Manitoba. It’s too early to start talking about drought, says cropping management […] Read more
