After years of moving his cattle by trailer in the fall, this year a Sask. rancher decides to do things the old-fashioned way
CANDIAC, Sask. — They could have hauled the cattle home by trailer. Or they could have used ATVs. But not these cowboys. These cowboys know that the best way to do it is the way it’s been done for centuries — on horseback. “Horses are more suited to chasing cattle than quads,” said Brian Ross, […] Read moreFarm Living
Family pitches in to help bring home the cows
What began as a necessary chore in the fall has turned into a working social gathering for this Saskatchewan family
CANDIAC, Sask. — “Grammy said she’s proud of us grandkids riding out here in the cold,” says Halle Balon as she eats her grandma’s puffed wheat cake in a pasture during the family’s annual cattle drive. Mixed farmers Stan and Jackie Englot have been married for 40 years and they’ve been bringing their cows home […] Read morePositive psychology first step in adolescent depression
Q: We are concerned about our 15-year-old son these days. He is in Grade 10, or so we think, but with all of the accommodations being made by the schools to the coronavirus these days, we are not sure what grade he is in. Maybe that is the problem. We are not certain. Whatever it […] Read more
Alberta job cuts hit rural social services
A rural Alberta facility that helps homeless men suffering from mental health issues and addictions is among the services hit by the latest round of provincial government job cuts. Sixty-three jobs will be affected due to the closure of the McCullough Centre, which is in the hamlet of Gunn about 60 kilometres northwest of Edmonton, […] Read more
Alberta doctor pay reform defended
Premier says province’s rural physicians ‘best compensated’ in the country; also explains provincial police force plan
Alberta Premier Jason Kenney said “perhaps misinformed attacks” by the Alberta Medical Association on his government’s initiative to rein in health-care costs have helped fuel grievances by rural physicians. “We acknowledge that there are always unique challenges in recruiting and retaining rural physicians, that’s not new to Alberta,” he told the recent virtual annual general […] Read more
UCP members support private health care at party’s AGM
The governing United Conservative Party has passed a resolution supporting the option of a privately funded and managed health-care system for Alberta. The decision was made during voting Oct. 17 by UCP members on policies submitted during the party’s virtual annual general meeting. Critics of private health care have long maintained that such a move […] Read more
Coping with sugar on Halloween an ongoing challenge
Halloween this year coincides with a full moon, which will set an especially spooky mood. Some of my most vivid childhood memories are from trick or treating on a dark, starlit night, and as an adult sharing the excitement in my own children’s lives as they let their imaginations run wild and are transformed by […] Read more
VIDEO: Second generation prepares to run sod farm
On the Farm: The installation of an irrigation pivot made the business possible and a building boom helped it take off
It makes sense that land once covered in grass would produce good grass. Doug and Lois McGillivray took that chance in the 1990s to add value to their farm south of Regina, establishing a 500-acre sod farm amid their grain and oilseeds operation. They are now transitioning the successful Prairie Sod Farm to their oldest […] Read more
Lower intensity can help make arguments less damaging
Q: I’m scared. My wife and I argue with each other a lot. Although we can sometimes get to be quite nasty with each other, neither of us has as of yet threatened to pull the pin on our marriage and file for a divorce. But it could happen and that scares me. I really […] Read more
Direct sales fare OK during COVID pandemic
Prairie producers who decided to sell their produce directly to consumers this summer say the experience was positive
It was a summer like no other, but direct-to-consumer farmers say they mostly kept up with demand and made new regular customers. “Things went well this summer,” said Mark Hoimyr, a Gladmar, Sask., beef producer. “The high sales that we saw earlier in the spring tapered off after people’s concerns about being able to access […] Read more
