Mark, left, Jeremy, Anna and Laura Hoimyr at home at Box H Land and Livestock near Gladmar, Sask. The Hoimyrs received the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association Environmental Stewardship Award for their water management and grazing practices. | William DeKay photo

New ventures seen as ideal way to expand

GLADMAR, Sask. — Five pigs are teaching teenagers Anna and Jeremy Hoimyr about small business. Encouraged by their parents, Mark and Laura Hoimyr, the siblings have been raising and selling pork on the family’s cattle ranch for two years. The pigs root about within a strand of electric fence, which Anna and Jeremy move regularly […] Read more

Brandy Dvorak is set to become the Manitoba 4-H Council president at the group’s annual meeting in November. She stands by a park in Minitonas, Man., which received some TLC from her 4-Hers.  |  Karen Morrison photo

Introducing north to 4-Hers goal of new Man. president

MINITONAS, Man. — Introducing 4-Hers to northern Manitoba has long been a goal of incoming Manitoba 4-H Council president Brandy Dvorak. She recalled her own experience as a child in 4-H travelling to Churchill by train to whale watch and see the nickel mine, Prince of Wales Fort and Pisew Falls. “I’d like to expand […] Read more


New reader contest: Let’s get crafty!

Unique, homemade gifts can be fun to make and more personal and meaningful for the recipient. Western Producer readers are invited to enter our Creative Gifts for the Holidays contest to win a great prize. Homemade Vanilla Extract Natural vanilla extract is superior to artificial extracts and a good gift for any cook. 3 vanilla […] Read more

Community cashes in on old bank

Fundraising events and volunteer labour turn heritage building into a hub for dance, arts and social events

HAMIOTA, Man. — In a Manitoba community known more for baseball than fine art, a repurposed 1903 bank building is making inroads. The Hamiota Heritage Arts Centre provides space for art displays, art and dance classes and live shows, the Hamiota and District Archives and a gift boutique. As the Baseball Capital of Manitoba, Hamiota […] Read more


1925 oil pump given place in Alta. history

A refurbished oil pump originally used in the Wainwright Field represents the feverish excitement during the 1920s when the Alberta community became the centre of worldwide attention. Heavy crude had been discovered, and investors and financers imagined that great wealth would come from vast pools of oil beneath the soil of the district. “The greatest […] Read more

Pipeline Foods LLC, which identifies itself as a supply chain solutions company focused exclusively on non-GM and organic food and feed, said it is buying elevators in Wapella and Gull Lake. | Screencap via www.gulllakesk.ca

Organic company gives Sask. elevators new life

An American company that buys organic and non-genetically modified crops has bought two small elevators in Saskatchewan. Pipeline Foods LLC, which identifies itself as a supply chain solutions company focused exclusively on non-GM and organic food and feed, said it is buying elevators in Wapella and Gull Lake. Wapella, a 3,500 tonne facility, and Gull […] Read more

The Rocking Heart Ranch was destroyed in the fire near Waterton National Park
in southwestern Alberta.  | Melody Garner-Skiba photo

Ranchers focus on rebuilding from the ashes

Jennifer Jenkins has seen what remains of her five-generation cattle ranch on the edge of southwestern Alberta’s Waterton Lakes National Park. Hers was one of five ranches destroyed in a wildfire that as of Sept. 18 continued to burn out of control and had already burned about 70 percent of the national park. The latest […] Read more


The seven-month-old goat, who had its eyes and tongue eaten by crows shortly after it was born, had been missing since Sept. 10 before she was found late on Sept. 13. | Jeremy Simes photo

Missing blind goat found after three days away from rescue farm

A blind goat named Daisy is back home after she was believed to have been stolen from an animal rescue farm south of Edmonton. “It’s been a pretty frantic few days,” said Chantele Theroux, a volunteer with the Farm Animal Rescue and Rehoming Movement near Wetaskiwin, Alta. “We have just been overwhelmed with emotion.” The […] Read more

Merle Coleman, 90, spent decades leading 4-H projects and training harness racehorses with her late husband, Ron, from their farm near Virden, Man. | Karen Morrison photo

Working with horses a family tradition

VIRDEN, Man. — Merle Coleman met her husband, Ron, by accident. The 90-year-old diminutive horsewoman and former nurse recalled him needing medical aid after getting hit in the face with a pulley. He recovered and went on to live a long life, passing away last year, while Merle gave up nursing at age 60 after […] Read more