Manitoba cattle producers striving to improve and expand herd, minimize workload and enjoy family life
LAURIER, Man. — Manitoba’s Outstanding Young Farmer nominees know the value of hard work. “Everything we have, we’ve worked for,” said Clint Desjardins, who operates Cattle Drive Ranch east of Riding Mountain national park with his wife, Shannon. “Clint is never happy unless he’s doing something. He needs to be busy,” said Shannon, citing how […] Read moreFarm Living — page 298
Homemade master mixes a valuable time-saver
When preparing meals for the field or school lunches, master mixes are convenient. The large batch measuring and mixing of the dry ingredients and fat make the ingredients ready for quick preparation of a variety of fresh baked items like biscuits, pancakes, waffles, muffins and cookies. Commercially available biscuit or pancake mixes are comparable products. […] Read more
Family provides comfort after crop disaster
After being wiped out by hail, Dad heads north to earn a living for the family, but soon faces further tragedy
Disaster can happen to anyone at any time. Both the memory of the event and the victims’ reaction to it will affect their decisions for the rest of their lives. Harold and Louise Hathaway, my parents, were 100 percent hailed out in 1947. This single devastating event caused a landslide of tragedies that transformed them […] Read more
Farm girl’s writing aspirations bound to kindle memories
Francis, the young heroine in Carol L. MacKay’s new children’s book, Lily in the Loft, is captivatingly charming. Charming also best describes Francis’s journey to be published in the pages of The Western Producer. The colourful book opens with the aspiring writer observing the pastoral scene of her family’s farm from her perch in the […] Read more
Seeking professional help for mental stress not sign of weakness
Q: I am not sure how to help my husband. I see him looking through the bedroom window every morning when we get up. Apart from a few non-eventful showers, the rains have simply not blessed us this year. I know that my husband is discouraged. He does not say much. I would like him […] Read more
Public urged to recognize national hunting, trapping and fishing day
It’s probably accurate to say that NHTFHD isn’t the best acronym in the history of acronyms. Nonetheless, NHTFHD does represent a worthwhile event. It stands for National Hunting Trapping and Fishing Heritage Day in Canada, which happens on Sept. 16. The Ontario Federation of Hunters and Anglers (OFHA) is encouraging sportsmen, across Canada, to mark […] Read more
Sask. fire ban extended
Saskatchewan has extended its fire ban due to continuing extreme fire risk. A ban has been in place in some areas since Aug.1. As of Aug. 31, open fires are prohibited in all provincial parks and recreation sites and on all provincial Crown land south of the Churchill River all the way to the US […] Read more
Produce a growing concern for Alberta trio
IRMA, Alta. — A perk of market gardening is the opportunity to work inside a warm sunny greenhouse on a brisk winter’s day. “It’s therapeutic,” said Amy Newton, who with fellow growers Kristal MacKay and Janel Fenton operate Spade to Spoon Garden Market and Greenhouse near Irma, Alta. As with most gardeners, growing started as […] Read more
Milkweed: if you can’t beat it, grow it
THURSO, Que. — Dan Gagne is the first to admit he’s the odd man out growing milkweed. While farmers around him in western Quebec curse the noxious weed, he’s growing it as a cash crop. Gagne, a physiotherapist who owns a 200-acre farm near Thurso, belongs to Co-operative Monark, consisting of approximately 100 farmers in […] Read more
Home for locomotive repair under repair
The Hanna roundhouse, built in 1909, employed 60 people who put locomotives needing work back on track
HANNA, Alta. — A small group came forward with a big voice when the Hanna roundhouse was in danger of being sold for salvage. “I thought that was a shame and somebody should do something about it,” said Sandra Beaudoin, a former lender with Alberta Financial Services Corporation with a passion for history. She helped […] Read more
