Time will tell whether black currants already partially leafed out are tough enough to survive a spring storm. Judy Kolk of Kayben Farms near Lethbridge said a combination of snow, freezing rain and wind knocked out the power to their greenhouses last week and covered their outside fruit trees with a thick coat of ice […] Read more
News
Alberta welcomes moisture
Sask. study places value on province’s forage production
The Saskatchewan Forage Council is hoping a new report will help increase public awareness about the economic importance of the province’s forage industry. The council unveiled a report earlier this month that estimates the direct economic value of goods and services provided by the Saskatchewan forage industry at $740 million a year. Direct goods and […] Read more
Potable water flowing to Sask. communities
Saskatchewan’s rail network might be shrinking, but another type of line linking rural communities continues to expand. Earlier this year, SaskWater announced it had completed construction of a $4 million project that carries potable water from Saskatoon to Aberdeen, Sask. The project, which includes a 35 kilometre underground water line, a booster pump station and […] Read more
Finance Note – for May. 6, 2010
Ag Growth International Inc. of Winnipeg has bought Mepu Oy, a Finnish maker of portable and stationary grain drying systems for $11.7 million. Mepu Oy, known as Mepu, was established in 1952. Sales of its farm and commercial grain drying systems are concentrated in Finland and Eastern Europe and have averaged $19 million over the […] Read more
Farm income predictions grim
The 2010 farm income projections are devastating. Agriculture Canada released them with little fanfare in late April, which is later than normal. A sector that will produce $41.6 billion in farmgate receipts this year will return $291.5 million to farmers in realized net income after depreciation. It is a 91 percent reduction from 2009 levels. […] Read more
Grass genome unlocks secrets
LINDELL BEACH, B.C. – The successful sequencing of a wild grass genome is expected to allow scientists to make important advances in food crop production and the development of crops for bioenergy. Most cool season cereal, forage and turf grasses belong to Pooideae, the largest subfamily of the Poaceae grass family, but the genomes of […] Read more
Water delivery more than turning on taps
SaskWater minister Nancy Heppner says the government is working to get more water into the province’s dry southwest, but people have to be prepared to pay for it. “Water has been undervalued,” she said after releasing the crown corporation’s annual report last week. Acting president Mart Cram agreed that people don’t always see water’s worth. […] Read more
Former WP editor dies at 62
Former Western Producer editor Garry Fairbairn died April 27 in Calgary. He was 62. Born in Arcola, Sask., Fairbairn served as this newspaper’s managing editor and then editor from 1983 to 1999. He was the son of two journalists, one of them being former Western Producer managing editor Clarence Fairbairn, and became a journalist after […] Read more
Producers want regulators to back off on tough standards
Rob Brunel thinks he has the answer to problems caused by fungal disease standards and GMO regulations: farmers should do more and regulators should do less. “As we test more and test better, maybe we’re finding things there that we would rather not find,” the Keystone Agricultural Producers vice-president said at the end of the […] Read more
Ranch wins appeal in legal wrangle over pipeline leak
MILLARVILLE, Alta. – An Alberta ranch family has won an appeal court decision upholding $70,000 in damages from an Imperial Oil sour gas pipeline leak in 2002. The dispute between Agnes Ball and Imperial Oil Resources stems from an incident in which some of her cattle out on pasture were exposed to hydrocarbon contamination from […] Read more
