Randy Stokke has cut his cattle herd by two-thirds. His 11,000 acres of leased crown pasture in southwestern Saskatchewan can’t sustain the 350 head he had at the beginning of last year. He’s now down to 100 head and has spent $50,000 on feed to see them through to next spring. “We haven’t grown any […] Read more
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Sask. MLAs call for changes to crown lease formula
CPR officially on its own
After a 30-year hiatus, shares in Canadian Pacific Railway are once again trading on North American stock exchanges. One market analyst says farmers with a few dollars to spare should consider investing in their traditional adversary. On the Toronto Stock Exchange, CPR shares opened on Oct. 3 at $22.51 per share and within two days […] Read more
Deer, elk growers lobby for help
Canada’s deer and elk producers brought their political lobby to Parliament Hill last week and got at least some of what they wanted – a promise of help from the federal government to try to pry the South Korean market open again for their products. Dennis Schmidt, secretary treasurer of the Ontario Elk Breeders Association, […] Read more
Philom Bios revenue up by third
Philom Bios Inc., target of an unsuccessful hostile takeover bid earlier this year, has reported record financial results for 2001. Cash earnings from operations doubled to $2.5 million in the fiscal year ending June 30, while revenues increased by 32 percent to $8.7 million. The company didn’t release other details of its financial performance, saying […] Read more
Feds to visit West to see, hear woes
The post-harvest November period will bring a crop of federal politicians to the Prairies. On Oct. 4, members of the House of Commons agriculture committee met in private session to plan a week or two of hearings in the West next month. After the meeting, Ontario Liberal MP and committee vice-chair Murray Calder said in […] Read more
Budding business is barrel of fun
Swift Current, Sask. – Irene Friesen wants to see stout blue bins and rusting metal drums replaced with vase-shaped rain barrels in designer colours. The 37-year-old Swift Current entrepreneur hatched the soon-to-be patented plastic prototype for her Oasis Rain Collection System in 1999, and is now selling a variety of models in major gardening and […] Read more
CWD called ’emergency’ to get money
A state of emergency over chronic wasting disease has been declared in the United States to make more disease control money available, not because there is a new outbreak, says an American agricultural official. “This is not like a dire emergency where we’re all at risk from chronic wasting disease and we’re in some sort […] Read more
Family works together, plays together
OYEN, Alta. – Each fall across Canada parents begin the nightly ritual of driving their children to dance, hockey or figure skating, and then sitting on the sidelines to watch. More than a dozen years ago, Jane and Terry Westerlund decided there was more to being a family than sitting and watching their children’s activities. […] Read more
Ottawa Notebook
Politics and weather are once again combining to dampen industry expectations for an increase in farm equipment sales on the Prairies this year. When the year began, the Canadian Farm and Industrial Equipment Institute was predicting a slight increase in sales of combines and four-wheel drive tractors. Now, says institute president Brent Hamre, the industry […] Read more
Shorty Croft farmers plug away
WEYBURN, Sask. – Viewed from a certain angle, the farmyard does sit on a bit of a rise. But the name has likely puzzled some, considering the generally flat landscape. Shorty Croft Polled Herefords was established early last century, when Garth Charlton’s grandfather emigrated from England. “It was the name of his farm in England,” […] Read more
