REGINA (Staff) – One century after the pioneers near Oxbow dug their plows into the soil and overturned Mother Nature’s prairie domain, she has returned the act.
A “plow wind” ripped through the small town and surrounding farmland early Sunday morning, uprooting trees, ripping roofs off barns, knocking over grain bins, flattening crops and crippling a grain elevator.
“It’s a miracle that nobody was killed,” said Ron James, manager of a Pioneer elevator that had its roof torn off, an 11,000-bushel grain bin annex knocked over and suffered internal damage from the sudden storm. There were some light injuries, but the local population escaped serious harm, James said.
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The plow wind, which acts like a tornado but is miles wide, turned a furrow many kilometres wide around Oxbow, damaging numerous farm buildings, said Carnduff agrologist Grant McLean.
Humboldt gets plant
SASKATOON (Staff) – Hog producers in the Humboldt, Sask., area will have access to a new feed supply. A $400,000 pea and canola meal processing plant will be built in that community, says Saskatchewan Wheat Pool.
The plant, with a 10,000 tonne per year pea and canola blending capacity, will grind peas on site with canola supplied by regional oil seed crushers.
Local producers have long relied on imported soy bean meal for the growing and finishing diets of their hogs and the pea and canola plant will provide more value-added processing for local producers.
The plant is the first of its kind for the province. Until now, the supply of peas has been too unstable, said Lyle Bauer of the pool. He said the plant will provide a local market for peas and canola that need not be affected by higher freight rates.
Unifarm still in CFA
WINNIPEG (Staff) – Farm leaders in the Canadian Federation of Agriculture will allow Unifarm to continue as part of the organization, even though it hasn’t been able to pay its dues for more than a year.
Alan Holt, vice-president of Alberta’s general farm organization, said Unifarm hopes to pay its CFA fees in six months.
“We’ve got a lot of ideas and we’re confident that within the next year for sure we’ll be able to get the organization turned around and get it back on a sound financial footing.”
Holt said he was grateful to the CFA for the grace period, but added that Unifarm is an important part of the group. “It would weaken CFA’s position to some extent if they didn’t have a general farm organization in Alberta because they don’t have one in Saskatchewan now either.”
CFA’s financial statement shows that as of June 30, 1995, Unifarm owes $117,748 in unpaid dues.
Bomb a warning
SASKATOON, Sask. (Staff) – Farmers and livestock operators should beef up their security after a bombing at an Alberta livestock genetics company, said a member of a think-tank studying organized violence.
“Take your security seriously,” said John Thompson of The Mackenzie Institute. “Next time you see someone hanging around your fence, report it to the police.”
Calgary RCMP Cpl. Carmen McKnight said a group called The Militant Direct Action Task Force has claimed responsibility for four bombs including one sent to Alta Genetics and Thompson.
“It was only by the grace of God and Canada Post my assistant wasn’t killed,” said Thompson.
While there is no firm organization to the group, it is united in its hatred of several things: The radical right, anyone who has anything to do with animals, high technology, people who make public comments and business, said Thompson.
“There is no safe way of anticipating who they will go after next.” While Thompson said farmers should be aware of radical groups, but they shouldn’t become paranoid.
