FortSask

The Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) has launched its Prairie Grasslands Action Plan.

The overall goal is to conserve more than 500,000 hectares by 2030, or about an area six times the size of Calgary.

Jeremy Hogan, the Director of Prairie Grasslands Conservation with the Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC) says as part of that plan they are focusing on three major projects.

Some new bingo equipment could be on the way in Bruderheim.

On Saturday (June 3), Cenovus presented a $5,000 cheque to the Bruderheim Lions Club.

Mayor Karl Hauch said that this cheque will go towards a much-needed upgrade to their bingo equipment.

"The Lions Club has been doing bingos in Bruderheim Community Hall for a very long time, and the equipment in the hall is antique. You can't buy parts for it anymore," said Hauch, who added that a series of technical difficulties have made the game more difficult to play.

Morinville RCMP has announced that a missing 61-year-old man has been located.

On Monday (June 5) morning, police reported that James Melanson was located safe and sound.

Melanson was last spotted in late May near downtown Morinville. His family was concerned for his well-being.

Police would like to thank the public for their assistance.

CN Rail reported a continued slowdown in grain movement for the month of May as farmers' focus shifted to seeding.

David Przednowek,  the assistant vice president of grain for CN Rail says it's not a surprise adding that the majority of grain has already moved through the system.

He notes something that remains a concern is the wildfire situation.

Thousands of people were in Legacy Park on Saturday (June 3) to enjoy the Fort Saskatchewan Family Festival.

From live entertainment to the return of the city’s iconic grazing sheep, there were plenty of smiles to go around.

9-year-old Mathias had his eye on one attraction in particular.

”[My favourite part] was probably the games,” he said. “They had Call of Duty, Minecraft, and NHL.” 

Here’s a snapshot of all the fun that was had:

The season for pool parties, beach excursions and trips to the cottage has begun. Sadly, some of these events turn tragic each year and drowning is the second leading cause of preventable death for children under 10 years old in Canada. 

Here are some tips from the Lifesaving Society of Canada on how to keep your kids — and yourself — safe:  

When kids are in the water, they should always be within arm's reach of an adult. It only takes seconds for a child to drown. 

Viterra and Canadian Foodgrains Bank are teaming up again to End Global Hunger

The partnership is now going into it's eigth consecutive year. 
 
This year,  Viterra is providing 172 acres of land around four of its grain terminals in Alberta and Saskatchewan for Canadian Foodgrains Growing Projects.

Alberta's Environmental Farm Plan program has released its latest version of the webbook.

Version 4.0  is more streamlined and includes an optional beekeeping chapter and an online renewal option.

Farmers can renew their EFP online without having to complete a new workbook each time. 

It's important to note that producers that may still be working on the 3.1 version of the EVP have until June 30th to complete it.

After the June 30th deadline producers will be required to use the new 4.0 version.

Results from eight research activities are included in the Integrated Crop Agronomy Cluster (ICAC)  summary document.

The new report outlines the projects which range from soil health to herbicide resistance and climate change adaptation. 

Some of the other projects focused on the coordination of crop insects and disease monitoring, assessing and managing spray drift, developing a risk model for mitigating Fusarium head blight, development, and management of productive, resilient, and sustainable cropping.

Enterprise Machine Intelligence & Learning Initiative (or EMILI) out of Manitoba has joined the group.

The Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network was launched in 2021, it's a network of Smart Farms from across the Prairies.

Network participants include Olds College which leads the program, as well as Lakeland College out of Alberta,  the Discovery Farm and the U of S Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence (LFCE)  in Saskatchewan and from Manitoba - EMILI and the Manitoba Beef & Forage Initiatives Inc.