Prairie Sounds Festival showcases local talent and awards
The Prairie Sounds Festival returned to Portage la Prairie two weekends ago, celebrating four days of musical and dramatic performance with a wide range of participants and support from the community.
With the Prairie Sounds Festival committee, Pat McRae says the event brought three adjudicators to evaluate a broad range of disciplines.
Doreen Elizabeth Blight
Doreen Elizabeth Blight (nee Miller)
Peacefully on Monday, February 3, 2025, Doreen “Doddy” Blight passed away with family by her side at Douglas Campbell Lodge at the age of 93.
She was predeceased by her husband of 69 years, Don Blight; son Rick Blight; parents Don and Mary Miller; sisters Margaret Miller, Dawn Alayne (Jim) Galbraith and Marilyn (Dave) Miller.
Saskatchewan announces 2025 Agriculture Student Scholarship winners
Abbey Norek of Gerald is this year's Agriculture Student Scholarship grand-prize $6,000 winner.
Norek's winning video highlighted an urban-rural disconnect when it comes to agriculture.
She proposed education and advocacy as key solutions to this issue.
In her video presentation, she talked about her experience building a school garden using recycled materials, leading outreach programs on her family farm, and lobbying for agriculture electives in her school division.
Heat returns after cool, windy start to May
Portage la Prairie has kicked off May with wind and cooler air following a low pressure system, but clearer skies and much warmer conditions are taking over quickly.
Chris Stammers, a meteorologist with Environment Canada, explains that a low pressure system to the north led to strong southerly winds early Monday, which were followed by a northwest shift in wind direction once a cold front passed through the region. Wind gusts reached as high as 70 km/h and persisted into the evening hours.
Jailed chicken farmer found to be in compliance for number of laying hens
Southern Alberta farmer has long-standing issues with supply-management system for smaller egg producers like himself.
A southern Alberta egg producer who had been jailed for missing a court date for violating the provincial laws governing egg production has passed a premises inspection by Egg Farmers of Alberta.
Henk Van Essen said an inspector only spent a few minutes inside his operation before coming back out and telling him he was in full compliance.
“They were so sure they were going to find thousands of chickens in this barn,” Van Essen said.
Kicking Off the 2025 Growing Season: Making Smart Input Decisions
Seeding is kicking off across the province. And whether you're already putting in fertilizer, or still fine-tuning your plan, it’s important to make informed decisions when it comes to your inputs for the season ahead.
New products are everywhere on the market and choosing the right ones can determine profitability and long-term success for your farm. I’m going to talk about one group of products that gets a lot of attention -- micronutrient fertilizers.
Burning ban issued in Municipality of Norfolk Treherne amid dry conditions
The Municipality of Norfolk Treherne has issued a burning ban effective May 5, 2025, in response to increasingly dry conditions and elevated fire risk in the region.
The ban applies to all open burning activities and extends to both urban and rural areas within the municipality. Local officials have implemented the measure as a precautionary step to prevent wildfires and ensure public safety during the current dry spell.
Match play golf event returns with strong turnout, new champion
The second edition of the 2025 Portage Match Play golf tournament wrapped up over the weekend with Clark Bolton bringing home the trophy in a tightly contested final. Hosted over three days—Friday through Sunday—the event brought a solid turnout and favourable playing conditions.
Robby Moar, general manager at the Portage Golf Club, says the tournament is still in its early days but is showing promise. Originally introduced last year, the event is meant to grow in both scale and impact.
Bracket-style format adds competitive edge
Scoreboard/Line-up - Tuesday, May 6th
Avian influenza is starting to show up in the Prairies
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency is reporting the presence of AI in three non-commercial poultry flocks in Saskatchewan last week, in the RM of Indian Head, the RM of Colonsay, and the RM of Lipton.
To date, one case has been found in a commercial poultry operation in Manitoba in the RM of Wallace.
Previous occurrences have been found in Ontario and Nova Scotia.
Most poultry and egg production operations already have biosecurity measures in place, but producers who maintain small flocks, should look at enhancing their on-farm biosecurity measures.