Ag News

The 2023 Energy City Ex's rodeo held a lot of highlights over its three days of action, and several of those came from competitors from southeastern Saskatchewan.

Four contestants that were listed as local members were top finishers in the unofficial results from the Kakeyow Cowboys Rodeo Association.

Kathleen Schiml, of Estevan, placed third in ladies barrel racing on Sunday with a time of 16.40.

Griffin's Sarah Picton finished eighth Sunday in the ladies barrel racing, with a time of 16.62.

Potash and Agri Development Corporation of Manitoba (PADCOM) officially commissioned the province's first ever potash mine.

The 250 thousand tonnes mine is located at Harrowby (16 kilometres west of Russell).

Premier Heather Stefanson and Economic Development and Investment and Trade Minister Jeff Wharton were among those on hand for Friday's event and tour.

  
RJ Sigurdson, the MLA for the Highwood constituency was sworn in as the Minister of Agriculture and Irrigation on Friday.

His biography on the government website notes that Sigurdson grew up working on 40-acre family farm north of Cochrane, and worked on nearby farms during high school.

Prior to first being elected to the Legislature in 2019 he worked with Avalanche Air Systems as a senior project/general manager and shareholder. 

He also has extensive experience as a red seal sheet metal worker.

CPKC's assistant vice president of sales and marketing for Canadian grain has been on the road meeting with customers and talking about the new destinations CPKC serves.

Elizabeth Hucker says they now offer a single-line haul for mills and feeders in the southern U.S., gulf ports, and into Mexico.

Farmers are busy spraying and scouting fields for insect and weed concerns.

The Prairie Pest Monitoring Network newsletter helps to keep farmers up to date on potential insect concerns

Dr. Megan Vankosky is a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-food Canada and co-editor of the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network's newsletter.

The issue is Mexico's decision to ban the use of biotechnology corn in tortillas and dough.

The Mexican president has said the intention is to gradually substitute the use of biotechnology corn in all products for human consumption and animal feed, and the rejection of applications for authorizations covering the importation and sale of certain biotechnology products.

The United States has requested dispute settlement consultations with Mexico under the Canada-United States-Mexico Agreement (CUSMA).

Southwest producers were thrown a bit of a curveball to start the season, but recent conditions are making up for that.

A mid-April snowstorm put a damper on anyone hoping to begin their seeding operations later in the month. 

Instead, most producers began in May and nearly all in the southwest are now finished according to the Saskatchewan weekly crop report released on Thursday.

Timely and widespread rains have travelled through the area the last few weeks helping supplement the freshly planted crop.

A popular tradition of celebrating the people who produce our food wrapped up Thursday in the Frobisher area.

Another year of Seed and Feed concluded with Nolan Kowal and Linda Bartschat of Golden West Radio bringing a Southern Plains Co-op lunch to Kelly Biberdorf and the crew at KBAD Farm Ltd. 

Congratulations to our 10 winning farms for 2023. We hope it's a very fruitful growing season:

Neumann Acres, Van De Woestyne Farms, Future Four Farms, LeBlanc Farms, Gervais Farms, Family View Farms, BD Poirier Farms, Carson Farm, Merv Hagel Farm, KBAD Farm Ltd.

The Manitoba government continues working collaboratively with the Potash and Agri Development Corporation of Manitoba (PADCOM) as Manitoba’s first-ever potash mining operation starts pilot production, Premier Heather Stefanson and Economic Development, Investment and Trade Minister Jeff Wharton announced here today.

Most seeding operations have wrapped up in the region now that 99 per cent of the crop has been seeded, up from 94 per cent last week and on par with the five-year average. While most producers reported that there is enough moisture to support germination of crops, more is needed soon to ensure continued development.