WestCentral

With harvest approaching, farmers will want to start thinking about pre-harvest intervals (PHI) before applying any pesticides and or fungicides to the crop.

The PHI refers to the minimum number of days between a pesticide application and swathing or straight combining of a crop and reflects the time required for pesticides to break down after being applied.

Saskatchewan Open Farm Days runs August 9th and 10th, and is organized by Farm and Food Care Saskatchewan.

Event Coordinator Ashley Stone says agriculture is one of the biggest industries in the province, and the overall goal is to bring people together to get a better idea about life on the farm and where our food comes from. 

She notes this year they have 34 hosts participating from across the province.

Research finds agriculture waste could be transformed into biogas and fertilizer using bacteria-based techonology

Canadian farms could significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions while generating renewable energy by converting agricultural waste into biogas, a McGill University doctoral student says.

Anjaly Paul said anaerobic digestion could transform livestock manure and crop residues that would otherwise decompose in landfills into valuable resources.

A Saskatoon-based company has begun field trials of a replacement for granular peat inoculant.

Peat has been used for decades to inoculate crops such as peas and lentils and is a biological that provides consistent benefits, said Dave Greenshields, who founded Insight Plant Health in 2020.

However, customers are looking for a replacement, he told people attending a recent Canada-Saskatchewan Irrigation Diversification Centre field day.

A large section of West Central will be without power for a short time on Thursday morning.

SaskPower has a planned outage set for between 9:30 and 10:00 AM, set to affect customers in Eatonia, Madison, Glidden, Laporte, Mantario, as well as areas south of Kindersley to the river, and west of Snipe Lake to the Alberta border.

From triathlons to beach bashes and movies under the stars, Saskatchewan’s provincial parks are offering up two weeks of summer fun with free programming and events across the province.

The latest lineup from Discover Sask Parks runs August 6 to 20 and features a mix of active adventures, cultural festivals, and outdoor cinema nights, all included with a valid park entry permit.

The Oyen Orioles U11 baseball team just fell short of a championship at this past weekend's Baseball Alberta Division 1 Tier 3 provincial tournament, putting an end to provincial play across the border for the summer, and capping off what was a strong year for O's ball.

Police in Luseland responded to three animal-related calls in July, including one involving animal welfare.

According to a monthly report from the Luseland Police Service, officers were dispatched to one general animal complaint, one call for an injured animal, and another related to animal welfare concerns.

The service did not release further details, but encouraged the public to report animal incidents through the proper channels, rather than social media.

Outside of animal-related matters, police responded to a wide range of calls throughout July.

Two senior baseball championships will be awarded about 90 kilometres apart on Wednesday night.

In the North Saskatchewan River Baseball League, the Unity Senior Cardinals are at their temporary home in Wilkie for the final time tonight hosting the North Battleford Beavers, while across Highway 14, the Macklin Lakers welcome in the Veteran Bulls to decide what's their third straight meeting in the Battle River Baseball League Championship series, the Lakers going for a three-peat.

A man accused of possessing stolen property has entered a guilty plea, avoiding a trial in Kindersley provincial court.

Travis O’Neill appeared in court on August 5 and pleaded guilty to one count of possession of property obtained by crime. The charge stems from a September 2024 incident in which police discovered stolen items in O’Neill’s trailer.

He had also been facing a charge of breaking and entering, but that charge was stayed due to insufficient evidence.