FortSask

Farmers are busy scouting and spraying for weeds, insects, and disease. 

Dr Tyler Wist, an entomologist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada says for the most part the 2022 wheat midge outlook looks good across the Prairie.

"Through May, we usually look for about 25 millimeters of rain and that kick starts the development of the wheat midge larvae in  the ground.  If they don't get that they'll stay in the ground, they don't come out and don't attack the wheat heads that year."

A key announcement during Canada's Farm Show on Tuesday.

Prairie Clean Energy announced plans to build the world's first ever flax processing facility in Regina.

CEO Mark Cooper says they'll be buying flax straw within a 150 km radius and turning it into pellets.

Alberta Premier Jason Kenney has announced multiple cabinet changes following resignations tied to his party’s leadership race, with Environment Minister Jason Nixon now taking over permanently as finance minister.

“As Alberta continues to experience strong economic growth and job creation, our focus is on providing stable and steady government that will allow this growth to continue,” Kenney said in a news release announcing the changes late Tuesday afternoon.

Canada's Farm Show is ready to welcome everyone back after a two year break.

REAL President and CEO Tim Reid says the biggest highlight for the show this year is actually being back in person, the first time since 2019. 

He says they had a smooth load in with exhibitors happy to be back at the show, and the opportunity to showcase their products.

This years show has a whole new footprint with all the exhibits located inside this year.

Canada's Farm Show is hoping to see about 30 thousand visitors over the next few days.

New development incentives have been announced in hopes of sprucing up Fort Saskatchewan's downtown core. 

On May 24, city council unanimously voted in favour of two incentives to encourage residential development; the Brownfield Tax Exemption and a Downtown Development Grant.

The Downtown Action Plan was adopted by city council in 2021. This plan reflects that most people see downtown development as a priority and by implementing these incentives the city hopes to achieve that.

The Fort Saskatchewan Furniture Bank has been up to a lot these last two years.

The Furniture Bank started in 2016 when Kathy Stevenson began running the service out of her house. She would collect used furniture and provide it for those in need. Over the last six years, the organization has grown to a group of volunteers and a location behind Canuck Plumbing on 103 Street.

Board director Barb Larson became friends with Stevenson before joining the organization. Her love for helping the community, especially the disadvantaged, drew her to volunteer.

The Babas & Borshch Ukrainian Festival is returning for 2022, and this year promises to be extra special. 

The annual event, which began in 2013, will take place Aug. 27-28 in Lamont. this year will also mark the 130th anniversary of Ukrainian immigration and settlement in Canada.  

Forward hog contract prices have been stable as of late.

Tyler Fulton is director of risk management with Hams Marketing Services.

"We've seen a fair amount of volatility day to day, but they haven't been trending one direction or the other," he said. "Whatever they seem to lose one day, they'll regain the next day and it's coming not just from a volatile pork complex but also the Canadian dollar is highly volatile as well and that has a direct influence on what forward prices are."

On a mission to help Ukrainian refugees overseas, a Fort Saskatchewan woman brought a little bit of home with her.

Leslie Dunn is volunteering with GlobalMedic, a Canadian charity that provides emergency humanitarian aid and disaster relief worldwide. Currently, she is on a deployment in Moldova, distributing food parcels to Ukrainian refugees fleeing the country. In the three weeks that she has been there, Dunn estimates to have distributed just under 80,000 pounds of food alone. 

Introducing young hockey players to bodychecking at an early age doesn't protect them from injury as they move into older, harder-hitting leagues, new research has concluded.

In fact, the opposite may be true, said Paul Eliason of the University of Calgary, lead author of a new paper in the Canadian Medical Association Journal.

"More bodychecking experience is not protective against injury and concussions," he said. "The rates of injury and concussion were actually substantially higher among those who had more bodychecking experience."