hanson acres

Hanson Acres: What they didn’t know…

Young Connor has some explaining to do. And it looks like his parents do too!

Reading Time: 5 minutes The day had started off well. “Daddy, the sun came out! I better stay home and help!” Connor said, looking out the open front door. Jeff looked out over his son’s head. After three days of mid-harvest rain, the sky had cleared. “Looks good,” Jeff agreed. “But you can’t miss the first day. And it’ll […] Read more

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Hanson Acres: Leaving the farm behind

It’s only for a weekend… or so they hope

Reading Time: 4 minutes Dale’s wife vetoed all of his best excuses. “Who’s going to finish the spraying if Jeff and I are both away all weekend?” “Mark. That’s why we hired him. You’ve trained him well. He’ll be fine,” Donna answered. “What about the dog? We can’t leave Buddy in the yard alone for three days.” “Your Dad […] Read more


This plot was left unseeded intentionally. A wide variety of weeds took hold and participants were challenged to see how many they could correctly identify.  Photo: Leeann Minogue

Minogue: Back to school for hands-on learning

Reading Time: 2 minutes On the first day of Saskatchewan Agriculture’s annual Crop Diagnostic School about 100 ag retailers, agronomists and farmers gathered in Swift Current to get a hands-on look at common real-world crop problems. Anyone working in agriculture today has 24/7 access to online information about crop disease and pests, but there is no substitute for seeing […] Read more

Julian Heath, research operations lead at the newly expanded Saskatoon facility, explains the Saskatoon plots to open-house guests. (Leeann Minogue photo)

DuPont Pioneer expands Saskatoon research facility

Reading Time: 2 minutes DuPont Pioneer announced the expansion of its Saskatoon multi-crop research facility at an open house on Friday. The expanded facility will house breeding programs for canola, soybean and “ultra-early maturity” corn. “DuPont Pioneer is focused on developing early-maturing products, and high-yielding products for Canadian farmers,” said Bryce Eger, president of DuPont Pioneer Canada. DuPont Pioneer […] Read more


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Hanson Acres: “I should’ve got the dog to do this”

Some days on the Hanson farm, there’s a smell in the air that just isn’t right

Reading Time: 4 minutes Elaine didn’t know her iPhone was almost dead until she pulled it out to check the time. It was nearly four. She stopped the tractor while she rummaged through her pockets and the backpack she’d brought out to the tractor with her. No luck. She’d forgotten her charger. She took a look under the buddy […] Read more

hanson acres

Hanson Acres: Just one more coupon

Why is that new hired man always so late? And what’s with those excuses?

Reading Time: 4 minutes When Mark was 20 minutes late for work on Tuesday morning, none of the Hansons who were out in the shop said anything, although Dale did make a point of taking a good look at his watch and Dale’s father, Ed, would definitely have said something if he’d been there. On Wednesday, Mark was 25 […] Read more


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Hanson Acres: Their visitor from the east

The moment the plane lands, the questions get started

Reading Time: 4 minutes Dale was on edge as soon as he saw the number displayed on the phone. He considered just letting it ring, but his wife Donna was watching so he took the call. He shuddered as he hung up. “She’s coming,” Dale said. Ever since she’d heard about their father’s stroke, Dale’s sister Margaret had been […] Read more

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Hanson Acres: Winter gets hard, and spring harder

The Hansons hear the bad news even before they get home. It’s time to get back to work

Reading Time: 4 minutes It was a great vacation, but it was definitely over. Jeff Hanson, his wife Elaine and their two small kids had spent 10 days at a sunny resort with perfect weather and soft sand beaches. Connor and Jenny spent every day paddling around in the ocean and the pool, building sandcastles and making friends with […] Read more


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Hanson Acres: What’s up with that darn cat?

On the farm, small problems have their own way of getting big

Reading Time: 5 minutes Some days it was hard to tell if Buddy, the Hanson’s collie, had amazing herding instincts, or if he was just a jerk. When he spotted Buddy nipping at a cat in the middle of the yard, Dale’s first instinct was to give the dog a cuff. “Cut that out, Buddy! You’re six times the […] Read more

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Hanson Acres: Time to check that forecast

Will Trina make the eight-hour drive to the farm?

Reading Time: 5 minutes Trina Hanson was taking a break in her Calgary office, checking the weather on her phone. “Great,” she thought. “Minus 30 and drifting snow for Friday.” It was only Tuesday, but Trina was already dreading the eight-hour drive home to the farm for the weekend. She’d been making the trip from Alberta to southeast Saskatchewan […] Read more