Reading Time: 2 minutes Canadian burger and root beer chain A+W has chalked up another year of same-store sales growth despite “economic challenges” in the Alberta and Saskatchewan markets. Posting its year-end results on Tuesday, A+W’s Vancouver-based income fund reported same-store sales growth of 3.4 per cent in 2016 over 2015, down from a 7.6 per cent sales growth […] Read more
A+W books sales growth despite Prairie ‘challenges’
Saskatchewan snowpack points to below-normal runoff
Reading Time: 2 minutes Thanks to above-normal temperatures that drew down much of Saskatchewan’s snowpack in January, the province now sees “below normal runoff potential” in most areas outside the southeast. Saskatchewan’s Water Security Agency on Thursday released its 2017 preliminary outlook for spring runoff, noting the province has another six to 10 weeks of possible snowpack development. The […] Read more
Bovine TB probe’s focus turns to infected herd
Reading Time: 3 minutes With no new cases of bovine tuberculosis discovered on the Prairies since mid-November, federal officials are now turning their focus to how the disease got into half a dozen cattle in the region last fall. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency said Friday it has finished TB-screening and depopulating all mature cattle from 18 properties that […] Read more
Roquette counts on expanding Canadian pea output
Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg | Reuters — France’s Roquette, which is building the world’s largest pea protein plant in Manitoba, is counting on the province’s farmers to boost their production to supply the $400 million factory, the company said Friday. Roquette raised eyebrows this week when it said it would build the plant in Portage la Prairie, Man., […] Read more
Saskatchewan taking livestock premises ID mandatory
Reading Time: < 1 minute Saskatchewan livestock producers wanting to take part in provincial programs will soon have to have a valid premises identification (ID) number. The provincial and federal governments on Thursday announced the new requirement for Saskatchewan producers will take effect “over the coming months.” The province has had a voluntary premises ID (PID) program in place since […] Read more
Six quarantines lifted in bovine TB probe
Reading Time: < 1 minute Six premises deemed to be “low-risk” have been released from federal quarantine as officials continue their hunt for Alberta and Saskatchewan cattle exposed to bovine tuberculosis. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency on Wednesday reported it had lifted movement controls on six premises where “appropriate testing” has been completed on cattle so far in the agency’s […] Read more
A cattle company finding its own way
They’re risk takers who hate to lose and aren’t afraid to trust their own instincts, which is why, on the road to diversification, the Blairs have drawn their own map
Reading Time: 7 minutes Kevin Blair has never forgotten what his grandfather told him many years ago: “When everyone else is on the highway, take the grid.” It’s a message he’s made most of his life decisions by, and in the course of it, Blair Ag has learned how to tackle many of the issues that are moving to […] Read more
ICE weekly outlook: Farmers look for rallies
Reading Time: < 1 minute CNS Canada — As the last remaining days of harvest tick down, farmers are beginning to look for rallies to sell into, according to an analyst in the market. “The farmer continues to struggle out there, but seems content to sell into the rallies. I don’t think they’re selling into the breaks,” said Keith Ferley […] Read more
Saskatchewan to rework farm drainage complaint process
Reading Time: < 1 minute A new complaint process to deal with unauthorized drainage on Saskatchewan farmland is expected to lead to resolutions in months instead of years. Scott Moe, minister responsible for Saskatchewan’s Water Security Agency, on Tuesday introduced legislative amendments meant to encourage “producer co-operation through the formation of watershed associations and (allow) for producer-led projects.” Under the […] Read more
Taxability to rise on Saskatchewan rangeland
Reading Time: 2 minutes The percentage of value (POV) subject to property taxes will be bumped back up on Saskatchewan producers’ rangeland and pasture for the 2017 tax year. Government Relations Minister Donna Harpauer on Monday announced the POV on non-arable (range) land such as pastures will be set via regulatory amendment at 45 per cent, up from 40. […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
