Photo: Thinkstock

Sask. livestock drought program extended

Ten RMs added to area eligible for per-head payment, application deadline lengthened

Governments have expanded and extended the Canada-Saskatchewan Feed Program available to the province's livestock producers. Ten rural municipalities have been added to the area eligible for the initial $150 per head payment, and the application deadline has been extended to March 15.



In early December, the Saskatchewan River was at its second lowest level in the past 23 years.   Photo: Alex McCuaig

Alberta expands livestock drought recovery supports

Only a narrow band of the province remains exempt from the aid program

The 2023 Canada-Alberta Drought Livestock Assistance initiative, funded through the AgriRecovery framework by the federal and provincial governments, offers payments of up to $150 per head to livestock producers who have 15 or more animals per type of livestock, and have altered usual grazing practices for more than 21 days due to drought.

Farm auction advertisements were commonplace in early-‘80s editions of the Manitoba Co-operator. 
PHOTO: FILE

In the shadow of the ’80s

HISTORY | Did the ‘80s sabotage efforts to keep rural areas vibrant?

Editor’s note: This is part four of a series on the Rural STEP program and the ongoing conundrum of rural depopulation. Read part one, part two and part three. It’s 1984. The trial of an 18-year-old farm boy from Minnesota makes the pages of the New York Times. Steven Todd Jenkins is accused of working






transport ship on the ocean

Comment: For want of fresh water

Fresh water is a hidden challenge and opportunity for global supply chains

Reports of lengthy shipping delays for vessels traveling through the Panama Canal this year have highlighted the critical but often overlooked role that fresh water plays across global supply chains. Abnormally dry conditions in Panama, brought on by El Niño, left the region drought-stricken and sent water levels in the locks that feed the canal