Vol. 106 No. 18
THURSDAY, APRIL 30, 2015
20 pages
$1.25
Block says budget demonstrates commitment to Saskatoon-RosetownBiggar Member of Parliament Kelly Block is welcoming the Government of Canada’s Economic Action Plan 2015. It will support jobs and growth in SaskatoonRosetown-Biggar, helping families and communities prosper and ensure the security of all Canadians. “We have kept our promise to Canadians by balancing the budget in 2015, the first balanced budget since the Great Recession,” Block said April 21. “Under our leadership, Canada has created over 1.2 million new jobs since the recession, but we live in uncertain times and the global economy remains frag-
Fire jumps highway, threatens homes . . . A massive prairie fire east of Biggar, Wednesday jumped Highway 14, causing motorists to find alternate routes and give fire fighters room to work. Cause of the fire was unknown as of Independent press time, but RCMP are warning people to be careful with smoking material due to the dry conditions. Coffee-row talk of water bombers coming to fight the blazer were nothing but rumour. No one was injured, and fire fighters kept the blaze from area homes and yards. (Independent Photo by Kevin Brautigam)
ile,” said Block. “That is why Economic Action Plan 2015 will continue our government’s focus on creating more jobs
and growing the economy in Saskatoon-Rosetown-Biggar and across the country.” Economic Action Plan
2015 includes key measures to support families and to support the Saskatchewan economy, including:
s #UTTING 4AX FOR 3MALL Business: Economic Action Plan 2015 proposes to further reduce the small business tax
rate down to nine per cent by 2019. Due to measures taken since we formed government, …see Block pg 13
Western Sales to conduct 5-year variable-rate seeding research Western Sales is embarking on a fiveyear trial project, looking into variable rate seeding and fertilizer applications. The project, in partnership with Bourgault Industries will determine efficiencies the techniques offer producers in the region. “Western Sales FieldSmart division, established nearly five years ago, was the first effort in Canada, perhaps North America, to bring agronomy into a machinery dealership,” stated Devin Dubois, Western Sale’s VP of Integrated Solutions. Western Sales intention is to marry the science of precision agriculture to their customers’ equipment, the pinnacle of which is variable-rate
application. “Much of our customers’ equipment is already designed to apply variable-rate prescriptions, but only a handful of our producers are actually using the technology,” said Dubois. Western Sales hopes to demonstrate the real value in variable-rate applications through accurate production data generated on local land using commonly available application technology and crop varieties on common-sized fields. “We think variablerate prescriptions allow producers to improve their gross margins with very limited initial cost and effort,” explained Dubois. “For those who don’t have capable equipment, we want to help them assess the
value of adopting the necessary technology by understanding the gross margin increase that precision applications can provide. We believe precision agriculture makes producers money. It’s not a cost - it’s an opportunity to increase gross margins by both increasing yield and decreasing unproductive inputs.” Bourgault Industries, who have long included variable-rate capability on their product, will supply the seeder for the project. “This large scale trial will show how agronomic strategies, in combination with seeding technology, can optimize the placement and amount of inputs used in crop production,” said Curtis De Gooijer, Cor-
porate Agronomist for Bourgault. “I am very excited to see how this technology will impact the bottom line of not only our customers, but all producers.” The project will be conducted in cooperation with a local producers on approximately 1,000 acres, all within four miles of Western Sales’ Rosetown location. The land locations will be marked, and a Web-based portal with up-to-date data will be available. The University of Saskatchewan will assist the program. “Farm scale evaluations of this duration are valuable in producing information that could lead to immediate production advice for local producers,” explained U
of S professor of Soil Science, Dr. Jeff Schoenau. Western Sales’ FieldSmart team will employ the latest mapping, soilscience and agronomic data tools to develop management zones, control plots and prescrip-
tions for the research land. They will employ the same data collection and analytical tools available to customers. All crop applications and yields will be verified by secondary sources, such …see Western Sales, pg 16
Bookworms . . . The annual St. Paul’s Church Strawberry Tea and Bake Sale was held Wednesday, April 22 at the Biggar New Horizons. People could come in for something tasty, pick up some reading material or just enjoy great company. (Independent Photo by Kevin Brautigam)