Cows ain’t coal

Cows ain’t coal

The recent article in Time proclaiming cows as the new coal must have been discouraging to ranchers and beef farmers, never mind the segment on CBC’s The Current that included cutting red meat as a way to fight climate change. At one point on The Current, Lloyd Alter, who has a background as an architect […] Read more

UFCW Local 401 board member and Cargill employee Joseph Kog (l) and Local 401 president Thomas Hesse with their strike notice on Nov. 10, 2021. (GoUnion.ca)

Labour strife and packing plant concentration

I’m sure I’m not the only one feeling a little sick this week watching the deteriorating negotiations between Cargill and the union at its High River plant.  Earlier this week United Food and Commercial Workers (UFCW) Local 401 conducted a vote on Cargill’s latest offer, and workers rejected that offer by a 98 per cent […] Read more


Closing a gate after crossing a pasture in August 2021.

Cows and Wildlife

It’s World Habitat Day today, and that made me think about an observation I’ve been ruminating on for several months. When I’m not at my desk, I’m often outside, and in the warmer months, I spend a lot of time riding my horse down backroads and through bush trails. I live in the Parkland-Boreal transition zone of northwestern […] Read more

A Tale of Two Ministries: The provincial auditor weighs in on slaughterhouse inspections

A Tale of Two Ministries: The provincial auditor weighs in on slaughterhouse inspections

If you haven’t done so already, please read my earlier blog post outlining Sask’s provincial meat inspection system before reading this one. When Merle Friesen first built his slaughter plant, it was inspected by Sask Health. While he emphasizes that he is only speaking from his personal experience, the Sask Health inspection he describes is not nearly as rigorous as Sask Ag’s […] Read more



The Hunt family of Corad Farms includes Sarah, Chad, Judy, Mervin, Cory, Glenna, Corlen, Jake, Caleb, Wesley, Tyler and Holly. Sarah and Chad are involved in the farm and also own and operate Farmersville Community Abattoir.

It’s a very delicate system: Running a small abattoir

The pandemic-related disruptions to our packing plants have triggered a lot of questions about our beef supply chain. Much of the discussion centres around why we don’t have more small abattoirs to spread the risk to our domestic meat supply.   Tackling this issue is a little like eating an elephant, one bite at a time. For that […] Read more