The Weyburn Inland Terminal (WIT) celebrated a banner year in 2007, and is hoping to build on its success this year with a $5 million upgrade to its facilities.

The company specializes in grain marketing, but all business units contributed to the success of last year. "Across the board, our smaller businesses did well, and our core grain business - we moved a lot more grain than normal for the fall," WIT CEO Rob Davies said.  "We hit on all cylinders pretty well, and it was a good year for us."

With farmers anticipating rising input costs, fertilizer sales were also high in early 2007.

Local ownership is a source of pride for WIT.  With a higher level of accountability demanded from its board of directors and customers, the terminal retains its focus on what customers and shareholders need.

"We're not a huge company, but we focus on doing things well for our local customer base," Davies noted.  Size also allows the company to react quickly to opportunities that come along.

Important to the shareholders are WIT's contributions to community projects.  "We contributed 2.2 per cent of our pre-tax income to local community events, when the industry average is about one per cent," Davies stated.

"Our participation in local events and local communities helps business."

Key to the terminal's community investment program is 4-H calf sales, scholarships and other organizations and events.

To ensure success in the future, WIT purchased a portion of Alliance Grain Terminal in Vancouver.  "We look at it as a long-term strategic opportunity," Davies said.  "In a world where the marketing environment changes, we want to make sure that we have access to export business out of Vancouver. 

It was an opportunity we felt we had to participate in to maintain that access over the long-term."

Closer to home, WIT is in the middle of a $5 million upgrade to its receiving system.  "The biggest benefit to customers will be dramatically improving our delivery times and also giving us separate storage for identity-preserved grains," Davies stated.  "In addition, we're doing some dust control."

The expansion project is expected to be completed by harvest this year.

WIT owns and operates an inland terminal and grain condominium complex on CP Rail's Soo Line.  It opened in 1976, when 1,450 farmer/shareholders sought to improve the existing grain-handling and transportation system.

For more information, contact:
Rob Davies, CEO
Weyburn Inland Terminal
Phone: (306) 842-7436
E-mail: r.davies@wit.ca
Website: http://www.wit.ca/

The benefits of value-added agricultural processing are extending beyond economic development and job creation to expanded post-secondary education opportunities for one region of the province.

With the announcement of two new canola crushing plants to be located in Yorkton, the Parkland Regional College is responding to the anticipated labour market demand for power engineering technicians.

This fall, the college will offer the Power Engineering Technician Certificate Program from the Saskatchewan Institute of Applied Science and Technology.  Students will ultimately graduate from SIAST with fourth class power engineering inter-provincial credentials.

Although the main impetus for the new program is the impending construction of the two major canola crushing plants, SIAST and Institute Programs Co-ordinator Connie Brown notes that demand for the skill is widespread.

"In general, there is a need for power engineers.  We also have large potash mines in the area, which have been experiencing some expansion, as well," she stated.

Completion of the program will equip participants to work in industrial settings.  "Students are trained to operate boilers in large industrial plants and to perform the maintenance and all the different operations that go along with it," Brown said.

They will also learn about safety, with the inclusion of Workplace Hazardous Materials Information System (WHMIS) and Confined Space courses.  The extra safety training is an example of the way the college tries to enhance the curriculum when offering a program.

A hands-on component is a key part of the course.  Two work placements require that students spend time in a plant.  As well, three weeks of each semester will be spent at a power plant lab in Saskatoon. 

"They are working with equipment that could be very dangerous, so they need to know what they're doing," Brown said.

The Parkland Regional College is accepting 12 applicants for the power engineering program.  Although there are still spots available, Brown expects a full class, given the interest indicated by people who have contacted her.  The school expects to draw students from beyond the east-central region, due to waiting lists at other institutions that offer the course.

The smaller class size will enable more interactive learning and greater attention from the instructor.  Students can also access the college's well-developed support services.

The next step in preparation for the new course will be the recruitment of an instructor, who will be required to possess second-class power engineering certification.

The program begins September 29 and runs for 37 weeks over two semesters before wrapping up on June 26.  The next round will likely begin in fall 2009.

For more information, contact:
Connie Brown, SIAST and Institute Programs Co-ordinator
Parkland Regional College
Phone: (306) 783-6566
E-mail: c.brown@parklandcollege.sk.ca
Website: http://www.parklandcollege.sk.ca/

A finalist for this year's Venture Forward Business Plan Competition is promoting an immigration-centred growth strategy for businesses that could help agricultural companies and producers meet their labour challenges.

Dirk Propp, owner and CEO of the Saskatoon-based International Immigration and Business Consulting (IIBC), finds symmetries between foreign workers anxious to come to Canada and businesses that desperately need both skilled and unskilled labour.

"For foreign workers, it's their dream to come here.  For them to have the opportunity to come to Canada, whether it's permanently or just for two years, it allows them to save and send money home to their families," said Propp.

"The businesses gain because they're having trouble finding both skilled and unskilled labour.  By bringing in foreign workers who are excited and really want to work in Saskatchewan, where they will make very good money, it's a dream come true."

Key to the success of IIBC is Propp's ability to sell Saskatchewan as a place to live.  He says the most attractive qualities to immigrants are the province's economic growth and potential, the abundance of space, clean air and water, high-quality amenities, natural beauty and sense of community.

IIBC recruits workers from Latin America and Asia, and is developing a recruitment strategy for Europe. Propp expects to place 40 to 50 foreign workers in the next six months.

Communication, co-ordination and accommodation help develop a connection between the employer and the employee.  Moreover, extra steps must be taken to help foreign workers attach to their new communities.

IIBC staff members pick up workers at the airport, help them establish residence and a bank account, complete applications for government documents, and make them aware of the cultural and tourism opportunities that exist in their new communities.

"We want them to feel welcome when they get here so that they'll want to stay," Propp said.

At the work site, they must adjust to the high level of attention paid to workplace safety.  In addition, interpersonal working relationships are more important to Canadian employees than in other countries.

On the employers' side, information sessions conducted by IIBC outline the expectations placed upon them when hiring a foreign worker.

The administrative environment for immigration issues is constantly changing.  While a significant amount of research is required by IIBC to keep on top of regulations, conditions are improving, according to Propp.  In the past few months, the provincial government has added resources to the Saskatchewan Immigrant Nominee Program that have decreased the processing time.

"When you're competing with other provinces and countries in the world to attract talent, you have to have fast processing times.  The provincial government addressed that immediately," he said.

Propp sees potential in Saskatchewan's agricultural sector.  "The agricultural companies need machinists and welders and skilled workers to do the jobs."  IIBC hopes to expand in this direction to help the industry meet its production goals.

In the meantime, Propp has his sights set on the Venture Forward Business Plan Competition.  IIBC is one of eight finalists competing for $100,000 in prize money.  The results will be announced in late May.    

For more information, contact:
Dirk Propp, CEO
International Immigration and Business Consulting
Phone: (306) 241-3629
E-mail: dirk@iibc.ca
Website: http://www.iibc.ca/

A volunteer program administered by the Saskatchewan Abilities Council keeps farmers working after they have acquired a disability, disease or medical condition.

"Farmers with Disabilities" taps the resourcefulness and empathy of nearly 200 volunteer farmers who have had to make adjustments and accommodations to their own practices in order to continue agricultural operations.

Bob Elian, the program's provincial co-ordinator, is guided by the input of these volunteers, who have a solid understanding of the issues farmers face after a serious injury or illness.

A priority service of the program is visitation to farmers at the hospital.  The visitation is often facilitated by members of the patient's health care team, who ask if they would like to be contacted by someone from the Farmers with Disabilities program.

From there, volunteers are assigned to visitations based on similarities in age, disability or geography with the farmer in the hospital.  Follow-up visitations are often scheduled at the farmers' homes once they have been released from the hospital.

During this time, facing the future is the most significant barrier to overcome.  "The farmers who have been through it before are a real blessing to anyone with a new disability," said Elian.  "The volunteer answers a lot of questions that the newly disabled person often has on how do they continue farming and what changes will they have to make - those types of things."

A second important area identified by the volunteers is the program's focus on "assistive technology."  That includes machinery modifications and changes around the farmyard.

Farmers with Disabilities has collected a database of information on assistive technology developed by volunteers and peers.  Elian says the database, called "Changing Gear," contains information on commercially available items that the farmers have found useful in adapting to their disabilities.  The collection is available in catalogue format, on CD and on the Saskatchewan Abilities Council website.

The most popular assistive technologies include alternative machinery controls that adapt hand controls to foot controls, or vice versa.  Lifts are also important for getting up to operators' platforms.  As farmers

age, they sometimes experience arthritis and find it difficult to climb.

Although the farmer visitations and the Changing Gear database are cornerstones of the program's success, organizers really emphasize safety and prevention to avoid the need for such services.  Elian says the volunteers serve as champions for safety.  "They're like every other farmer, except they've been caught and injured," he said.

"The most important thing in the farmers' minds is that safety is number one.  Whether they're promoting it to children or adults, they want to get the message across that safety is an attitude that they have to practice every day.  They also want people to use the latest methods in safety."

To help spread the word, the Saskatchewan Abilities Council participates in the "Operation Farm Safety" initiative with Saskferco and the Saskatchewan Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Labour.  The council contributes by assigning volunteers to deliver safety presentations in schools, which include an age-appropriate farm safety video and a discussion in which the volunteer shares his or her personal story.  Students are sent home with an information package of safety reminders for review with their parents.

Operation Farm Safety is a single component of Farmers with Disabilities' communication strategy.  Other aspects include the volunteers' active role in farm safety days, workshops and tradeshows.  "Handifarmer," a newsletter produced by the program three times a year, contains motivating messages and success stories, as well as information on assistive technologies and upcoming events.  Media relations and literature distribution also help get the word out.

The program likewise serves as a broker of print materials from the Saskatchewan Safety Council and the Ministry of Advanced Education, Employment and Labour in order to provide audiences the most complete information possible.

Farmers with Disabilities demonstrates the resourcefulness of Saskatchewan's agricultural producers.  As proof, one needs look no further than Changing Gear, which contains a broad variety of innovations. 

The program also exemplifies the generosity of farmers and their willingness to help one another.  Elian has never had difficulty selecting an appropriate volunteer willing and able to relate to any farmer in the hospital.

Hopefully, because of the volunteers' work in safety education, fewer visits to the hospital will be required in the future.

For more information, contact:
Bob Elian, Farmers with Disabilities Co-ordinator
Saskatchewan Abilities Council
Phone: (306) 374-4448
E-mail: farmerswithdisabilities@abilitiescouncil.sk.ca
Website: http://www.abilitiescouncil.sk.ca/

The Moose Jaw River Watershed Stewards are participating in an Agri-Environmental Group Plan (AEGP) to reduce the impact of agriculture on surface water quality.

An AEGP is a complement to the Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) initiative, but it focuses on one specific issue for a geographic area, compared to an EFP that deals with all issues on a farm.  In Saskatchewan, watersheds form the geographic basis for the groups.

At the outset of the Moose Jaw River project in January 2006, town hall meetings were hosted and information was collected from the general public to reveal local issues.  The issue chosen for the Moose Jaw area was surface water quality.

Participants at the town hall meetings voted on three Beneficial Management Practices (BMPs) on which to focus for the first two years.  Wintering site management, riparian site management and erosion control were the issues that were selected.

Specific actions that producers are taking by way of wintering site management include reducing herd density, improving feeding and bedding strategies, and limiting access to watering sites to improve runoff control.  The goal is to eliminate water contamination from nutrients and pathogens.

Riparian areas are located immediately surrounding streams, rivers, lakes and wetlands.  They are vital to biodiversity because they act as a natural filter to protect surface water bodies.  To protect these areas, producers can create vegetative buffer strips, construct cross-fencing, seed the area to native grasses and keep livestock away from the area to prevent surface runoff.

Erosion control is also critical to streams and wetlands, as sediment can cause contamination.  Actions considered by the group include restoring eroded water runs, stabilizing stream banks and installing erosion control structures.

Funding to implement BMPs in the watershed is available from the Canada-Saskatchewan Farm Stewardship Program.  So far, farmers have implemented more than $850,000 worth of projects in the Moose Jaw River watershed. These projects have been 50 per cent cost-shared with the stewardship program.

An effective communication strategy has been critical to the success of the project, which spans an area of 9,400 square kilometres from Trossachs almost all the way to Central Butte.  The outreach has included workshops, bulk mail drops and the publication of a 12-page newsletter.  "We've had pretty positive comments on the newsletter," said Tammy Myers, Moose Jaw River Watershed Co-ordinator.   

Success will be assessed by examining behavioural trends of the area's agricultural producers.  "People are changing their practices." said Myers.  "There is a cumulative effect when people take ownership of this issue in a specific area.  We're all working together to target this issue."

For more information, contact:
Chad MacPherson, AEGP Coordinator
Moose Jaw River Watershed Stewards Inc.
Phone: (306) 691-3396
E-mail: macphersonccm@agr.gc.ca
Website: http://www.mjriver.ca/