Jan. 11 Show Segments

8:30 – The Western Canadian Crop Production Show is back after a two-year break, and Gormley is broadcasting today’s entire show live from the Meridian Manufacturing booth in Hall D. Lori Cates is the agriculture manager with Prairieland Park, and she joins John to tell us about the show’s big return and what’s got producers excited from the 2022 show floor.
LIVE: Lori Cates, agriculture manager with Prairieland Park, organizer of the Western Canadian Crop Production Show

9:00 – The Hour of the Big Stories… Open Session

9:30 – As we continue our live broadcast from the Crop Production Show in Saskatoon, farming journalist and commentator Kevin Hursh joins John to share his outlook for the year ahead in Saskatchewan agriculture.
LIVE: Kevin Hursh, Farmer, and agricultural journalist and commentator

10:00 – Tensions are ramping up between Russia and Ukraine, with Russia massing troops along the Ukrainian border and NATO preparing its response. Prof. Bohdan Kordan, who studies Canada-Ukraine relations and contemporary Ukraine at St. Thomas More College in Saskatoon, says NATO should go beyond simply sanctioning Russia, and should take an active role in arming Ukraine’s troops and preparing to aid a counter-insurgency should Russia invade. Kordan joins Gormley to discuss the situation in Ukraine and how Canada – and NATO – should help.
LIVE: Bohdan Kordan, Professor Emeritus of Political Studies, St. Thomas More College, U of S

11:00 – Shari Laventure, who works as a marketing specialist for Cargill, is helping collect data for the Farmer and Rancher Mental Health (FARMh) Initiative, a thesis project underway at Saskatchewan Polytechnic. As a patient advisor, she’s conducting interviews with farmers, asking about their experiences with the healthcare system and mental health, and getting their recommendations to help make it easier to access these services. Laventure joins Gormley to tell us about the project, how you can get involved, and the importance of mental health on Saskatchewan farms and ranches.
LIVE: Shari Laventure, patient advisor to the Farmer and Rancher Mental Health Initiative

11:30 – Continuing our agriculture focus, John is joined by Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel, who farms near Mossbank and works with the Global Farmer Network, which is currently looking for new partnerships. Jolly-Nagel also helped spearhead the creation of an online training program called “So… Your Client is a Farmer,” which aims to improve relations between producers and those who work closely with them. Jolly-Nagel joins the show to tell us about her work, and why the snow we’re currently seeing on the ground gives farmers optimism for the 2022 growing season.
LIVE: Cherilyn Jolly-Nagel, farms at Mossbank, Global Farmer Network board member, and co-founder of “So… Your Client is a Farmer” training program

12:00 – A U of S scientist is ready to take his canola pellet energy project to the next stage: scaled-up production and commercialization. Dr. Ajay Dalai has spent years working on an eco-friendly alternative to coal, using waste canola meal left behind after oil is extracted. Working at the Canadian Light Source Synchrotron, Dalai has developed a canola meal pellet that won’t crumble or absorb much moisture, making it a viable alternative to coal when burned for energy. Dalai joins John to tell us about his work, and how canola could be a part of Canada’s transition away from coal power.
LIVE: Dr. Ajay Dalai, Canada Research Chair of Bio-energy and Environmentally Friendly Chemical Processing, U of S