File photo of a cow grazing near Leader, Sask., about 85 km south of Kindersley. (James_Gabbert/iStock/Getty Images)

Saskatchewan holds Crown grazing rents at last year’s levels

Also, leaseholders on drought-downgraded land eligible for rate cut

Cattle producers leasing Crown land for grazing in Saskatchewan won’t see a rate hike this year and may be eligible for a significant rate cut. The provincial government announced Wednesday it has frozen the rates charged to producers who lease Crown grazing land in 2023 at their 2022 level. The freeze will apply to all […] Read more

(File photo)

Manitoba to cut Crown forage lease rates

Previous years' forage conditions a factor, province says

The rents paid by Manitoba producers using Crown lands to produce perennial forages will be cut in half next year and by smaller amounts the following two years. Provincial Ag Minister Derek Johnson on Wednesday announced the forage lease rent on agricultural Crown land will be reduced by 50 per cent in 2023, 33 per […] Read more

File photo of farmland in Sierra Leone. (Belen B Massieu/iStock/Getty Images)

Sierra Leone passes new laws to boost landowners’ rights

Freetown | Reuters — Sierra Leone’s parliament on Monday passed two laws that lawyers say will help boost the rights of rural landowners and women against land grabs by big mining and agribusiness firms. The West African country has a history of sometimes deadly conflict between local communities and foreign companies that have cleared huge […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

U.S. to move BLM headquarters to Colorado

Reuters — The U.S. Bureau of Land Management will move its headquarters to Colorado from Washington, officials said on Tuesday, sparking ire from conservationists who said the decision would weaken the agency dedicated to managing the country’s vast public lands. The Department of Interior, which oversees BLM, announced the move in letters to key congressional […] Read more

Zimbabwe to give white farmers 99-year leases

Harare | Reuters — Zimbabwe will issue 99-year leases to white farmers, according to a government circular, after new President Emmerson Mnangagwa said he would end discrimination along racial lines in agriculture. Fewer than 400 white farmers are still operating in the southern African nation, after former president Robert Mugabe’s government evicted more than 4,000 […] Read more


A rail car from SGCC’s fleet. (Dave Bedard photo)

Three shortlines to buy Saskatchewan’s grain cars

The Saskatchewan government has picked the three buyers who will divvy up its provincially-owned fleet of grain hopper cars. The province, in its March budget, announced a request for offer (RFO) for the Saskatchewan Grain Car Corporation’s (SGCC) fleet of rail cars as it winds down that operation. The province said it would give “first […] Read more