VACATION FARM OPENS AGRICULTURAL INTERPRETIVE CENTRE

Released on September 21, 1995

Economic Development Minister Dwain Lingenfelter and Arnold Giddings,
Moose Jaw District Manager of the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation
Administration (PFRA), on behalf of Agriculture and Agri-Food Minister
Ralph Goodale, today participated in the official opening of the
Bluenose Country Vacation Farm's agricultural interpretive centre,
Grassroots Oasis.

Owned by Ken and Jo Mader, the Bluenose is a bed and breakfast vacation
farm located three miles north of Qu'Appelle. It attracts an average
of 7,000 visitors per year from across Canada and the United States, as
well as Agri-Tours from other countries.

The Grassroots Oasis interpretive centre uses displays and models to
provide information on environmentally sustainable agricultural
practices. Exhibits cover topics from snow trapping and shelterbelts,
to conservation tillage, cover crops, wildlife habitat, water
management and farm safety.

Financial assistance to develop the interpretive centre was provided
through the Canada-Saskatchewan Partnership Agreement on Rural
Development (PARD) and Western Economic Partnership Agreement on
Tourism.

"We're pleased to have the Bluenose Vacation Farm as a partner in
promoting sustainable economic development," Giddings said. "If
Canadians are to make environmentally sound decisions, they need all
the information they can get on the state of our environment and the
measures people can take and are taking to protect it."

Lingenfelter said the centre offers an excellent opportunity to
showcase Saskatchewan agricultural expertise and the importance of
agriculture to the province.

"In large measure, the history of agriculture in our province has
defined the way we look at the world, our culture, and our traditions
of co-operation and innovation," Lingenfelter said. Agriculture has
always been an important part of the provincial economy, and will
continue to be so in the future. By showing that, these displays not
only add to a well-known rural tourism attraction, but also illustrate
to the world's increasingly urban population some of the many complex
elements in the art and science of farming today."

"Providing information on environmentally sustainable agricultural
practices has always been one of our major goals," said Jo Mader. "Our
visitors will be able to not only read about good agricultural
practices, but also see them being implemented on a working farm. We
feel this approach will be most beneficial for our school tours."

The tourism and rural development agreements are federal-provincial
programs intended to help diversify Saskatchewan's economy. They are
administered by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada's Prairie Farm
Rehabilitation Administration, Industry Canada, and Saskatchewan
Economic Development.

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For more information, contact:

Ken and Jo Mader Jim Melville Darryl McCallum
Bluenose Country PFRA Economic Development
Vacation Farm Regina Regina
Qu'Appelle Phone: (306) 780-6577 Phone: (306) 787-2313
Phone: (306) 699-7192