Hot, humid weather that downgraded last year’s hay crop has left milk production in three western provinces short of the half-year 97 percent minimum quota utilization rules. At 96.82 percent, Manitoba producers fell short of their quota allocation by 11,295 kilograms of butterfat, or 293,000 litres of raw milk. Alberta and British Columbia were also […] Read more
Stories by Daniel Winters
Manitoba to give watersheds cash
The Manitoba government has earmarked more than $330,000 for the development of locally driven watershed management plans, but one watershed expert says the province could do more to manage water resources. The support includes a new round of grants, with $213,280 going toward 11 projects and $125,000 to four conservation districts, according to an announcement […] Read more
Bankruptcy compounds swine industry gloom
Many in Western Canada’s hog industry fear more bad news could be on the way after Manitoba’s Nutri-Health Group collapsed into bankruptcy last week. The Niverville-based company, which operated feed, genetics and weanling marketing businesses, was hammered by a “perfect storm” of adverse market conditions, according to former president Cal Funk, who was out of […] Read more
Bison prices good, supply tight
Bison prices are in full rebound mode, with hook prices at $2.25 a pound and a shortage of supply pushing the meat even higher, according to speakers at the Great Spirit Show and Sale held in Brandon. Dave Carter, executive director of the U.S.-based National Bison Association, said market demand for bison is strong south […] Read more
Protocol guarantees good beef: marketer
When Todd Churchill couldn’t find decent beef locally, he decided to provide it. A farm boy-turned-accountant, he later began marketing grass-fed beef through the Thousand Hills Cattle Co., which he founded in Cannon Falls, Minnesota, in 2003. “Like a lot of rural kids, I did not have any intention of being involved in agriculture. Growing […] Read more
True grass-fed cattle long gone: expert
Looking for just the right breed for grass-fed beef? There’s one place where the type of cattle that thrive on a forage-only diet can be found in abundance – in sales catalogues from 1957, said Todd Churchill, a rancher and grass-fed beef marketer from Cannon Falls, Minnesota. As the buyer for Thousand Hills Cattle Co., […] Read more
Pet food industry self-regulates in wake of scandal
Canadian pet food makers say little has changed since the Chinese melamine scandal rocked North America one year ago. The controversy erupted last spring when it was discovered that cats and dogs were getting sick and sometimes dying after eating pet food contaminated with melamine, a hard, plastic-like material used to make countertops. It was […] Read more
Manitoba food making contest returns
Manitobans with a dream of commercializing their food products will have another opportunity to show their entrepreneurial spirit and their best prepared dishes at the second Great Manitoba Food Fight at Brandon’s Keystone Centre April 25 and 26. All great food products start with an idea, an old family recipe or a flair for flavourful […] Read more
Hundred-mile diet a social revolution: grower
It’s now becoming clear to people the world over that we live on a small planet and depend on resources that are far from limitless, says David Neufeld, a greenhouse operator and social activist from Boissevain, Man. “Climate change and peak oil are changing how we think about the world and our inter-relationships with each […] Read more
Biofuel innovation impeded: researcher
The Manitoba government is not making life easy for small-scale biofuel innovators, according to Gavin Reynolds of Celtic Power. “There are some things that just blow my mind with how difficult they can make it for us,” said Reynolds. The firm, run by a British family, manufactures portable biodiesel production units, capable of producing 10,000 […] Read more
