What if there was a solar-powered gadget that would cruise pastures, eat pesky leafy spurge and eject it out the back as fertilizer? Of course, sheep and goats eat spurge, but in many cases problems such as predators can prevent them from being used. Cattle, on the other hand, can be trained to eat weeds, […] Read more
Stories by Daniel Winters
Swath grazing comes out ahead in early study data
Swath grazing calves in the field is half as costly as backgrounding them in a drylot, with no significant loss in rate of gain, a two-year study has found. What’s more, staff at the Western Beef Development Centre near Lanigan, Sask., found that an in-field backgrounding experiment showed a cost of gain even lower than […] Read more
Rural author writes first novel
DELEAU, Man. – After the kids are grown up, many farm couples scale back their workload to better savour their golden years. Such a decision might free up time for gardening, community work, more trips to the coffee shop to chat with friends, travel, hobbies or grandchildren. In the worst scenario, the start of retired […] Read more
U.S. agriculture official ho-hum on Canada’s COOL challenge
The move last week by Canadian politicians to take the United States government to task at the World Trade Organization over country-of-origin labelling is unlikely to have much effect, says one U.S. official. Roger Johnson, North Dakota’s agriculture commissioner, said the trade challenge is aimed more at placating the Canadian beef and pork industry as […] Read more
P & H eyes remaining Dover stake
Shareholder approval is all that remains to approve an all-shares deal proposed by grain industry stalwart Parrish & Heimbecker to buy out flour milling company Dover Industries Ltd. Winnipeg-based P & H, which has been in the Canadian grain business for almost a century, already owns about 25 percent of the common shares in Dover, […] Read more
Soybean aphid, alfalfa weevil are top pests
Soybean aphid and alfalfa weevil were the top insect pests in Manitoba last summer, says John Gavloski, an extension entomologist with the provincial agriculture department. “For soybean aphid, it was more in east and in the central and south Interlake of the province. It was fairly widespread in our intensive soybean growing areas,” he said. […] Read more
Bale grazing saves cash, boosts fertility
Firing up a tractor every day to haul two bales 1¼ kilometres to feed cattle adds at least $10 to $15 to the cost of each bale. It’s not just the cost of fuel, says Lorne Klein, a forage development specialist with Saskatchewan Agriculture. “You’re starting a diesel tractor, so there’s the wear and tear […] Read more
Straw economical, but limit intake
Winter feeding costs are the largest single expense eating away at a cow-calf producer’s meager profit margin, says John Popp, a beef production specialist with Manitoba Agriculture. Feeding straw is one way to chisel down the cost, he told a recent beef meeting that the department organized in Neepawa. “If your cows are calving in […] Read more
Manitoba pledges financial support for organic group
Organic certifier OPAM has been brought back from the brink of a months-long funding crunch, now that the Manitoba government has stepped in with a written pledge of financial support. Bill Agnew, president of the Organic Producers Association of Manitoba board, said the organization was relieved after news that a letter from the deputy minister’s […] Read more
Youth urged to be entrepreneurs
Instead of flipping burgers or pumping gas for his first job, Troy Payne plunged headlong into the entrepreneurial world. At 18, he started a business called Carpe Diem Painting with a staff of one – himself. A year later, he added a partner, then two more employees. Then he sold his half of the business […] Read more
