The European strain of a methicillin-resistant superbug has been discovered in Ontario pigs and pig farmers, according to an associate professor at the University of Guelph’s Ontario Veterinary College. Dr. Scott Weese, a pathobiologist who worked on the study recently published in the journal Veterinary Microbiology, said methicillin-resistant staphylococcus aurea, commonly known as MRSA, causes […] Read more
Stories by Daniel Winters
Devils Lake water outlet prompts another lawsuit
The controversial outlet designed to lower the rising waters of Devils Lake in North Dakota is not working and should be abandoned, says a lawyer representing the Manitoba government and People to Save the Sheyenne River. “In the three years that the outlet has been operating, it has only removed 1/37 of an inch of […] Read more
Stories of strength recalled
From a city girl’s experience adapting to farm life to a widow’s tale of how she coped with the sudden loss, a panel of four at the recent Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference told how they overcame difficulties in hopes their insights and experience could guide others. Pam Cavers After Pam Cavers married her husband, Clinton, […] Read more
Life throws curve ball at former Olympic athlete
Having a prized possession taken away is one kind of suffering. When the thing that is lost is control over your body’s movements, it’s hard to imagine the impact. For a competitive athlete like Karen Doell, being diagnosed with Parkinson’s disease meant that the main source of her pride in life, her sports ability, was […] Read more
Oil boom bad news for farmers – Special Report (story 1)
The world’s insatiable appetite for oil may be catching up to it. With oil prices soaring beyond $90 US a barrel, some economists and petroleum industry analysts argue that world petroleum production has reached its peak, or will do so soon, and a bidding war is set to erupt over what’s left. The end of […] Read more
Half full or half empty? – Editorial Notebook
Imagine you are driving on a pitch-black winter’s night on a long stretch of remote highway. You look down at the fuel gauge, and notice it is half full. Would you turn back toward safety? Or put the pedal to the metal, betting that the cheerful lights of a gas station will appear somewhere up […] Read more
Is the party over? – Special Report (about)
The price of a barrel of oil has soared from $11 US in 1999 to a record breaking $95. Farmers feel the pain in their pocketbooks as the cost of energy inputs increases. The theory of peak oil contends that energy costs will continue to escalate. It postulates that the half of the world’s oil […] Read more
Is the party over? – Special Report (main story)
If you think fuel and fertilizer prices are high now, wait until the effects of declining world oil and gas production are felt. There is growing belief among oil executives and economists that the flow of cheap, easy-to-extract petroleum, especially top quality crude oil, is falling behind skyrocketing world demand. Already, global oil consumption stands […] Read more
Seeking solutions in management, agronomy and technology – Special Report (story 2)
Hard choices might have to be made if the world faces the prospect of declining petroleum supplies. “I think it will be more of a choice for society, really,” said Robert Stevenson, a Kenton, Man., farmer who has given some thought to the implications of rising oil prices. “Either they have supplies of oil for […] Read more
What is ‘peak oil?’ – Special Report (story 3)
American geophysicist Marion King Hubbert first presented what has come to be known as “Hubbert’s Peak” in 1956. He theorized that because oil is a finite resource, once world production reaches its maximum limit it will begin to fall into terminal decline. He also theorized that the oil age, in the context of human history, […] Read more
