A Manitoba company hopes to break into the booming nutraceutical and functional food market with Prairie Macha, a food ingredient rich in vitamins and minerals made from freshly squeezed alfalfa juice. Sun Prime Extracts of Russell, Man., will operate alongside Sunridge Forages, which for the past 11 years has been exporting 15,000 tonnes of timothy […] Read more
Stories by Daniel Winters
West Nile cases climb
As many as 10,000 people in Western Canada may have been infected with the West Nile virus this summer, even though only 2,165 felt ill, said Dr. Harvey Artsob, director of zoonotic diseases at the National Microbiology Lab in Winnipeg. Because only 20 percent of all cases develop symptoms such as fever, and less than […] Read more
Soap industry floats plan for cleaner water
An industry association plans to try reducing the flow of phosphorus from automatic household dishwashers into watersheds. The Canadian Consumer Specialty Products Association, which accounts for 86 percent of all such products sold in Canada, has agreed to begin looking for suitable substitutes. Association president Shannon Coombs said the move will also harmonize standards on […] Read more
Maple Leaf shifts plant specialties
Maple Leaf says a recently announced expansion at its processing plant in Winnipeg won’t affect hog producers who ship to the company under contract. The plan, which will add more than 500 jobs to Maple’s Leaf’s Lagimodiere Boulevard plant, is aimed at consolidating killing and cutting at the Brandon plant as Lagimodiere picks up ham […] Read more
Canadians pay more for inputs than Americans
The rumours last spring that something fishy was going on with fertilizer prices have been confirmed, says Keystone Agricultural Producers president David Rolfe. “We’d heard lots of anecdotal comment last spring, so we wanted to verify that the information was accurate,” he said. “We have it here.” KAP hired PricewaterhouseCoopers to survey five retail outlets […] Read more
Year 2 of ALUS project shows promise
Ed Shaw stands on a hilltop field of golden canola stubble overlooking a marshy creek flowing through a ravine below. A special conservation program being tested in his area means that the green parts, not just the gold, are generating returns for his operation. Money he receives through the Alternative Land Use Services program – […] Read more
Low overhead pig production feels squeeze
Hog farmers who use low overhead straw-based production systems haven’t been able to escape the pain caused by high feed costs and a soaring Canadian dollar. Robert McLean, who along with his son Don produces about 1,700 feeder pigs a year on his farm near Manitou, Man., said their operation is losing $20 to $25 […] Read more
Hemp acres down, price steady
Hemp acres may be down this year, but those in the industry remain optimistic about its chances for continued growth. Arthur Hanks, executive director of the Canadian Hemp Trade Alliance, said even with the stronger Canadian dollar, the volume of hemp seed exports is up 300 percent and hemp oil is on track to grow […] Read more
Rural detachments understaffed, say RCMP
A rash of break-ins and thefts in Carberry, Man., has local people “ready to explode,” according to area resident William Dempsey. His farm has been hit by thieves five times in recent months and he wonders what it will take to make it stop. Farmers work hard to accumulate their property and don’t take theft […] Read more
Hog manure separator shows promise
A two-month test run of a European-made centrifuge device showed promise for a cost-effective way to separate phosphorus-rich solids from raw manure, according to an engineer with Puratone, a large hog operator in Manitoba. “I was impressed,” said Shokry Rashwan. Solid particles account for about 75 percent of the total phosphorus in raw hog manure. […] Read more
