In an industry where a cranky or spooked mount can send a daydreaming rider to hospital in a heartbeat, the extra cost of liability insurance is a must. “You can’t be without it,” said Lindy Barron of Barron-Echlin Stables in Claresholm, Alta. For many would-be stable operators, fear of being sued is a common reason […] Read more
Stories by Daniel Winters
Crustacean invader spotted in Manitoba
Manitoba Water Stewardship is asking anglers to help prevent the spread of the rusty crayfish. The rusty crayfish is an aggressive species recently spotted in Falcon Lake in Manitoba’s southeast. The province says it threatens to displace native crayfish and can severely reduce lake and stream vegetation, driving native fish from their habitat. Rusty crayfish […] 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
Canada remains leery of British meat imports from September 6, 2007
Canada is still wary of allowing shipments of British meat into the country following an outbreak of foot-and-mouth disease in the United Kingdom that was first reported in early August. Although the European Union agreed last week to let all of Britain, except part of the County of Surrey, resume exports of live animals, meat […] Read more
Manitoba farmer steps back in time
Wakopa, Man. – Fertilizer and fuel prices may be sky high, but Tim Freeman isn’t worried. He has two teams of hefty black Percherons that he is training to do all the work on his quarter section farm near Wakopa, Man. Last week, one of his teams was pulling a newly restored No. 7 McCormick-Deering […] Read more
China targets U.S. pork exporters for residue
Fifteen pork processing plants in the United States have fallen afoul of China’s zero tolerance for ractopamine residues, and have been delisted as approved exporters, according to recent reports. An unspecified number of other plants have been placed on a 45 day watch list, which means that if their products are found to be free […] Read more
N.D. hemp showdown heads to court again
The decades-long battle over the right to grow industrial hemp in North Dakota has entered a new phase, say activists. This time, proponents were hoping to force the Drug Enforcement Administration (DEA) to respond ahead of an Aug. 24 district court filing deadline in their latest bid to gain permission to grow hemp, which has […] Read more
Burning straw threatens fertility
Given the high cost of fertilizer, burning straw is a bit like setting part of your paycheque on fire. John Heard, a soil fertility specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, says a significant amount of nutrients in crop residues such as straw can be returned to the soil. If an average wheat crop leaves a tonne of […] Read more
Deal markets enhanced chicken feed
FeedMax, Prairie Orchard Farms and Focus Feeds have agreed to co-operate in developing and marketing chicken enhanced with omega 3 and selenium in Canada and abroad. Prairie Orchard Farms, a Winnipeg-owned and operated meat producer, has been working for several months with Focus Feeds, a locally owned feed company, on identifying various poultry feed combinations […] Read more
Bad year expected for West Nile virus
With large numbers of virus-infected culex tarsalis mosquitoes remaining in parts of the Prairies, West Nile could deliver a hefty late season punch, according to the Public Health Agency of Canada. As of Aug. 16, 106 cases of human infection had been found in Manitoba, 82 in Saskatchewan (40 unconfirmed), 37 in Alberta and two […] Read more
