Are grain bins equipment or buildings? Keystone Agricultural Producers would like to know because the answer could make a big difference on a farm or seed plant owner’s tax bill. “In some parts of the province, they were being assessed as equipment, while in other areas they were always being assessed as buildings,” said Ian […] Read more
Stories by Daniel Winters
Man. cabinet minister tries for fourth term
Three-term NDP incumbent Stan Struthers, who has served as minister of Manitoba Conservation for more than three years, hopes to secure a fourth term in the May 22 provincial election. He might have had a smoother ride had it not been for the entry of Progressive Conservative opponent Lloyd McKinney. The former teacher-turned-drugstore manager decided […] Read more
Man. extends backyard poultry testing
Manitoba’s free avian influenza testing program for small backyard flock owners has been extended to March 31, 2008. The service provides a free examination and report on dead and live sick birds submitted by owners to the provincial veterinary laboratory. The program is offered free to owners of small, backyard flocks to encourage participation in […] Read more
Manitoba’s chief vet urges shots for anthrax
Manitoba’s chief veterinary officer Wayne Lees is encouraging livestock owners to vaccinate their animals to prevent anthrax before turning them out onto pasture. Producers who graze their livestock in areas of the province that have had previous anthrax cases, or in areas with alkaline-to-neutral soils that were flooded this year, are encouraged to vaccinate their […] Read more
Man. hog firm lands Chinese deal
A Manitoba pork producer has signed a deal that could see his nutritionally enhanced products on supermarket shelves and hotel menus in China. Six months in the making, the agreement between Winnipeg-based Prairie Orchard Farms and China-Canada Super Food Co., Ltd., a newly formed division of a major real estate and land developer in China, […] Read more
Man. couple lives model life
NESBITT, Man. – To Dwayne and Shelley Logan’s way of thinking, the first priority of farmers should be to keep themselves fed – and happy – on the land. In an era when farmers are showing up at food banks and children are mainly grown for export to urban areas, the Logans are a model […] Read more
Southwestern Manitoba farmers out early
On a windy afternoon May 2, Michael Canning of Prairielane Farms near Deleau, Man., was seeding spring wheat into canola stubble. “We’ve started a bit early this year. We’ve got lighter land out here,” said Canning, who crops about 1,000 acres on a 4,000 acre grain, forage and cattle farm with his father Blaine. “Barley […] Read more
Survey finds soaring input prices
A Keystone Agricultural Producers survey of crop inputs found that all categories of fertilizer and fuel have jumped up in price since February. In two months, fertilizer prices rose an average of 11.06 percent, while the cost of purple gasoline was up 13.4 percent. Diesel was 6.2 percent higher. KAP did the two surveys in […] Read more
Tile drainage may solve nutrient loading
A new research project near Miami, Man., will look at the potential for combining tile drainage with wetland restoration to conserve water and prevent soil nutrients from entering lakes and rivers. The first phase of the project is to work out the details of the three-year study and choose a site within the Tobacco Creek […] Read more
Accountability hot topic in Man. riding
Political accountability and health care are the hot button issues in Manitoba’s provincial election campaign, says Progressive Conservative opposition incumbent Larry Maguire, but he would also like to see more rural value-added processing brought to his western manitoba riding of Arthur-Virden. “I think accountability is a big issue. We want to see some response to […] Read more
