Research shows that pregnant sows living in open pens can be as productive as those living in stalls. Research suggests that operating costs of barns with open housed sows are roughly the same as with stalled sows. Research finds that building a new sow barn with electronic feeders and open pens costs about the same […] Read more
Ed White
Stories by Ed White
New open housing systems create kinder, gentler barns – Special Report
GLEN LEA, Man. – Don Chaput doesn’t hesitate when asked to walk into a pen full of big gestating sows and mingle with them. “Oh, sure, I do that all the time,” he said. Quickly, he’s surrounded by a gaggle of the giant pink ladies, who seem delighted he’s there – perhaps hoping he’s brought […] Read more
Bunge to double canola plant capacity
ALTONA, Man. – Yorkton’s twin sisters have been getting all the press for years, but Bunge’s oilseed crushing plant in southeastern Manitoba has jumped into the spotlight, with the company announcing plans to double production. That will make it the canola crushing equivalent of each of the plants in Yorkton. And the Altona plant expansion […] Read more
Expansion plans at Thunder Bay terminal make room for more crops
Mission Terminal at Thunder Bay, Ont., is expanding its capacity and plans to move more crops. “We’re always tight on storage and felt that it was necessary for us to have some additional storage as we look at handling new grains, additional grains and even handling the business we had on the books,” said Adrian […] Read more
Pig producers’ far-off risk on the horizon
In the past decade I’ve spent a lot of time boosting my education in, and understanding of, risk management. Not only is it something I cover on a daily basis, but it’s also something that I simply find intellectually stimulating and applicable to daily life – in almost every way. In fact, at lunch today […] Read more
Mind the Gap
“Mind the Gap” That was a common robotic message I heard many, many times in the 1970s and 1980s, when I was young and apparently wealthy enough to often visit London, England, something I am no longer able to do. It’s the message repeatedly played in Underground stations to warn passengers to make sure to […] Read more
Altona should make basis levels less Bunged up
Some producers experienced a great deflating feeling last Friday when the ag commodity markets – including canola prices – shot through the roof, but their local elevator’s price didn’t budge. As suddenly as the futures markets moved up, basis levels weakened. That’s what happens when the elevators don’t need to chase the crop. At harvest […] Read more
Mission Terminal plans expansion
Mission Terminal is expanding its capacity and plans to move more crops.”We’re always tight on storage and felt that it was necessary for us to have some additional storage as we look at handling new grains, additional grains and even handling the business we had on the books,” said Adrian Measner, chief executive officer of […] Read more
Surprising USDA corn report injects new life into grain prices
America’s bad corn harvest is giving prairie farmers a chance to mitigate their own production losses with higher prices. Markets shot higher Oct. 8 as the U.S. Department of Agriculture found lower average corn, soybean and wheat yields, leading to perilously low 2010-11 ending stocks for corn and coarse grains around the world. The USDA […] Read more
Manitoba heritage group secures 10,000 acres of pasture
NEEPAWA, Man. – The wild, rolling land here gives the cattle scattered across it a heroic territory to spend their summers. The ground hosts a wide range of native prairie plants and the Langford Community Pasture has the feeling of a nature preserve. But give the ground a good kick and you’ll easily boot away […] Read more
