Ian Bell

The Hog Watch Manitoba coalition has demanded reassurances from the provincial government that a Clean Environment Commission hearing be held to study the $120 million slaughter plant expansion J.M. Schneider Inc. is planning in Winnipeg. The coalition, whose members range from environmentalists to the National Farmers Union, has questioned whether the province will fulfil a […] Read more

A woman who stole more than $250,000 from a Manitoba hog farm was sentenced last week to 30 months in prison and ordered to repay the farm owner. Patricia Cabelle Bittle, 40, stole the money from Hangar Farms of Rivers, Man., while working there as a controller/payroll clerk between 1994 and 1998. She pleaded guilty […] Read more

Delegates to the Federated Women’s Institutes of Canada convention have passed a resolution calling for mandatory labeling of foods containing genetically altered ingredients. “We are not concerned about what we know about genetically modified foods,” said Donna MacPherson, an Ontario delegate at the June 9 meeting. “We are concerned about what we don’t know.” MacPherson […] Read more

The hog industry is like a seesaw when it comes to price and profit. There are times when the balance is tipped in favor of producers, as it is now with prices being paid for hogs. And there are times when the seesaw tips the other way, as it did in the fall of 1998. […] Read more

When Garth Routledge vaccinated his calves in May, one of his priorities was a treatment that protects the animals against blackleg. While the disease has not been a problem at his farm near Lenore, Man., Routledge accepts the old adage that an ounce of prevention is worth a pound of cure. “Our experience over the […] Read more

The Farm Credit Corporation unveiled a new loan program May 31 to help cushion hog producers against downturns in their industry. The program, called Flexi-Hog, allows producers to take three one-year “principal vacations” during the term of a 15-year loan with FCC. During a principal vacation, the producer would pay only the interest on the […] Read more

Farmers should be scouting their pastures now for leafy spurge and other noxious weeds, advises the Leafy Spurge Stakeholders Group in Manitoba. Leafy spurge is a noxious weed native to Europe that has spread quickly across the Prairies. The plant now infests more than 340,000 acres in Manitoba. Leafy spurge reduces grazing capacity on pastures. […] Read more

Several tornadoes tore through an area of southwestern Manitoba on the evening of May 22, toppling trees and overturning grain bins, but causing no injuries. “It was a little scary,” said Janet Turtle, who lives east of Minto, Man., and stayed outside to watch the funnels passing through her area. “There were four going all […] Read more

BOISSEVAIN, Man. – With the International Peace Garden as a backdrop, Western Canadian premiers and two American governors said last week they want to work together on the issue of farm subsidies. North Dakota governor Ed Schafer blamed European subsidies for driv-ing down farm commodity prices on the global market. Manitoba premier Gary Doer said […] Read more

Disaster assistance, grain transportation, trade and farm subsidies were all on the minds of Western Canada’s premiers last week as they huddled – and at times butted heads – in Brandon last week. The provincial leaders were united in their call for a meeting with Ottawa to review the disaster financial assistance arrangement that failed […] Read more