Ian Bell

A new wheat variety promising greater resistance to fusarium head blight was released recently in North Dakota with hopes that it will save grain producers there as much as $100 million (U.S.) a year. Alsen, a hard red spring wheat, has shown a level of fusarium resistance higher than nearly all other wheat varieties, according […] Read more

Most people think of peas as a vegetable they eat. Paul Fields thinks of peas as a potential means of controlling insects in stored grain. Fields, a research scientist at Agriculture Canada’s Cereal Research Centre in Winnipeg, did tests last year to learn how well pea flour repels insects in stored grain. The results were […] Read more

Dennis Sexhus told producers last week that a lesson can be learned from the survival instincts of buffalo. “When they sense danger, they move closer together, they form tight groups and they move as one. “Maybe it’s time for us to do the buffalo thing. Pull together and work as one.” Sexhus, manager of the […] Read more

Steel girders form the skeleton of what will soon become a 70,000-sq.-foot expansion at the Brandon Shoppers’ Mall. The expansion shows optimism in the region’s economy despite fears last year that the farm crisis would mark a downturn in merchant revenues. The farm income crisis, coupled with heavy rain that saturated farmers’ fields last spring, […] Read more

SOURIS, Man. – Jim Kohut wants nothing to do with the new pricing options approved by the Canadian Wheat Board this month. The grain grower from Souris, Man., was one of several producers at a wheat board director meeting March 6 who said they prefer to pool their grain with other prairie farmers. “I live […] Read more

Bracing for the brisk expansion expected in Manitoba’s livestock industry, the provincial NDP government announced measures March 3 that it said will help the industry grow while protecting the environment. “These are the first steps we are taking and there is much more that we have to do,” said agriculture minister Rosann Wowchuk. Called the […] Read more

Manitoba remains caught up in a political sparring match over a proposed outlet from Devils Lake, North Dakota. The American lake has risen eight metres since 1993, causing millions of dollars in damage to homes, farmland and roads. The North Dakota government sees the proposed outlet as one way to ease that flooding. Manitoba isn’t […] Read more

Bill Nicholson thinks there may be merit in the Canadian Wheat Board buying more rail cars and investing in value-added processing. Nicholson, a farmer and CWB director, said owning more hopper cars could give the wheat board greater leverage when negotiating rates and services with the rail companies. The wheat board owns about 2,000 of […] Read more

The story of Durafibre Inc. makes no mention of a road paved with gold. Instead, the story’s characters find themselves on a journey where there are plenty of turns and the occasional pothole. Among the group are some Canora, Sask., farmers who dared a decade ago to dream of starting a value-added venture. The farmers, […] Read more

Two agricultural electronic commerce companies plan to merge. eHarvest.com Inc. of London, Ont., will merge with Farms.com, of Chapel Hill, North Carolina. The new internet-based firm will be called Farms.com and will have more than 70 employees in North America to support its e-commerce initiatives, said a company news release. eHarvest.com started in 1996, focusing […] Read more