Ian Bell

MINOT, N.D. – Warren Kaeding was embarrassed by what he saw last summer in his trial plots of fall-seeded canola. The stands were thin, short and patchy, suggesting he could expect no more than 25 bushels per acre. They were also beside a well-traveled highway for all the neighbors to see. Kaeding, a farmer and […] Read more

Workers at Schneider’s Marion Street slaughter plant in Winnipeg will hold a strike vote within a week after rejecting the company’s latest contract offer. The 125 employees, members of United Food and Commercial Workers, Local 832, voted 68 percent against the offer, which had been recommended for acceptance by the committee negotiating on their behalf. […] Read more

There was a time when a lot of farm business was conducted across the kitchen table or over the hood of a pickup truck. Times are changing. E-commerce, where business transactions take place across the internet, is growing exponentially, said Doug Cornell, a vice-president with AgriPlace.com. His company, a subsidiary of the Verida Internet Corp. […] Read more

Canadians are less concerned about what hogs do to the environment than they are about pork safety, humane treatment of swine and the economic well-being of pig farmers. That’s one finding from an Angus Reid poll conducted last October and commissioned by provincial hog producer groups. National Attitudes Toward Pork Production surveyed 1,500 people and […] Read more

The pot was not as sweet for Schneider Corp. as it was for Maple Leaf Foods Inc. Schneider Corp. got concessions from the provincial government and City of Winnipeg for its new pork processing plant, but the concessions weren’t as generous as the ones offered to Maple Leaf in Brandon. In the Schneider deal, Winnipeg […] Read more

Phil Schmidt became agitated last week when he heard a radio discussion about genetically modified organisms. The courier truck driver from Souris, Man., usually does the grocery shopping for his family of four. He has little concern about the food he eats and expresses confidence in the science of genetic modification. What aggravates him as […] Read more

A rally in Saskatoon last weekend convinced a number of farmers that political disobedience may play a role in forcing government to act on their behalf. “If we are going to get (the governments’) attention then we need to be in their face. We need them to know we aren’t going away,” said Milestone, Sask., […] Read more

Add one more headache for farmers planning to plant canola, corn or potatoes on the Prairies this spring. Should they seed genetically modified varieties or not? Even if they offer better yields or lower pesticide costs, will the market shun these products of advanced science? It is a growing issue for farmers across Canada. In […] Read more

NINETTE, Man. – A puzzled expression spreads across Shane Box’s face when he is asked about genetically modified food. His family owns a grocery story here and while customers pay attention to quality and price, genetic engineering in foods has not been an issue. “I wouldn’t have a clue,” Box said when asked what products […] Read more

The controversy over genetically engineered crops has not stopped the development of transgenic varieties for Western Canada but it may slow their arrival. “It’s possible that the breeding of new varieties using transgenics will continue with field trials,” said Wilf Keller, research director for the Research Council of Canada’s Plant Biotechnology Institute in Saskatoon. “But […] Read more