Ian Bell

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

and Reuters News Agency news Like many farmers in Western Canada, Ernie Sirski already is thinking about what to plant this spring. He’s a big canola fan, but he’s more bullish about the prospects for wheat. Predictions of a record soybean crop in the United States don’t bode well for canola oilseed prices. A sharp […] Read more

Bob Lytle plans to grow edible beans this year, even though prices aren’t as good as last year. The new-crop price for navy beans last week was 18 cents a pound, a far cry from the high prices of 1999. “It still probably pencils out as good as anything,” said Lytle, a grower near High […] Read more

Producers who have shied away from using electric fences on their pastures should think again, says a Manitoba Agriculture grassland technician. “It’s one of the better things to come along for farmers in a long time,” Hans Rindlisbacher said. He said proper installation can solve problems that may have scared away farmers in the past, […] Read more

Where there’s a will, there’s a way. That’s the attitude of Larry Walker as his community contemplates a value-added venture that converts peas and canola meal into pea-can, a feed nutrient for hogs. “It’s a tough time to get a group of producers together to start coughing up cash,” conceded Walker, a farmer and chair […] Read more

Manitoba’s agriculture minister has promised a clampdown is not in the wind as the province reviews the municipal and environmental guidelines for livestock production. “It won’t be a top-down approach where we say, ‘Thou shalt do this,’ ” said agriculture minister Rosann Wowchuk. She said the review is needed at a time when farmers, plagued […] Read more

Percy Doell flips through a photo album, pausing here and there to talk about some of the pictures inside. The pictures show a badly burned all-terrain vehicle hitched to a grain auger. They remind Doell of the day he almost died. “I wish it wouldn’t have happened,” he says, remembering that day. “I’d like to […] Read more

Donna Fraser doesn’t expect to get rich running a vacation farm. She and others in the agri-tourism business advise people starting a vacation farm to plan carefully. It often takes three to five years for the venture to begin paying for itself. “If you have a bed-and-breakfast in the right location, it might take off […] Read more