Ian Bell

The city of Dauphin, Man., doesn’t like the idea that municipalities now have to pay up to 20 percent of the capital costs for new health care facilities in their communities. The city and two rural municipalities raised the issue at the Association of Manitoba Municipalities’ recent annual convention in Brandon. They presented a resolution […] Read more

Bill Schroeder was busy this year with calls from farmers wanting to learn about seabuckthorn. Schroeder said the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration shelterbelt centre at Indian Head, Sask., fielded about 400 calls from people interested in growing the plant as a commercial crop. “I guess it’s a sign of the times,” said the PFRA tree […] Read more

Manitoba municipalities last week put their clout behind efforts to get more money into the hands of farmers who were flooded this spring in western Manitoba. The Association of Manitoba Municipalities passed a resolution at its convention in Brandon calling for money from the province and Ottawa to compensate farmers affected by excess rain in […] Read more

FARGO, N.D. – His white hair was tousled, his complexion a bit weathered, his shoulders bent from the combination of age and a life of work on the farm. Kelly Shockman, a North Dakota farmer and National Farmers Organization national director, was among those gathered in Fargo last week for the Northern Plains Producer Conference. […] Read more

FARGO, N.D. – Some American farm groups showed interest last week in the idea of a grain marketing alliance between Manitoba, Saskatchewan and three states. The idea was floated during the Northern Plains Producer Conference, held here Nov. 15 to 17. The conference offered farm groups from the northern plains region a chance to talk […] Read more

FARGO, N.D. – Marsha Cannon arrived at last week’s Northern Plains Producer Conference hoping that American and Canadian cattle producers could settle some of their differences. She left with dashed hopes and a sense of disappointment. “We came down hoping for dialogue and got less than we hoped for,” said Cannon, a director for the […] Read more

KILLARNEY, Man. – Lance Keller studies the line of picketing workers blocking his exit from the Agricore elevator here. His semi trailer is loaded with canola destined for a crushing plant in North Dakota. Keller knows he may have to wait at least half an hour before the striking workers allow him to leave. He […] Read more

Dairy cows line the stalls of one of the show barns in Brandon’s Keystone Centre, a hub of agricultural events in Manitoba. A frenzy of activity surrounds the cattle. They are washed down, trimmed up and then guided into stalls lined with plush mounds of bedding. Brian Halldorsson drove more than two hours to share […] Read more

A mild stroke five years ago marked a turning point in the life of Dave Thiessen, a farmer from Rosenfeld, Man. The stroke impaired his left arm, limiting the amount of heavy work he could do on his farm. Thiessen decided to continue farming, which he had been doing for a quarter century. But he […] Read more

Sue Brotherston wants something done to end what she considers a dangerous situation in her neighborhood. Brotherston lives across from a wild boar farm in Manitoba’s rural municipality of Lac du Bonnet. The owner of the wild boars wants to host hunting on the farm, which is allowed by the province. Brotherston considers the hunting […] Read more