Ian Bell

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man. – McCain Foods (Canada) unveiled a new program last week designed to help potato growers improve their storage and refrigeration equipment. The program, announced Aug. 25, will provide three-year interest-free loans of up to $40,000 for Manitoba growers supplying potatoes to the McCain plant at Portage la Prairie. The loans are […] Read more

PIERSON, Man. – Carly Thompson was at a place last week where you would least expect to find students during the summer holidays. The Grade 9 student went back to school, volunteering her time to prune trees, mow grass and water outdoor plants. For her, it was time well spent. “At the end of the […] Read more

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man. – Arnold Grambo was quick to voice frustration Aug. 30 about the planned overhaul of Western Canada’s grain handling and transportation system. At a plenary session held here to work on that reform, the president of the Hudson Bay Route Association said the proposed changes do nothing to get more grain […] Read more

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man. – With one month left in the transportation review being conducted by Arthur Kroeger, farm groups are watching closely to see what it will mean for producers. Many don’t like what they’re seeing. Review participants and other players in the industry gathered in Portage La Prairie Aug. 30 to talk publicly […] Read more

STARBUCK, Man. – Leonard Hofer is frank in his assessment of Manitoba’s manure management regulations, amended by the province last year. Hofer, secretary of the Starlite Hutterite Colony, said the rules made it more expensive to raise hogs. But the regulations, introduced last year, also encouraged the colony to make better use of its hog […] Read more

VIRDEN, Man. – Jason Smith says he “fought like hell” to get a crop seeded this spring in western Manitoba. Last week he was wondering why he bothered. Smith farms near Foxwarren, Man., one of the areas swamped by rain in May and June. Although he managed to get most of his land seeded, Smith […] Read more

Doug Collins can’t remember the last time a Liberal candidate was elected in the provincial riding where he lives. Collins, a farmer and truck driver by profession, lives in one of the strongholds of provincial Tory support in Manitoba. Farming forms the backbone of that riding as it does in several other Progressive Conservative strongholds. […] Read more

Hogs will start flowing through Maple Leaf Pork’s processing plant in Brandon, Man., within days. On Aug. 20 the province approved licences needed for the company, Canada’s largest food processor, to start ramping up its $120 million plant. Maple Leaf Pork president Pat Jones said slaughter at the plant will begin Aug. 30. The first […] Read more

The loss of Manitoba’s sugar beet industry continues to leave a bitter taste in the mouths of those who grew the crop. The once thriving industry withered away after Rogers Sugar closed its processing plant at Winnipeg two years ago. Kevin Pankratz had about $100,000 invested in the specialized equipment needed to grow sugar beets. […] Read more

An American company hopes to soon market a product aimed at bovine mastitis, a disease that costs Canadian dairy producers millions of dollars each year. Aquila Biopharmaceuticals, a company based in Massachusetts, said the product, Quilvax-M, is undergoing licensing trials required by the United States Department of Agriculture. Gerald Beltz, a company spokesperson, said Quilvax-M […] Read more