Ian Bell

SOURIS, Man. – The province is candid about the backlog of people awaiting water rights licences in Manitoba. They can wait years before getting a decision from the province’s water licensing section. Irrigators account for a large part of that backlog, according to an official at a workshop here last week. The Souris workshop was […] Read more

Jim Downey was a little teed off last year by the damage done to the golf course near Beausejour, Man. Wild boars, scrounging for food, tore trenches through the fairways of the Mars Sand Hills golf course, which cost thousands of dollars to repair, said Downey. “We fixed it as fast as we could and […] Read more

In a community that celebrates Hopper Days each summer, it would be easy to assume that grasshoppers have gained some stature in the town of Hartney, Man. Hopper Days is a community fair, complete with a social, parade, ball games and bingo. A long-standing part of the event is a contest to see who can […] Read more

It could be another wet spring in the eastern Prairies. Manitoba’s natural resources department says there’s a risk of “significant flooding” on the Red, Assiniboine and Souris rivers this spring. The amount of risk will be dictated by how much moisture arrives in the next couple of months and how quickly the snow melts. Meanwhile, […] Read more

It was a story told with casual ease but with a concise purpose. The story was about a woman who had been a devoted customer of Quaker Oats since her early childhood. She remembered waking in the morning to the smell of hot porridge as it simmered on the stove. When she grew up and […] Read more

Potato growers who contract with Midwest Foods of Carberry, Man., are bracing for the worst and hoping for the best this spring. Midwest Foods expects to make a 15 percent cut to its contracted potato acreage this year. About 100 growers will be affected in Manitoba’s potato growing regions, which include Altona, Winkler, Carman, Portage, […] Read more

Debra Leslie recalls a frightening experience she had several years ago. She was driving at night when she saw a vehicle coming at her from the other direction. It looked as though the approaching vehicle was in her lane and might slam into her. It turned out that Leslie’s eyes were playing tricks on her. […] Read more

Bob Anderson may be typical of a lot of farmers this year. As spring seeding approaches, he’s uncertain what his final crop mix will be. He has a half section of land committed to canola and another half section earmarked for oats. He’s now leaning toward putting the rest of his land into wheat and […] Read more

Canada has a huge glut of oats and farmers need to reduce acres, according to one market analyst. “Oats will be the single poorest crop this year, even if there is a weather problem,” said Don Bousquet, who gave an outlook for the crop at the recent GrainWorld conference in Winnipeg. In 1998, farmers produced […] Read more

When you visit the home of Stan Yaskiw, it’s easy to guess that he’s a hog producer. A towel rack, fridge magnets, a toothpick holder and cutting board are among the household items that depict pigs. If you sit down for a meal there, don’t be surprised to see hot mats shaped like pigs. “And […] Read more