Ian Bell

Hilt Wallace makes no bones about where he stands on the issue of rail-line abandonment. He views the trend as ludicrous and says farmers are the ones who ultimately pay the price. “It’s the most ridiculous damned thing that ever happened,” said Wallace, a retired farmer from Waskada, Man. “It’s cheaper for the railroads but […] Read more

A recent Manitoba court decision has a farmer feeling vindicated, more than a year after he was taken to court for diverting water without a provincial water rights licence. Manitoba provincial court judge Brian Giesbrecht ruled that Ray Hildebrandt’s drainage project was a municipal matter, not a provincial one. The decision could have far-reaching implications […] Read more

Manitoba’s natural resources department does not view a recent court decision as binding, but an official says it will be more cautious about how to handle drainage issues in the province. A provincial court judge ruled last month that the question of land drainage falls under the municipal act rather than the provincial water rights […] Read more

Bruce Brolley knows there are a lot of people hyped about growing industrial hemp this year. Every week the new crops agronomist gets about 20 phone calls from people interested in growing the crop. The calls started coming last November. It’s a sign that hemp has endured some of the skepticism that greeted it last […] Read more

ALEXANDER, Man. – Toronto commuters would be envious of Judy Watt, the postmaster of this small, friendly community west of Brandon, Man. A doorway connects her kitchen to the post office, allowing her to get to work in one small stride. Her Siamese cat, which has a fetish for carbon-copy paper, often accompanies her to […] Read more

DAUPHIN, Man. – Bruce Dalgarno uses a stark metaphor to describe a threat to Canada’s export of agricultural products. Dalgarno likens Canadian agriculture to the Titanic on a crash course with a sinister iceberg. The iceberg is the threat of lost export markets due to growing concern about food safety, including pesticide residues. “I think […] Read more

ELGIN, Man. -ÊWith commodity prices at dismal lows, Steve and Lisa Tufts have found a novel use for their grain. They burn it. The Tufts installed a heating system in their farm home last month that uses grain as its fuel. The grain-burning stove generates enough heat for the house, which has 1,380 sq. feet […] Read more

GILBERT PLAINS, Man. – Few stones are being left unturned in the bid to learn what risk bovine tuberculosis poses to domestic livestock near Riding Mountain National Park. An infected elk was found at the park last fall by hikers. That discovery has cattle producers nervous about the potential risk to their herds. At a […] Read more

Skilled communicators with an agricultural bent are in short supply, say some agricultural industry employers. So Pioneer Hi-Bred has put its money where its mouthpiece isn’t. A $35,000 donation to the University of Guelph in Ontario is going to fund a communications program at the school. The new course will be integrated into the faculty […] Read more

Simple mathematics prompted Aaron and Theresa Unrau to rethink their venture in ostrich breeding. The Unraus became ostrich growers in 1991 when the value of breeding stock was high. But by the end of 1994, demand for breeding pairs was on the slope downward. “By the time we raised the chicks through summer and had […] Read more