PRINCE RUPERT, B.C – Canada’s largest export grain terminal plans to ship about 4.3 million tonnes this year and to help make that happen, workers are at it around the clock in the last quarter of 2006. Prince Rupert Grain Ltd. can move 1,000 cars through its 17 kilometres of rail track in 24 hours. […] Read more
Stories by Michael Raine
New oat variety shows good feeding potential
A new oat may shovel its way into farmers’ bins and into feed grain markets in two years time. CDC Super Oats received variety registration last week in Winnipeg. Breeders hope the new variety’s higher-fat groat and more easily digested hull will be a hit with producers for use in the feed and human use […] Read more
Bad bin breath can breed bugs
Fall fell late and the crop fell early in 2006 and ironically that has created a problem. Many farmers have their high quality grain stored away in bins, but the warm harvest temperatures may be corrupting otherwise prime commodities. Grain is an excellent insulator and when it sits undisturbed, it will hold its temperature for […] Read more
Cheap nitrogen won’t last: expert
A natural gas price dip has temporarily put an end to high fertilizer costs. But people in the industry say producers shouldn’t bank on the lower nitrogen prices lasting for long. Natural gas provides the building blocks for ammonia and the energy to transform the fossil fuel into fertilizer. Soft natural gas prices over the […] Read more
Estonian farmer turns to on-farm sales
LÄÄNE-VIRU, Estonia – Cutting the middle out of the market is working for some European farmers. Those producers say European Union agricultural legislation applying to countries that most recently entered the EU does not encourage more efficient farms. Hillar Pulk operates a large and successful dairy farm in eastern Estonia, about 100 kilometres from the […] Read more
Hog producers concerned by vaccine shortage
A lack of vaccine supply continues to affect production in the swine industry. There is a treatment for a virus infecting 80 percent of the pig herds in Quebec, most of Ontario’s hog barns and up to 20 percent of western herds. However, the vaccine is not widely available. “The (Intervet) vaccine is a miracle […] Read more
U.S. cattle herd expands
Despite the challenges of drought and the rise in cull-cow slaughter, American cattle producers are attempting to increase their herd size. James Mintert of Kansas State University said the year-over-year increase in cow slaughter still has a way to go to overcome heifer retention. The agricultural economist said the number of beef cows slaughtered in […] Read more
New vaccine takes BRD by the horns
A new bactericide offers a single dose choice for bovine respiratory disease injections of feeder calves. The compound called Draxxin is newly licensed in Canada, but has been available in the United States for a year and Europe for two. BRD is a highly contagious disease that results in more than $1 billion in losses […] Read more
ID workshop ideal way to improve efficiency
Hands-on training helps, say cattle producers learning the national on-line system for cattle ID and age verification. Lorne Christopherson recently crowded into a computer classroom with 39 other producers to learn more about age verification and cattle identification. “Most producers benefit from some hands-on instruction and the chance to ask questions in person whenever there […] Read more
Group forms to save monopoly
A fledgling farm group wants to pressure the federal government into holding a farmer vote on the Canadian Wheat Board’s sales monopoly on western grown wheat, malting barley and exported feed barley. Producers from across the Prairies gathered in Saskatoon last week to form the new lobby group. The organizers weren’t the usual players in […] Read more
