Michael Raine

Urban consumers call the dance. Cattle producers must form the square. The treatment of livestock is a serious concern for many urbanites. As customers, they will turn against farmers if they feel agricultural practices don’t meet with their approval. This was part of a message given to Saskatchewan ranchers and feedlot operators at a seminar […] Read more

Low North American potato prices and the wrong potato varieties led to the failure of Lake Diefenbaker Potato Corporation, say people close to the company. Growers say rapid expansion also played a role. Last week creditors found out what effect the depressed market and a “few poor choices” will have on them. “There will not […] Read more

Larry Kostiuk did in a wind tunnel what it takes the Alberta weather to replicate. He blew out some natural gas well flares. Kostiuk and fellow researchers at the University of Alberta’s mechanical engineering department have been examining the design and safety of a landmark for many rural Albertans, the natural gas well flare. If […] Read more

Getting up early to make hay may be a tradition on the farm, but sleeping in until late afternoon might be more profitable. American researchers say cutting hay late in the day produces a nutritionally better feed that livestock will find more palatable. “If you could feed a product that increases animal weight gain or […] Read more

Many Saskatoon-area residents made a trip to the basement May 18 when two tornados touched down near the city. Tornados in cool spring weather are a rarity and several of them in the central grain belt during May is historic in weather terms. A tornado touchdown was reported near Melfort, Sask., two weeks ago. Another […] Read more

Outlaw ryegrass is refusing to release its grip on farmers’ land in other countries, and like a dimestore novel, the ending is predictable. If it doesn’t die, it will take over the West. Researchers fear that Canada may be involved in the shootout. “As more and more livestock is grown on the Prairies, more forage […] Read more

As the controlling players get whittled down to a few in the farm equipment manufacturing game, one of the smaller manufacturers says it is confident of its position on the team. Saskatoon-based Flexi-Coil said it has not heard of any changes that will affect it directly due to the merger of agricultural machinery giants Case […] Read more

Effects in Canada of recently announced layoffs and restructuring at ConAgra won’t be known until at least the end of May, company officials say. Bruce Rohde, chief executive officer of the United States-based multinational company, told his 83,000 employees their numbers will drop to 76,000 by year end, and as many as 4,000 may receive […] Read more

The Agricultural Income Disaster Assistance program may be fair under international trade rules but at home it favors farms that fit certain accounting practices, say some prairie farmers. Government officials agree there may be differences in the amount paid out to nearly identical farms due to way the federally and provincially funded program is structured. […] Read more

Without herbicides, weeds often poke their flowers above the crop canopy. Organic growers who face outbreaks of mustard and thistle in their crops are searching for a solution with the help of PAMI researchers. The Prairie Agricultural Machinery Institute is working with Dave Bauml, a farmer from Humboldt, Sask., who is attempting to adapt a […] Read more