Environment Canada’s senior climatologist is amazed by the rain in Western Canada this year. “I think the thing that stood out was the enormous geographic extent of this excessive precipitation,” said David Phillips, one of Canada’s best known weather forecasters. It was much wetter than normal from April to September over a large swath of […] Read more
Robert Arnason
Stories by Robert Arnason
Conveyor accident ‘unfortunate’ but reality on farms
A 14-year-old girl suffered serious injuries Sept. 18 when she became trapped in a potato conveyor belt near Carberry, Man. The RCMP reported the child was working at a potato farm when she attempted to cross over the moving conveyor. She slipped and became trapped between the belt and the motor support bracket. The girl […] Read more
Dairy cow fertility may be decoded
A Canadian company may have found the answer to cows that produce a tremendous amount of milk but lose their fertility at an early age. Don Crober, chief executive officer and chief science officer of Performance Genomics, is developing a test to determine how long a Holstein cow will remain fertile. He said such a […] Read more
Young girl injured by potato conveyor belt
A 14-year-old girl remains in hospital today with lower body injuries, primarily broken bones, after she became trapped in potato conveyor machinery near Carberry, Man.The accident occurred Sept. 18 when the girl became trapped while trying to cross over a conveyor while it was in motion. She slipped, the RCMP reported, and became trapped between […] Read more
Wet fields wreck winter wheat plans
Six weeks ago, farmers and industry watchers were expecting winter wheat acres to rebound on the Prairies, as many thought the cereal would be planted into the millions of unseeded acres in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. But that has failed to pan out, said Dale Hicks, a producer and seed grower in Outlook, Sask., because producers […] Read more
U.S. slaughter plant in pipeline
It’s been three years since the last horse slaughter plant in the United States closed its doors. However, an American horse organization is hoping that plants will soon open in that country, beginning in Wyoming. Sue Wallis, executive director of United Organizations of the Horse, is planning to build a plant in Wyoming that will […] Read more
Senior services offered at home
For seniors unable to get out of the house due to poor health, anxiety or other obstacles, there’s an alternative to the traditional seniors’ centre in Manitoba. Last year, Age and Opportunity in Winnipeg initiated Senior Centre Without Walls, a program where education and recreation activities are provided over the telephone. This year, the program […] Read more
Returning to farm ‘a very rewarding feeling’
WAWANESA, Man. – Bryce Fisher had a difficult choice to make in university between continuing his studies in animal science or buying a farm and farming full time. “If you come from a farm, you truly know the joy of working a long, exhausting, dirty day, then coming in and having a 10 o’clock supper, […] Read more
Grower hopes hops will gain interest among microbrewers
ROSSER, Man. – The hops in Sandra Gowan’s garden reach four metres above the ground in some places and fill the air with scents similar to citrus and pine. “I really like the challenge of growing different things,” said Gowan, who lives northwest of Winnipeg. The former lab technician at the Canadian Grains Commission wants […] Read more
Pockets of Manitoba able to bring in the harvest
From inside Jim Sparrow’s combine cab, it’s hard to tell that it’s been a year of difficult growing conditions on the Prairies. While straight combining a field of spring wheat north of Brandon last week, the monitors showed that the dense looking crop was yielding 45 to 60 bushels per acre. Considering the extremely soggy […] Read more
