As he eyed a pile of scrap that was once the Viterra elevator in Arborg, Man., Dave Shott was unable to contain his anger. “I’m sitting here looking at it and there’s three 35,000 bushel bins …. They’ve torn down two now and basically just crumpled them …. It’s just ludicrous,” the grain producer said […] Read more
Robert Arnason
Stories by Robert Arnason
Man. looks at codes
The Manitoba government is proposing changes that would require new hog barns and other large farm buildings to meet building codes. The move is a response to fires that killed 30,000 hogs across the province in 2008. “Fires on farms pose a special threat because they are widely dispersed geographically and difficult to respond to […] Read more
Man. town raises dikes for Souris flood waters
After a busy 10 days building up its dikes, the town of Melita, Man., is ready for the crest of the Souris River. “All the permanent dikes have been completed, the sewage lagoons have been built up,” said Grant Hume, councillor and manager of the emergency operations centre for the Town of Melita, in southwestern […] Read more
Alternative crops field tested
Student projects usually end up on a high shelf in the dark corners of a school library. ot so for Jesse Nykoliation and Nelson Ridgeway’s graduation project. The students, who studied land and water management at Brandon’s Assiniboine Community College, put together a blueprint for how producers could grow willow, switchgrass and poplar in riparian […] Read more
Excessive moisture will delay seeding
Peas are the first crop that Richard Arnold plants, usually in the final days of April. This wet spring, it’s highly unlikely that will happen on his Hamiota, Man., farm. “There’s certainly more water lying about and running in places it hasn’t run since 2001,” said Arnold, who grows peas, wheat, oats and canola on […] Read more
‘Our home is an island’: farmer
Denis Houle thinks it will be at least five weeks before he starts seeding his land in the Red River Valley. “I’d be surprised if we’re on the land before June,” said Houle, a grain and dairy producer near Letellier, Man., 70 kilometres south of Winnipeg. “Our home is an island,” he said, adding all […] Read more
Town in flood prevention mode
Melita will get $500,000 for additional flood protection before the Souris River crests in late April, the Manitoba government announced last week. In addition to raising the height of the southwestern town’s existing dike, workers will construct a 750 metre dike along Highway 3 to provide another barrier to flood waters. “Enhancing the dike in […] Read more
Forage looks for respect
PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man. – Forage’s potential and importance are consistently overlooked, says the head of Manitoba’s forage council, even though it ranks third in acreage in the province behind wheat and canola. “This is no small crop in Manitoba,” Manitoba Forage Council executive director Wayne Digby said during a strategic planning workshop in Portage […] Read more
CFIA hunts for source of anaplasmosis
Anaplasmosis has been found in five herds in eastern Manitoba. Since January, the Canadian Food Inspection Agency has been investigating five cow-calf operations in the rural municipalities of Lac Du Bonnet and Alexander in an effort to determine the extent of the outbreak. “All five infected farms have pastures that are in close proximity to […] Read more
Exporter talking hay with Saudis
Horses in Saudi Arabia may soon be eating timothy hay from Manitoba. Montreal-based Royal Canadian Hay Co., which bought Intermountain Forage of Dauphin, Man., earlier this year, is on the verge of a deal to export compressed timothy hay to Saudi Arabia. If the Saudis agree to the contract, Royal Canadian Hay Co. would need […] Read more
