The Canadian Wheat Board expects western Canadian farmers to produce three million more tonnes of wheat this year compared to 2007, despite concerns about a cool spring that has delayed crop development. “We cannot afford to carry this (cold weather) on very much longer, because we’ll be pushing the harvest past Labour day,” said Bruce […] Read more
Robert Arnason
Stories by Robert Arnason
Emergencies need more than plan
FARGO, N.D. – Emergency preparedness has moved beyond a document labelled Bird Flu Outbreak Plan sitting on an office shelf, says a Manitoba government official. The new model for livestock emergency management is all about relationship building, co-operation and collaboration. “There’s some folks that think once you’ve got it (a plan) on paper, you’re done, […] Read more
Couple build niche ranch slowly
LA BROQUERIE, Man. – You can take the girl out of Alberta, but you can’t … well, you know the rest. Shanyn Silinski, who was raised on a ranch southwest of Lethbridge, has pulled her Alberta cowgirl roots and transplanted them to the eastern edge of the Prairies, near La Broquerie, Man. “It’s one extreme […] Read more
CFTC tightens ag investment
The U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission has listened, and is taking action. It announced steps June 3 to limit the power of commodity funds and assist American grain elevators and producers who are struggling to finance their hedges during a period of higher prices and expanding margin calls. “The commission recognizes that although no single […] Read more
Animal rescue trailer attracts interest
FARGO, N.D. – It’s a typical light story to end the nightly newscast – a video clip of a hog escaped from a transport truck and loose on a freeway in urban North America. But for Shanyn Silinski, watching bumbling city cops trying to corral a pig is not funny footage. “To have tasering, to […] Read more
Man. delays hog ban bill
Hog farmers in Manitoba have won a reprieve as the government’s contentious Bill 17, the ban on hog barn expansion, has been deferred to the fall session of the legislature. “I think they (the government) finally realized that this (bill) is affecting producers’ lives more than they thought,” said Karl Kynoch, chair of the Manitoba […] Read more
Man. meat business loses leader
The owner of Winkler Meats, Harry Dyck, died last week at the age of 65, while on a trip to the Ukraine with the Mennonite Central Committee. Dyck, who started his meat processing business 43 years ago in Winkler, had a reputation as a quiet and honourable gentleman within the industry and in his community. […] Read more
Hog manure can triple livestock productivity
A study that suggests animal productivity triples when hog manure is applied to grazing land has stunned researchers at the University of Manitoba. “It wasn’t a surprise that the manure would increase productivity, but to see threefold increase in productivity was absolutely amazing to me,” said Don Flaten, a soil science professor at the U […] Read more
Farmers may delay hog bill
A growing contingent of frustrated farmers may force Manitoba’s politicians to work into the summer. As of June 2 more than 400 presenters had signed up to speak before a legislative committee on Bill 17, the moratorium on hog barn expansion in three regions of Manitoba. The house leader for the NDP government, justice minister […] Read more
Researcher on cusp of genetic discovery
Robert Hill is getting close. University of Manitoba researcher Robert Hill may have made a significant discovery, but he’s not ready to divulge the details yet. “I can talk around it, but I don’t want to talk directly to it, because I would like to publish another paper in Nature,” Hill said with a laugh. […] Read more
