Roberta Rampton

WINNIPEG – Volunteers at Manitoba’s Farm and Rural Stress Line are still answering the phones. The service was scheduled to shut down Oct. 31 after running out of money, but provincial health minister Jim McCrae asked co-ordinators to keep it going until he makes a decision on whether his department can help fund the line. […] Read more

WINNIPEG – While Manitoba Pool Elevators had “satisfactory” earnings last year, president Charlie Swanson said the country elevator division of the company could be improved. Manitoba Pool had net earnings before income taxes of $7.7 million for the year ending July 31, 1995. While grain purchases increased by 22 percent to 2.87 million tonnes, chief […] Read more

WINNIPEG – If Manitoba’s pork industry is to double by the year 2000, Harry Enns believes hog producers need a more flexible marketing system. Last week, the agriculture minister announced that within a few months, Manitoba Pork will lose its single-desk selling powers. The agency allocates hogs to the province’s four packers and negotiates prices […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Prairie farmers are seeding almost as many acres of peas as flax. And now, like flax, they’ll be able to hedge their risk on the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange. Last week, the exchange launched the world’s first feed pea futures contract. The price reference for the contract is cost, insurance and freight (c.i.f.) based […] Read more

NEW ROCKFORD, N.D. – In 1981, Kenneth “Doc” Throlson was a burned-out country veterinarian. His doctor told him he wouldn’t live to see his next birthday if he didn’t start taking life easier. So Throlson quit the veterinarian business and turned his hobby herd of bison into a full-time job. He expanded his ranch and […] Read more

WINNIPEG – During the recent Straw to Gold conference, local news headlines couldn’t have been worse for three participants promoting the use of hemp fibres. RCMP made one of their biggest busts ever on a marijuana-growing operation on a farm outside of Winnipeg. But Geof Kime, Martin Moravcik and Jeffry Stonehill refused to be fazed. […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Canadians are great inventors, but when it comes time to turn ideas into products, entrepreneurs often have to go to other countries to get support. Participants at the Straw to Gold symposium held here last week heard many examples of how Canada has to get its act together when it comes to finding […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Kate Basford says most of the 870 agriculture students at the University of Manitoba consider themselves lucky. While other students wonder how they’ll make up for lost time because of a professors’ strike, most aggies are in class. Professors are striking because they don’t agree with the way the university plans to cut […] Read more

BRANDON, Man. – How can farmers go to the bank with next year’s budget in hand if they don’t know what kind of risk protection they’ll have? Barry Routledge, an executive member of Keystone Agricultural Producers, said Manitoba farmers don’t know if they’ll even have the Gross Revenue Insurance Plan next year. At a recent […] Read more

BRANDON, Man. – Barry Routledge says in the past two years, he has heard about many communities in Manitoba that looked at building a strawboard plant. To date, none has been built. He thinks it’s a shame the groups all went through the same research steps to determine the idea may not be viable. If […] Read more