Roberta Rampton

WINNIPEG – Manitoba will soon have only two major chicken processing plants. Officials at Friendly Family Farms, based in Steinbach, Man., announced the plant is closing sometime next year. The plant has processed chicken and turkey for more than 30 years. It also has three chicken farms and a hatchery, which will continue operating. “Basically, […] Read more

WINNIPEG – As if a long dry spell wasn’t bad enough for crops, some farmers in Manitoba now have to learn to grin and bear it. Farmers in the Interlake, eastern and northwest regions say they’ve seen more than the usual number of black bears in their oats, barley and wheat. The aftermath? “Just like […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Manitoba will not get the additional $163 million the provincial government and farm groups requested to make the Crow Benefit payout more equitable. On Aug. 29, federal agriculture minister Ralph Goodale said there is no more money available. Manitoba’s agriculture minister Harry Enns said he has received no official response from Goodale to […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Exports of wheat and barley so far this crop year are significantly lower than this time last year. And last week, a Statistics Canada report confirmed the reason for lagging exports: Farmers don’t have a lot of old-crop grain in their bins. In Western Canada, on-farm stocks of the six major grains as […] Read more

ALTONA, Man. – After two years of planning and negotiations, a group of farmers narrowly avoided having their financial carpet yanked out from underfoot, which would have sent their dreams of a pasta plant for this southern Manitoba town crashing down. About six months ago, the federal government’s Western Economic Diversification department’s mandate shifted away […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Jack Murta has been known as a farmer, a politician, a cabinet minister and a commissioner at the Canadian Grain Commission. He’s also a marathon runner. And now, Murta has decided to sprint into the private sector. On Sept. 15, he will leave the CGC where he had about one year remaining in […] Read more

WINNIPEG – A hog slaughter plant forced to shut down in mid-August with sanitation problems is expected to reopen by mid-September, according to representatives of Manitoba Pork and the United Food and Commercial Workers Union. Jack Forgan Meat Ltd. was temporarily shut down a few times this summer, said Phil Amundson, the regional director of […] Read more

WINNIPEG – A bannock manufacturer says the Canadian Wheat Board has foiled his attempts to help the farmers who supply him with grain and help his people with a serious health problem. Ken Dillen, a Canadian status Indian, said Canada Customs “seized illegally” his truck and about 250 bushels of barley on Aug. 17 at […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Saskatchewan Wheat Pool will giving farmers who buy a pesticide used to kill rusty grain beetles some extra tips after an elevator worker became ill from inhaling the chemical. Gull Lake elevator agent Pat Charbonneau confirmed that last week a farmer delivered a load of grain to the elevator. The farmer informed workers […] Read more

WINNIPEG – The grain trade may have concerns about crop production this year given the late start to seeding, dry conditions and an onslaught of insects. But Statistics Canada’s July 31 estimates predict average yields only marginally lower than last year, mostly because of the weather. The report appears to bring bearish news for canola […] Read more