Roberta Rampton

WINNIPEG – Manitoba farmers will be shortchanged $163 million in their Crow Benefit payments, says a report released last week by the provincial government. “Producers in Alberta … who are suffering far less hurt are being treated far more generously than Manitoba producers,” said agriculture minister Harry Enns. But Alberta’s agriculture minister said Manitoba should […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Hog prices in Manitoba and Saskatchewan reached five-year highs last week, and Alberta prices are also unusually strong. But that doesn’t mean producers are bringing home a lot more bacon. Gerry Friesen, who raises hogs near Wawanesa, Man., said it’s costing about $20 more to feed a pig to market weight now because […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Rows of fresh vegetables, jars of jam, neat plates of dainties and carefully chosen flowers are arranged around the starkly lit hockey arena. This could be any rink on the Prairies, briefly transformed into a showcase of homespun arts. But there’s no barn nearby with curry-combed cows and horses. Instead, there’s a busy […] Read more

MORDEN, Man. – An unusual partnership between Agriculture Canada and a Danish company may speed up the time it takes to get improved varieties of peas to farmers. Earlier this year, the Morden research centre and Danisco agreed to exchange germplasm and share ownership of any new pea varieties that result. “If they have material […] Read more

WINNIPEG – More than 2,000 people at the annual Grainfest breakfast last week got a close-up and different look at Canada’s grain transportation system in action. Teams of people who work in the grains industry stooked, tricycled, ran and canoed in a funny and fast-paced relay race. The breakfast is one of two anchor events […] Read more

CARMAN, Man. – Golf may be a popular sport in North America, but a University of Manitoba scientist said growing grass seed for greens is not likely to take more than a divot out of the overall crop picture. Creeping bentgrass used on golf courses “will not be another Cinderella crop like canola,” Ray Smith […] Read more

WINNIPEG – An agri-business expert says that many small farms are “kicking the shins” out of larger operations. Richard Dawson, who worked for Cargill for 35 years before starting his own consulting business in Winnipeg, said the days when bigger was better are out. Now, small is beautiful and this bodes well for prairie communities. […] Read more

CARMAN, Man. – The June heat wave not only caused stress to Manitoba farmers and their crops, but it also put unusual pressure on new crop varieties that are going through the testing process. Take winter wheat for example. The co-operative test plots at the University of Manitoba’s field research station at Carman are “not […] Read more

WINNIPEG (Staff) – It’s a brave new world for number crunchers and policy analysts at Agriculture Canada. When the budget came down in February, the people who give advice to the minister and top bureaucrats in the department had to convince the bosses that their jobs were worth saving. Ken Ash, director general of a […] Read more

MORDEN, Man. – Standing in front of immaculately straight rows of 87 types of field peas being tested at the scenic Morden Research Centre, breeder Tom Warkentin told pulse crop producers they can anticipate a lot of improvements. Some of the cultivars that make it through the tests will eventually become varieties with higher yields, […] Read more