Roberta Rampton

Dairy farmers should consider lowering their prices to compete with growing imports of cheap cream replacements. That’s the opinion of Bruce Beattie, a Sundre, Alta., farmer and a director of Dairy Farmers of Canada. In remarks to the annual meeting of Manitoba Milk Producers, Beattie acknowledged he was “stepping out on a limb” by suggesting […] Read more

It goes against conventional wisdom for a hog processor to want feed grain farmers, hog producers and slaughter house workers to make better profits. But that’s exactly what Bill McLean, general manager of Schneider Corp.’s Winnipeg plant, wants to see in the industry. For the hog industry to expand on the Prairies, McLean said all […] Read more

It’s not news that the grain economy matters little to most people outside Western Canada. But in the new economy focused on technology, grain is also becoming less relevant to people who live in Winnipeg, Regina, Saskatoon, Calgary and Edmonton. There is an “emerging urban heartland” in Western Canada, according to Roger Gibbins, president of […] Read more

Reforms to the grain transportation system have largely ignored the needs of value-added agricultural products, according to a panel at the Fields on Wheels conference held Nov. 20. The new transportation rules have taken $12 million per year off the bottom lines of oilseed processors, said Mike Sopora, manager of rail transportation for CanAmera Foods. […] Read more

The keynote speaker who opened a gathering of pulse crop scientists was just about to get to the topic of genetically modified research, when he realized he had run out of time. To Lyle Minogue, chair of a new group called Pulse Canada Research, the incident was symptomatic of the reluctance of the pulse industry […] Read more

If pea growers’ fields are free of weeds, they may want to lower their seeding rates. That’s according to early results from a research project at Melfort, Sask., and Lacombe, Alta., by the Potash and Phosphate Institute of Canada. The test examines the effect of row spacing and seeding rates on pea yields. High seeding […] Read more

American pulse growers in the Pacific Northwest may soon be able to increase their production with help from two new winter lentil varieties. But the varieties are unlikely to help pulse farmers north of the United States border unless they can ensure a mild winter with lots of protective snow cover before fall planting. Fred […] Read more

Alberta farmers are sometimes reluctant to grow peas because of fluctuating yields. So a research team from Alberta Agriculture has been examining some factors that can be controlled to ensure more stable yields. Stan Blade, a pulse researcher with the province, said average pea yields in Alberta fluctuated by more than 30 percent from year […] Read more

During the past few years, peas, lentils, chickpeas and beans have become a more important part of what Canadian farmers grow. Now, the people involved in growing, researching and marketing the crops want to make sure pulses get their fair share of research funding. Pulse Canada, a national industry body that has traditionally worked on […] Read more

Shorter rotations between pea crops in Saskatchewan may lead to more disease and lower yields, according to preliminary research from a project at the Scott Research Farm and at Melfort, Sask. Daniel Ulrich, agronomist with Agriculture Canada, is investigating whether increasing peas in rotations makes sense in terms of yields. He is running a project […] Read more