Roberta Rampton

WINNIPEG – A company that buys pregnant mare’s urine from farmers has bought a demonstration ranch near Carberry, Man., to conduct research on how to best house and handle horses used in the industry. Wyeth-Ayerst announced the purchase at the end of June as part of its response to recommendations from a team of horse […] Read more

BRANDON, Man. – Letting cattle graze a field of alfalfa is a rancher’s dream, according to a forage scientist at the Brandon Research Centre. But Paul McCaughey is quick to warn that it can also be a nightmare, until low-bloat varieties are available. “It’s the most productive forage that we have by a long shot. […] Read more

WINNIPEG – A crisis line for rural Manitobans is feeling some stress of its own. After just seven months of answering calls for help, co-ordinators don’t know if the line will have enough money to make it through the year. “I think it’s really dicey,” said Christine Kreklewetz, who runs the program with Brenda Alderson. […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Guessing can be costly when figuring out when to take the first cut of alfalfa. Just ask Phil Friesen. He grows about 300 acres of alfalfa near the southern Manitoba town of Crystal City, that is exported to the dairy belt of the United States. Last year, he cut some hay a bit […] Read more

MINNEDOSA, Man. – Thirteen farms, three research stations and two exams, all in four days. To make it through this summer tour, you’d have to have the stamina of . . . an aggie. More than 80 agriculture diploma students from the University of Manitoba travelled through the interlake, southern, central and western regions of […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Manitoba’s natural resources and environment ministers told farmers last week that they will meet with their Saskatchewan counterparts to talk about present and future drainage projects. Twelve farmers from the upper Assiniboine River valley met with four government ministers last week, for the second time, to talk about a seven-week flood that caused […] Read more

WINNIPEG – The Winnipeg Commodity Exchange will not be launching its new feed pea futures contract on Aug. 1. The exchange wants to wait until the industry finalizes grading standards and techniques. “Peas are an odd duck. It’s very difficult to assess foreign material consistently,” said John DePape, spokesperson for the exchange. DePape said the […] Read more

BRANDON – Owen McAuley said he was amazed when commodity groups, the provincial government, Manitoba Pool Elevators and Keystone Agricultural Producers were able to agree on how the Crow Benefit should be paid out. “What was even more amazing was when the federal government seemed to ignore the coalition completely,” McAuley said. Since February, the […] Read more

TEULON, Man. – On a hot summer day, stepping into Shelley Drohomereski’s greenhouse is like walking into a rainforest. It is flush with humidity and potent with the scent of oregano, mint, lemon verbena and other herbs. But Drohomereski isn’t keeping her small slice of paradise to herself. She has built a business around delivering […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Alexandr Podo-bedov has 18 oilseed crushing plants and could be processing 300,000 tonnes a year. One problem: His business is in Russia. Until more oilseeds are produced there, he doesn’t have enough supply to keep his plants going year-round. “It looks like not a bad car, but it’s without gasoline,” Podobedov said through […] Read more