Roberta Rampton

WINNIPEG – Monsanto and the federal government are investigating a small number of complaints about poor germination in wheat and barley seed treated with preharvest Roundup. Harvey Glick, product development director with Monsanto, said the number of complaints is less than one percent of sales of the herbicide, a complaint rate he said is typical […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Manitoba producers deserve more details about the type of compensation they will get for the seaway pooling change in the next few years, said the president of Manitoba Pool Elevators. While producer groups in Alberta were happy about agriculture minister Ralph Goodale’s announcement last week, Charlie Swanson, a member of a Manitoba coalition […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Looking for something to read while waiting for water on farmland to dry up? Manitoba Agriculture has just the thing. This week, extension offices will have a guide available for farmers who were flooded this spring. “It’s sort of what to do when the water goes down: where to send your water samples […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Flooding in the Assiniboine River Valley either proves the need for the Langenburg East Drainage Project or shows why the project shouldn’t happen, depending what side of the fence people are on. The plan would channel water from eastern Saskatchewan into the Assiniboine system in Manitoba, improving land quality in what many refer […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Researchers are looking to nature for an answer to one of the most persistent and problematic weeds around – Canada thistle. As early as this year, several species of Chinese insects could be released into fields to see if they’ll do the trick on the weed and survive cold Canadian winters. This is […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Class is out for the Manitoba Agricultural Training Project. Lack of federal funding sounded the death knell for the organization, which provided courses for farmers since 1989 on topics from marketing to computer accounting to production issues. The organization received half its $700,000 budget from the federal human resources department and the rest […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Tension between northwestern Manitoba farmers and their eastern Saskatchewan counterparts is running as high as the Assiniboine River that connects them. Manitoba farmers in the river valley are frustrated and angry at the extent of agricultural flooding and many are pointing fingers upstream at unauthorized drainage projects. “I would be afraid it could […] Read more

WINNIPEG – As long as there’s not too much rain, the new lakes in western Manitoba that once were fields should slowly start to dry up. “Things are generally moving in the right direction,” said Rick Bowering, a river forecaster with the province’s natural resources department. Bowering said the Assiniboine River has had its second […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Details on proposed changes to the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange canola contract aren’t due until May 15, but some industry players are hoping they will clear up how the new contract will affect farmers. Switching to a warrant system from the current warehouse receipt will allow a greater threat of delivery against a futures […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Video lottery terminals, a casino and bingo palaces are proving to be a royal flush for Manitoba government coffers. But the government should consider its hand carefully, according to a recent analysis of the benefits of gambling. A report by Philippe Cyrenne, an economist at the University of Winnipeg, concludes the lucrative lotteries […] Read more