Roberta Rampton

Day in, day out, lawyers at a trade tribunal hearing last week argued about whether Manitoba corn growers have been hurt by dumped and subsidized imports of American corn. But conspicuous by their silence on the matter were lawyers and witnesses from the United States. While the office of the U.S. Trade Representative sent the […] Read more

The largest single buyer of pork in the United States is getting ready to announce it will only buy ham, sausage and bacon from farms that allow sows to roam freely in pastures and barns. In the next few months, McDonald’s USA will roll out new rules for its suppliers that require them to change […] Read more

The president of the Manitoba Corn Producers Association says farmers would more than double the number of acres they plant to corn if prices rose to profitable levels. Michael Coates testified at a Feb. 5 hearing of the Canadian International Trade Tribunal that he foresees a dramatic increase in corn acres if Manitoba prices rise […] Read more

Keystone Agricultural Producers charted new directions for its lobby efforts this year. Members voted to press Manitoba Conservation to compensate farmers for feed supplies lost to wildlife. Crop insurance covers wildlife damage to hay supplies that are produced by the end-user, but it doesn’t cover farmers like Kathleen Paterson of Deloraine, Man., who buys hay […] Read more

Manitoba farm families with young teenagers are anxiously awaiting new driver licensing regulations planned for the province. The provincial government introduced a new law in December that introduces a graduated licensing system. The details will be in the regulations. It may take three years under the new system for young drivers to become fully licensed. […] Read more

Production contracts for alfalfa seed will be few and far between this year, according to seed trade representatives. But farmers should avoid planting seed without a contract, given the large stocks and weak demand for the crop, they said. Kurt Shmon of Pickseed Canada Inc. told growers at a Winnipeg conference Jan. 8 that prices […] Read more

John McGlone gives his audience a sow’s-eye view of what most swine see each day. In a short, close-up video clip, a sow methodically bites the bars of her .6 metre by 2.1 metre crate. The Texas Tech University researcher said it’s a behavior that some sows spend up to 25 percent of their time […] Read more

Paula Fedorka-Cray shifts uncomfortably in her seat when asked whether banning the routine use of medication in feed to boost livestock performance would help prevent the increase in drug-resistant bacteria. That’s a matter for policy makers, said the microbiologist, who specializes in antimicrobial resistance research for the United States Department of Agriculture in Athens, Georgia. […] Read more

At a time of year when many farmers dream of escaping to more tropical climes, government officials from a winter resort country made a trip to Winnipeg. The Dominican Republic has average temperatures around 30 C in mid-January. But with Manitoba temperatures dipping below Ð20 two weeks ago, Eligio Jaquez, the Dominican secretary of state […] Read more

The Manitoba government says there is a potential for rivers across southern Manitoba to flood farmland this spring, especially in the western part of the province. Heavy rain in the fall and heavy snow this winter make flooding likely along the Assiniboine River, according to Manitoba Conservation. Here is the forecast for other rivers, assuming […] Read more