Roberta Rampton

LUNDAR, Man. – With a song, a smile and a laugh that builds deep within before it bursts out and fills the room, Lorraine Vigfusson works with the old, the sick, the lonesome. One day, she was getting ready to lift a woman with Alzheimer’s, a woman who spent most of her time locked in […] Read more

After a year when canola was one of the few money-making crops, analysts are starting to predict a large increase in acres for the spring of 1999. Paul Cassidy, president of Calgary’s Mitcon Inc., estimated farmers could plant 15 percent more acres to canola next year and churn out more than eight million tonnes. Farmers […] Read more

Alberta potato farmers could see growth during the next five years similar to what Manitoba growers experienced in the past decade. Since 1988, Manitoba’s potato production has increased by more than 230 percent, said Douglas Kuhl, a grower with Southern Manitoba Potato Co. Ltd. Two french fry processors, McCain and Lamb-Weston, are building plants in […] Read more

Things are looking up for the world economy after some forecasters this fall worried about global recession. “This is not a recession environment,” said Tim O’Neill, the Bank of Montreal’s chief economist. “Sluggish growth, yes, but growth nonetheless.” While the risk of global recession is still here, O’Neill said it has decreased. He spoke to […] Read more

AT first glance, Allan Luke’s grain farm near Ste. Rose-du-Lac, Man., has a lot going for it during the grain price collapse of 1998. He had good yield on his 1,350 acres, he has off-farm income, his wife Kristine teaches and he has been able to stow some money in his Net Income Stabilization Account […] Read more

LANDMARK, Man. – Headlines may scream about hog farmers giving away pork or giving up their livelihood as hog prices crash to 25-year lows. But there’s a quiet, cautious pride in the offices of one of Western Canada’s largest pork production management companies. In the bustling headquarters of Elite Swine Inc., it’s business as usual, […] Read more

Manitoba Pork has come up with a strategy for dealing with the economic crisis producers face. But most of the elements of the plan are out of producers’ hands and in the control of governments, banks, packers, retailers and consumers. Gerry Friesen, a hog producer from Wawanesa, Man., said all parts of the industry need […] Read more

There seems to be something for everyone in the first-ever Canadian Wheat Board’s board of directors. Larry Maguire, president of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association, said he was pleased to see some directors elected who support an end to the export monopoly of the wheat board. Maguire said the five appointed directors seem to […] Read more

In January 1998, Proven Seeds was running out of its canola variety 46A65, a canola in high demand from farmers. To stretch supplies, managers decided to blend seed with 99 percent germination with a smaller amount of seed that didn’t meet government standards for certified No. 1 canola – a common practice in the seed […] Read more

During a week where increasing public attention focused on poor farm income prospects, the latest price prospects for wheat and barley were welcome news. The Canadian Wheat Board is recommending increased initial payments for the crops it sells, based on strengthening world prices. It’s hard to tell how much money this will put in farmers’ […] Read more