Roberta Rampton

Water can be a boon or a bane in Manitoba, depending on whether farmers have too much or not enough. But whether they want to drain water or use it to irrigate, a government backlog has thrown a wet blanket on hopes of moving water quickly. Ian Wishart, who farms at Portage la Prairie, Man., […] Read more

Manitoba’s agriculture minister chided a farm group leader last week for implying she only likes to support programs that don’t cost her government money. Rosann Wowchuk gently scolded Don Dewar, president of Keystone Agricultural Producers, for comments he made to a newspaper. Dewar, who introduced Wowchuk as a guest speaker at the lobby group’s annual […] 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

Federal researchers think they’ve found a tool that can help ensure food is free from harmful bacteria like E. coli 0157. After a decade of work and three prototypes, scientists in Agriculture Canada’s food research program in Guelph, Ont., have built a machine that tests for the presence of bacteria in food, soil or water, […] Read more

There is some peace among fractious egg producers, thanks to 130,000 sacrificial hens. This fall, Manitoba producers had to get rid of 130,000 hens by the beginning of November, to comply with an order from the Canadian Egg Marketing Agency. But in December, CEMA told the province it could get another 130,000 hens, plus an […] Read more

David Rolfe’s 115-sow farrow-to-finish hog barn at Elgin, Man., is far from what most farmers would describe as an intensive livestock operation. But a recent study of how the Manitoba government should handle livestock expansion will likely have its greatest impact on family farms like his. Rolfe’s youngest son James, 25, is moving back to […] Read more

Manitoba agriculture minister Rosann Wowchuk will soon start meeting with farmers and other groups to talk about 40 livestock expansion recommendations. A panel studying the issue recommended that the provincial government spend more money monitoring intensive livestock operations, enforcing regulations, and researching the environmental impacts of barns. It also recommended a new way to approve […] Read more