Roberta Rampton

As more hog operations start to wean pigs earlier, an expert says producers should keep an eye out for edema disease. Mike Wilson, a swine veterinarian from Guelph, Ont., says the disease is becoming more prevalent in the southern United States and some Ontario operations. Wilson spoke to Manitoba producers at a recent seminar organized […] Read more

Coming north after delivering a load of flax or oats into the United States, Ken Foster’s trucks can clear customs in the wink of an eye. The truckers go through a special lane at the border crossing between Pembina, North Dakota and Emerson, Man. Border officials and customs brokers use a quick bar code scanning […] Read more

A crop is killed three times every growing season, or so goes the old traders’ adage. Weather scares and rumored production problems traditionally boost North American grain futures prices a few times each year as traders wrestle to pin down supply numbers. But this summer, weather scares may be more short-lived than usual. An updated […] Read more

Fields of blue are a common sight in summer around Sedley, Sask. But this year, some farmers plan to increase their flax acres by as much as 25 percent. “We’re definitely going to see an increase in flax,” said Charles Hume, a broker with Keystone Marketing Services in Sedley. The grain trade expects Statistics Canada […] Read more

Canada’s largest canola crusher will spend $14 million to add a refinery to its crushing plant at Harrowby, Man. That’s good news for farmers in western Manitoba and eastern Saskatchewan who deliver to the plant, said Rick Watson, general manager of oilseed trading for Canamera Foods. “I think it means a more secure market,” said […] Read more

Farmers usually apply more science than art to seeding crops. But come 1999, some farmers east and south of Winnipeg may see art as a bigger part of their spring seeding picture. Two organizations plan to rent farmers’ land and use it as canvasses. They want to seed shapes, images and corporate logos for the […] Read more

Light pigs are weighing in as a bigger problem in large, all-in, all-out, grow-finish hog barns. “They’re irritating,” explained John Deen, a swine researcher and veterinarian with North Carolina State University. While light pigs are not as dramatic an issue as disease, Deen said they are affecting the pocketbooks of producers. He estimated one grow-finish […] Read more

When Catherine Tolton went to see a doctor about a lump in her breast, a physical exam indicated it was benign. A mammogram showed it was benign. But her doctor removed some cells from the lump with a needle, and took them to a pathologist, who diagnosed the tumor as malignant on Jan. 26. “Somewhere […] Read more

and Reuters News Service There was little good news for Canadian farmers in the initial guesses about what their counterparts to the south will be planting this spring. The first United States Department of Agriculture forecast of the season showed American farmers intend to seed record acres to soybeans and plant the biggest corn crop […] Read more

Manitoba livestock groups aren’t thrilled with the province’s new manure regulations. But they were able to make the provincial government agree to some important changes in the regulations, which came into effect April 1. “Nobody likes more regulation, but I think it’s something we can live with,” said Weldon Newton, a hog farmer from Neepawa, […] Read more