Roberta Rampton

PORTAGE LA PRAIRIE, Man. – Pulse growers expect pigs will bring a new pea and canola plant to Manitoba. Members of the Manitoba Pulse Growers Association have been researching the possibility and following up on leads for about a year. Dallas Watt, a pea grower from Reston, Man., said farmers wanted to see if locally […] Read more

It takes a special skill to sweet-talk the fierce tow truck operators who circle Winnipeg’s downtown core in search of prey. John Weekes found his car hoisted up and ready to go on one of these parking sharks last Friday afternoon. Somehow, he got his car down. Weekes chalked it up to luck, explaining his […] Read more

Drumsticks or wings, roasts or bologna: No matter what the cut of turkey, Manitoba producers want a bigger slice of the pie. Turkey barns are about 75 percent full in the province because through genetics and better management farmers have been able to find ways to produce more meat in less space. And with the […] Read more

Canola crushers face slowdowns or even shutdowns this summer as the high price of seed and sagging price of oil and meal shred their profits. Crushers have sales commitments booked until the end of April, said the president of the Canadian Oilseed Processors Association. But right now, they’re asking themselves whether they’ll continue crushing from […] Read more

Pity the bull calf born on a dairy farm. His heifer sisters grow up to be the new generation of milkers, kept in production with straws of semen from prized sires. The meat from his beef cattle cousins is far superior to whatever he can pack on in a feedlot. And now, a scientist from […] Read more

A scholarship program for high school students, sponsored by ConAgra Grain Canada and Cropmate, will become an annual event, ConAgra said in a February news release. Initially offered last year to mark construction of ConAgra’s three new grain terminals in Saskatchewan, the program’s success prompted its continuation, the release said. High school students in the […] Read more

The day before Manitoba’s latest budget was rolled out, Don Dewar was grinning and alluding to the good news it would hold for farmers. The president of Keystone Agricultural Producers was confident farmers would get some tax relief. The farm lobby group had worked hard for about a year convincing the government to remove provincial […] Read more

The Manitoba government plans to spend more on health, education and paying off its debt. But in its fourth balanced budget, the third time with a surplus, the province had little news for farmers. “I think that agriculture is as badly ignored by the provincial government as it was by the federal government when they […] Read more

Producers who want their children to continue the farm had better make sure the farm is big enough. That’s the message brought to Manitoba producers by David Kohl, a farmer and professor of agricultural finance, small business management and entrepreneurship at Virginia Tech. In 1990, 40 percent of North American farms supported a family without […] Read more

Some canola growers in the United States are upset they can’t buy seed treated with a pesticide commonly used in Canada. Most canola planted by Canadian farmers is treated with a lindane-based seed dressing to protect against flea beetles. Lindane is not registered in the United States, said Tony Zatylny, vice-president of crop production for […] Read more