MORDEN, Man. – Jake Hoeppner clicks open the big, brown briefcase he carries, containing inches of documents, transcripts and articles. The farmer from Snowflake, Man., lugs it around as a testament to how he has tackled what he calls “irregularities” in how the Canadian Wheat Board buys grain. Hoeppner says he doesn’t want to destroy […] Read more
Stories by Roberta Rampton
Flood uproots seed exporter but business keeps running
ALTONA, Man. – Sabourin Seed Service Ltd. is used to shipping sunflowers, canaryseed, peas and flax across oceans. But when there’s a sea of water surrounding their processing plant outside St. Jean, business gets more challenging. Customers in Germany, Spain or Venezuala don’t understand and don’t much care about the flood that’s taken over the […] Read more
Oilseed planting intentions surprise the grain industry
If farmers follow through on their intentions, they will plant the biggest crop of flax in 18 years, according to a Statistics Canada survey released last week. From phone calls with prairie farmers in late March, the agency forecasts they’ll seed 2.28 million acres of the crop. “We knew that flax was going to be […] Read more
Red River unable to drown volunteer spirit
ALTONA, Man. – Dale Manikel pulls out his video camera and pores over pages of flood forecasts to document how high the waters rose around the family farm and equipment dealership near St. Jean. But it’s hard for him to assess how much the people from communities on the edge of the Red River Valley […] Read more
High expectations of compost pile dashed by dirt
LA RIVIERE, Man. – After cleaning out his cattle pens in the spring, piling the manure and carefully turning it a couple of times, Larry Thompson expected to have a heap of black gold to spread on his alfalfa fields. His brother-in-law had switched to a minimum-till system, and no longer wanted Thompson’s manure. So […] Read more
Manitoba ag groups prepare for trade talks
BRANDON – Manitoba farm groups are working with a prominent agricultural economist on a provincial strategy for upcoming international trade negotiations on agriculture. Clay Gilson will help the groups identify the most important trade issues for the province in World Trade Organization talks, expected in about 18 months. The president of Keystone Agricultural Producers, one […] Read more
Farmers battle to hold back Red Sea
High winds may dash the high hopes of some Red River Valley farmers who hoped to protect their homes and barns with sandbags and ring dikes. Officials say more than 17,000 people left the flood-ravaged region last week as town after town along the Red River was evacuated. Some farmers moved livestock to higher ground […] Read more
Extension requested for crop insurance
BRANDON, Man. – There were few faces from the Red River Valley at a meeting of Manitoba’s farm lobby group last week. But several farmers took time from helping neighbors sandbag and moving livestock away from threatening flood waters to make sure Keystone Agricultural Producers heard their concerns. KAP agreed to lobby the federal and […] Read more
Fertilizer dealers like revised rules
Anhydrous ammonia dealers are relieved their industry found an affordable way around new government regulations which could have cost them $40 million over the next decade. In 1995, the Canadian Association of Agri-Retailers found out its members would have to hydrostatically test tanks and applicators for leaks every five years. The test involves pumping water […] Read more
Red River Valley prepares for expected floods
They built high. They have dikes. They thought they were ready for the flood. But farmers in the path of the raging Red River were making tough choices earlier this week as flood forecasters raised their predictions for what many expect will be the deluge of the century. The new forecast was enough to get […] Read more
