Roberta Rampton

Premier Roy Romanow says his goal on the current Team Canada trade mission is to expand trade in a region Saskatchewan has not concentrated on in the past. “I think that there has been, generally, a view that our trade is with China and Japan and only recently has there been a concern about South […] Read more

ARBORG, Man. – In a banner year for grain prices, the Canadian Wheat Board brought home a few pennants of its own. In its report to farmers for the 1995-96 crop year, the wheat board says it achieved record average sales values in the wheat and feed barley pools. But at a Grain Days meeting […] Read more

ARBORG, Man. – About 15 years ago, Harold Kletke told a farm meeting he thought barley would be the crop to watch in the future. “I had some smiles that were a little loud,” recalled the Teulon, Man. seed grower. “They thought I was full of hot air.” Barley quality and delivery opportunities provided some […] Read more

The Canadian Wheat Board’s executive director for marketing is telling farmers to ignore reports in grain market newsletters that the board has pulled out of the feed barley market. Adrian Measner said he has read reports that the sales price for barley is less than the board’s initial payment, and that the board won’t accept […] Read more

Talk may be cheap, unless it’s about the Canadian Wheat Board. For the first time, the board is letting farmers know how much it spends on telling people what it does and how it works. In the last crop year, the board spent a little more than $260,000 on communications and information, an increase of […] Read more

A group of Minnesota farmers plans to grow alfalfa for something other than fueling up livestock. They’re working with a utility company to turn hay into electricity, hoping to create enough power for a city of 75,000 by the turn of the century. “Farmers always added value to their hay by running it through their […] Read more

An alfalfa producers co-op is considering a plant site at Granite Falls, about 240 kilometres west of Minneapolis. The plant will use already established gasification technology. Stems are rapidly heated to almost 900 C, instantly producing a gas. The plant will produce 75 megawatts of power per year, a drop in the bucket compared to […] Read more

A pilot project aimed at getting jobs for rural welfare clients in Manitoba is working. Since August 1994, the provincial government has been subsidizing full-time jobs created for clients in rural areas for up to $3 per hour to a maximum of 280 hours. Clients may still qualify for some assistance, depending on their circumstances, […] Read more

WINNIPEG – If there’s one thing that bugs Bill McLean about the hog industry, it’s when farmers say they deliver pigs on Mondays. The general manager of the J.M. Schneider plant in Winnipeg says the glut of hogs early in the week creates logistical problems for processors. McLean was part of a panel at the […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Flax producers are looking forward to getting some straight answers on basic questions about how their crop responds to fertilizer and chemicals. While flax is one of Canada’s six major crops, producer Garvin Hanley said a relatively small acreage has meant most precious research dollars have gone to plant breeding programs rather than […] Read more