Roberta Rampton

Andy Baker thinks University of Manitoba students need a dose of co-operative reality. The Beausejour, Man. farmer and Manitoba Pool Elevators delegate said when he went to the university, the curriculum placed too much emphasis on the open market and the Winnipeg Commodity Exchange. At the pool’s annual meeting last week, Baker voiced his support […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Competition to handle Manitoba’s shrinking pile of grain will only increase. So management at Manitoba Pool Elevators says it’s important to close inefficient elevators soon and make investments in crucial competitive areas. The company announced last week it will build high output elevators in Letellier, Binscarth and Gilbert Plains, all to be in […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Thanks largely to earnings from joint ventures with other companies, Manitoba Pool Elevators pulled in net earnings of $5.5 million in 1995-96. But its chief financial officer warned delegates to the pool’s 71st annual meeting held here last week that the company must start making acceptable returns on its investments in core operations […] Read more

Lately, flax has been walking a tightrope of supply and demand. Prices have been steady relative to those of other crops. But traders and analysts say farmers should be watching the forces that could shake its balance. Lower production is one reason farmers have been getting prices of about $8.50 per bushel. Agriculture Canada estimates […] Read more

Ken Lewis spent a lot of time photocopying while in South America a couple of months ago. The Birds Hill, Man. ostrich producer took 140 information kits on a trade mission. But he met so many people interested in ostriches that he could have used about 600. For the past two weeks, some of the […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Canada’s sugar industry needs to work out a united strategy for its future, according to a Manitoba task force. In a report given to the Manitoba government this month, the task force called it a national disgrace that only 10 percent of Canada’s sugar production comes from homegrown sugar beets. The rest comes […] Read more

KENTON, Man. – They wanted to help keep their small town alive and add some extra income to their farms. But when seven farm families bought a meat processing business here in 1992, they also bought into more work. Ron Sangster, a hog farmer and shareholder, said the group spent a lot of time talking […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Rumors have been running rampant that Canadian National is on the verge of announcing one of four companies will take over operation of the troubled rail line to Churchill. Officials at CN are tight-lipped about details. Scott Roberts, manager of public affairs for the railway, said confidentiality agreements prohibited him from giving details. […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Farmers kicking themselves for waiting too long to lock in canola prices should avoid panic sales, take a deep breath and start their strategy anew, say market analysts. Brenda Brindle of KenAgra Management Services in Edmonton said the company’s clients had at least 50 percent of their canola priced before the crash because […] Read more

WINNIPEG – Fred Siemens remembers well the first time he watched commodity traders in action. He was an RCMP officer studying exchanges, and the noise and fast pace seemed alien and somewhat archaic. But Siemens said the more he learned about it, the more he wanted to be at the heart of where market information […] Read more