Prairie farmers prefer to buy their inputs from co-operatives and independent retailers rather than large grain companies, according to a new survey. Winnipeg marketing consulting firm Blacksheep Strategy Inc. polled more than 1,000 farmers and found an affinity for supporting locally owned and operated retailers when buying seed, fertilizer and pesticides. Three-quarters of those surveyed […] Read more
Sean Pratt
Stories by Sean Pratt
Farm income statistics don’t tell whole story
A glance at the latest farm income estimates shows the glass is either completely full or entirely empty. Depending on how you view Agriculture Canada’s statistics, farmers may be either 100 percent worse off than they were in 2002 or 92 percent healthier financially. According to the Feb. 6 document, Canadian farmers are likely to […] Read more
Tourism slump takes toll on vacation farms
A director of the Saskatchewan Country Vacations Association says 2003 was a bad year for the industry. The association gained nine new members but lost 12, said Sharon Oberding, who runs the Prairie Rose Bed and Breakfast in Moose Jaw. “There were several that closed partly because of the age of their owners and some […] Read more
Grasshopper problem likely
It seems odd to be fretting about grasshoppers at a time of frozen nose drippings and frosted eyelashes, but insect specialists can’t keep their minds off the little critters lurking beneath the snow. The three prairie provinces have released their 2004 grasshopper forecasts and despite the bitter cold there are numerous “hot spots” on each […] Read more
BSE solution lies in cost control: expert
Harlan Hughes delivered a more uplifting message to Canadian cattle producers in early September than he did during his Feb. 6 speech at Cattle Congress 2004 in Saskatoon. In the fall, the livestock economist and professor emeritus at North Dakota State University was convinced live cattle would enter the United States by January and that […] Read more
Vancouver port plans container expansion
Canada’s largest seaport plans to nearly quadruple the number of containers it handles on the West Coast. That’s good news for special crops exporters and others in agriculture who use shipping containers. The Port of Vancouver is spending $1.2 billion over the next 16 years to expand its three container terminals and open two new […] Read more
Organic grower steamed at weeds
A long-time organic grower plans to get steaming mad at his weeds this spring, but an expert in the field says the farmer might be the one who ends up getting burned. Dayton Funk, who farms 45 kilo-metres northeast of North Battleford, Sask., bought a machine last fall that blasts noxious weeds into submission with […] Read more
Cold bites into Prairies
Brian Perkins didn’t need a thermometer to tell him it was Ð40 C outside last week. His farm machinery told him all he needed to know. “The squeal of a hydraulic motor at 40 below is a few octaves higher than normal. It seems like 30 below is not bad, but once it starts to […] Read more
Paper trail on the way
Conventional farmers should prepare for a world of paper trails and audits similar to what organic producers have to go through, says an inspection company. Consumers increasingly want reassurance that the food they’re putting in their mouths is safe to eat. That message has been passed down to retailers and processors and will soon end […] Read more
Producers advised to sell feed peas
Last month’s soybean meal market rally spurred a surge in domestic feed pea consumption. American soybean growers harvested nine million fewer tonnes of crop this fall on the same acreage they seeded in 2002, due to the lowest yields in a decade. That crop shortage combined with strong world demand pushed soybean meal futures higher, […] Read more
