Tracy Tjaden

SOURIS, Man. – A few years ago, Kelvin Jenkins was sweeping barley out of the tattered wooden granary in the back of his family’s southwestern Manitoba farmyard. Today, Debi Jenkins straightens the country-style curtains that hang in the windows of the building and wonders if they match properly with the trendy throw carpets that cover […] Read more

Saskatchewan Wheat Pool’s move into Alberta is drawing cheers from some farmers. Others predict the pool’s new grain marketing centres are going to have a tough time in some locations where the market is already saturated. “They’re welcome to come and try it but I can’t see them lasting,” said Harry Magee, who runs a […] Read more

Francois Catellier is getting tired of hearing how the transportation backlog is slowing down exports of Canada’s major grains and oilseeds. It’s a serious problem, he agrees, but it’s better than the situation for small and medium-sized exporters of Canada’s special crops. For them, the system has ground to a halt. “In the short term […] Read more

On his own, Don Tait says he can’t do much about the hefty 30 percent import tariff Korea slaps on Canadian lentils. So the Elrose, Sask. pulse farmer doesn’t mind paying a portion of his sales to get someone else to do it. Gaining better market access for Canadian pulse crops is at the top […] Read more

BOISSEVAIN, Man. – When Boissevain’s veterinarian of 42 years announced his retirement, mayor Ed Anderson started to worry. Boissevain is prime beef cattle country, hog production is growing and most of the province’s pregnant mare’s urine farms, which collect urine used in estrogen replacement therapy, are located near the southwestern Manitoba town. The retiring veterinarian […] Read more

TOKYO, Japan – The grey dawn of a cloudy Tokyo day is still more than an hour away, but in the roads and aisles of the Tsukiji fish market, the activity is frantic. Frantic appears to be the norm at the world’s largest fish market. Styrofoam boxes brimming with a dizzying array of fish in […] Read more

A North Dakota-based cattle co-operative is forging ahead with plans to put together a producer-owned beef processing and marketing company in spite of a winter equity drive that fell far short of expectations. Northern Plains Premium Beef, with producer/members in the northern U.S. and the Canadian prairie provinces, needs 250,000 shares to meet the terms […] Read more

MINNEDOSA, Man. – Manitoba’s move to sell hogs on the open market has taken money out of producers’ pockets, say some hog farmers. Eight months after the new system kicked in, some pork producers say they’re paying the price while meat packers reap the benefits. “This is not better for anybody besides the people buying […] Read more

VICTORIA – The country’s largest farm lobby would be wise to open its arms to create a coalition with industry and other interests who have a stake in making sure farmers’ production levels remain steady. Hartley Furtan, a professor of agricultural economics at the University of Saskatchewan, offered those words of advice to farmer delegates […] Read more

Most consumers have no idea how the meat they eat gets from stable to table. That’s the premise for a documentary by Vancouver filmmaker Jennifer Abbott which explores the animal production and processing business in Canada. The video, A Cow at My Table, is expected to hit the independent film circuit this summer and is […] Read more