Tracy Tjaden

The union representing workers who voted to end a four-month strike at Maple Leaf Foods’ Burlington, Ont. hog processing plant is accusing the company of buying the vote. Striking workers of the United Food and Commercial Workers union agreed March 6 to accept the company’s final contract offer. Union officials say the average salary at […] Read more

Speculation and debate over the roaming habits of a herd of wild elk criss-crossing the border between Saskatchewan and Manitoba continues this week. The Manitoba government set a trap on its side of the border to capture a portion of the herd to sell to ranchers under its new elk ranching program. The move has […] Read more

Manitoba’s rural development minister gave municipalities the good news they were hoping for last week, though local wildlife might not agree. Glen Cummings announced he would offer again this year a program that compensates municipalities for hiring trappers to kill off problem beavers. The announcement, which came three days before the provincial budget was announced, […] Read more

Streamlining the process for licensing drainage projects in Manitoba will be one of the main recommendations in a report studying the problem. Manitoba natural resources minister Glen Cummings told a Brandon meeting of municipal officials that the government plans to act on the concerns of 700 participants who attended seven open house meetings held around […] Read more

Cattle producers in Manitoba’s Parkland region say they aren’t going to be late out of the gate. With growth forecast for the province’s livestock sector, the region wants to form a partnership to build feedlots larger than any in the province. Cattle production in the Parkland region, which runs from Lake Manitoba to the Saskatchewan […] Read more

If Maple Leaf’s Burlington hog plant deal starts a downslide in salaries paid to Canadian pork plant workers, there could be a bright side for hog farmers, says a Manitoba agricultural economist. Maple Leaf Foods, the country’s largest pork processor, has argued that American companies can afford to pay more for Canadian hogs because their […] Read more

While some complain honey prices are hanging a bit low this year, one Manitoba beekeeper said it’s really the unusually high prices from last year beginning to level off. “Prices were down for a long time and then they were playing catch-up and probably overshot where it should have gone like any market will do,” […] Read more

WINNIPEG – If legal manoeuvres aimed at crumbling the Canadian Wheat Board’s monopoly are successful, prairie producers will be out $80 million, according to a top CWB executive. Ward Weisensel, former corporate policy director now working on transportation issues for the board, testified in a case that unsuccessfully challenged the constitutionality of the wheat board. […] Read more

A Spanish livestock company’s plan to build a $100 million hog operation in southwestern Manitoba is not a done deal. VALL Corporation, one of Europe’s largest pork producers, was considering expanding its business into this corner of the province but that is now held up, an official told a Brandon newspaper. Ken Carter, who runs […] Read more

As far as road trips go, it wasn’t the greatest for a herd of wild Alberta elk traveling to their new home near Sudbury, Ont. The 47 animals packed into two transport trucks were storm-stayed twice in a trek across the Prairies that began in Elk Island National Park near Edmonton. Blizzard conditions closed highways […] Read more