Health Canada is cancelling the registration of strychnine products used to control Richardson’s ground squirrels. The decision, based on a re-evaluation of the product, was released March 4. “An evaluation of available scientific information has not shown that risks to the environment are acceptable when strychnine is used according to the current conditions of registration, […] Read more
Farm Living
Grain entrapment film comes to the Prairies
The makers of Silo, an American film about grain bin entrapment, don’t want people to watch the movie in their basement on Netflix. Instead, they are using the old fashioned method — gathering people in the same location to watch the movie together. Community groups in dozens of towns across the United States, in places […] Read more
Bayer cools prospect of imminent glyphosate settlement
LEVERKUSEN, Germany, (Reuters) – German drugs and pesticides company Bayer was at pains to quell expectations last week that it was nearing an out-of-court settlement laying to rest claims its glyphosate-based weedkillers cause cancer. Bayer said after publishing its earnings outlook for 2020 it was in no rush to reach terms with plaintiffs’ lawyers and […] Read more
Chances of flooding in Manitoba depends on weather, spring thaw
WINNIPEG, Feb. 28 (MarketsFarm) – As winter comes to an end, the Manitoba government issued its spring thaw forecast of 2020, with high water levels coming for the Red River. That’s due to significant soil moisture levels left over from the fall and above normal snow levels in the river’s United States watershed. “Our focus […] Read more
There’s no better time than winter to enjoy comfort food
As winter saunters along, I have learned to appreciate the beauty of the prairie landscape. Those cool winter mornings make for the most colourful sunrises over the sparkling snow. As the light shines through the windows, I appreciate the warm confines of my chair, curled up in a cozy blanket and the taste of my […] Read more
Man. producer writes what she knows
Canadian novels are rarely written about women who live in small towns. Typically, the main character lives in Toronto and is a 38-year old, recently divorced executive at an advertising firm. Or, she’s a 29-year-old doctor from Iraq forced to work as a hotel cleaner in Montreal. Such stories are part of the Canadian experience, […] Read more
Dream came true for Alta. greenhouse operator
On the Farm: Expansion is still in the cards for this greenhouse, more than 50 years after a young immigrant arrived in Canada
LACOMBE, Alta. — Joe Doef grew up in the horticulture industry in the Netherlands and knew early on that he wanted to continue on the garden management path. His subconscious agreed. “I had a dream that I was living in a house surrounded by greenhouses,” he says. “I was not yet 16.” In 1969, at […] Read more
Peace, love and fibre called keys
Mairlyn Smith says people should eat more of these fibre-rich foods:
Mairlyn Smith lost her sense of peace when her father died a few years ago. Despite the pain, she motored through and returned to work, thinking everything would be OK. When her mother died about a year later, however, it took a heavy toll on her well-being. “It really affected me,” said Smith, speaking to […] Read more
Author addresses rural decline in new novel
Book takes place in a fictional Alberta town where people are experiencing drought, low prices and young people looking to leave
The fictional town of Majestic likely resembles many small prairie communities. They are grappling with population decline and changes in ways of life. Author Audrey J. Whitson touches on these themes in her new book, The Death of Annie the Water Witcher by Lightning, in which Majestic is experiencing drought, low commodity prices and young […] Read more
Life on the farm made memories, taught lessons
Animals played a major role in the lives of children growing up on mixed farms, but sometimes the reality was hard
The three-week-old calf we named Green wobbled to the rail fence bawling as she tossed her head. She saw us approaching with a bottle of skim milk. As I placed the nipple in her mouth, she tugged and pulled it back and forth, managing to guzzle most of it, although some dribbled from the mouth […] Read more
