Longtime and legendary Manitoba farm movement player Bob Douglas died recently at age 80. For more than three decades, he was the organizational mainstay for a succession of Manitoba farm groups, beginning as executive secretary of the Manitoba Federation of Agriculture and Co-operation in the early 1960s. He was a main player in creation of […] Read more
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Former Manitoba farm leader dies
Plant breeder to receive Sask. Order of Merit
Well-known crop breeder Brian Rossnagel is among eight people who will receive the Saskatchewan Order of Merit in a ceremony next month. Now a professor emeritus at the University of Saskatchewan, Rossnagel is an expert in oat and barley genetics who developed more than 90 new cultivars during his years as a plant breeder. The […] Read more
Sask. battles pine beetle in Cypress Hills
Saskatchewan will spend up to $240,000 over the next three years to curb the mountain pine beetle infestation in Cypress Hills Interprovincial Park. It awarded Duncan Henderson Contracting of British Columbia a contract to cut, pile and burn infested lodgepole pines in the park. Beetle populations have been climbing the past four years, and last […] Read more
CFIA reinstates XL Foods’ license
The XL Foods cattle processing plant in Brooks, Alta., has regained its operating licence. The Canadian Food Inspection Agency this morning announced that its investigations are complete and it is confident the issues that led to Canada’s largest meat recall have been addressed. The CFIA revoked the plant’s operating licence Sept. 27 after E. coli […] Read more
MPs vote to send safe food bill to committee as XL Foods tainted beef saga continues
Government and opposition MPs agreed Oct. 22 to quickly approve new food safety legislation and send it to committee for study and possible amendment. Parliament Hill hearings on the bill could start as early as next week. At press time, MPs had agreed to vote Oct. 23 to send the Safe Food for Canadians Act, […] Read more
Industry insiders assess costs to XL Foods’ E. coli outbreak
The cost of E.coli is enormous, yet almost impossible to tally. It’s difficult to calculate the lost demand for beef. It’s hard to know how many consumers pause in front of retail beef displays before moving on to choose chicken or pork instead. Kevin Grier, market analyst with the George Morris Centre said it is […] Read more
AG notes
Sask. 4-H Age changes Saskatchewan 4-H members can now belong to clubs until age 25. The age span to belong is now six to 25 years. The initiative is an attempt to standardize the 4-H age across Canada while improving recruitment and retention. It’s also to create a smoother transition of 4-Hers from members to […] Read more
Living fences slow to catch on
Economic returns | Trees would save on the cost of sand, salt and snow removal
INTERNATIONAL PEACE GARDEN, Manitoba-North Dakota border — Snow will soon be blowing over the Prairies, obstructing drivers’ vision and creating hazardous roads. Living snow fences are one solution that some American states are trying but that farmers haven’t exactly embraced. Dean Current, director of the Centre for Integrated Natural Resources Management at the University of […] Read moreManitoba pilot program offers incentive to plant shelter belts
Trees ripped out | Farmers want to put the maximum acres to work
INTERNATIONAL PEACE GARDEN, Manitoba-North Dakota border — Trees are often the first to suffer in large-scale agriculture. Shelter belts that have stood for 100 years are ripped out to accommodate large equipment and allow farmers to earn more per acre. This is particularly true in areas where potatoes are the crop of choice. Ralph Oliver […] Read moreSouthern Alberta dam marks 20th birthday
Oldman River Dam | Three rivers flow through dam and downstream to Alberta’s irrigation district
PINCHER CREEK, Alta. — The Oldman River Dam would cost $900 million it if were built today. Now celebrating its 20th anniversary of full operation, the dam cost $353 million in 1986 dollars, the year construction began on the project. The reservoir and dam trap water flow from three rivers — the Oldman, the Castle […] Read more
