A Manitoba Cattle Enhancement Council director remains confident that a proposed beef slaughter plant in Winnipeg will go forward, even though the federal government has pulled a $10 million loan and the Manitoba Beef Producers want to terminate a checkoff that supports the project. David Wiens, a dairy farmer from Grunthal, Man., said it’s too […] Read more
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Manitoba slaughter plant supporters vow to proceed
Liberace fowl plays piano for chicken feed
COALHURST, Alta. — The chicken opened its piano concert with the first few bars of Richard Wagner’s Bridal Chorus,from the opera, Lohengrin. All Fs. After that, the melody was lost, but a chicken playing piano badly is secondary to the fact that a chicken plays piano at all. Donna McLaughlin, an animal trainer who lives […] Read more
Lentil crop expected to finish well
Canadian farmers are set to harvest what appears to be a vastly improved lentil crop, says one of the world’s largest pulse processors. “It is projected to finish well with a good-sized crop, good quality and some estimated yield gains helping to make up for some of the seeded acreage declines,” Murad Al-Katib, chief executive […] Read more
Western Producer Crop Report – for Aug. 18, 2011
MANITOBA SOUTHWEST Moisture needed The winter wheat harvest is underway and yields are rated as average. Spring cereals are suffering from heat and lack of moisture. Tillers are not developing and heads aren’t properly filling. Greenfeed crops planted after the wet spring are stressed from hot summer weather. Yields will be affected. First cut of […] Read more
Sask. 4-H Council gets ready to take home another accolade
The Saskatchewan 4-H Council will have to wait until November to see if it will win the annual Donner Award for the second year in a row. Last year, it received the award in the education category and picked up $5,000 in prize money. This year, the provincial 4-H chapter is among 19 Canadian finalists […] Read more
Yellow flower provides jet engine’s oomph
BRANDON — When Kevin Therres releases the brake, his jet engine funny car rockets down the quarter-mile track in six seconds at more than 250 m.p.h. As the smoke clears, the question might be asked, “fries with that?” That’s because the same oil used in deep fry vats is used in Therres’ 7,500 horsepower jet […] Read more
Analysts say commodities can survive financial crisis
Can the bull market in crop prices resume? Even with severe tremors shaking outside markets and rattling the nerves of investors, many analysts think last week’s bullish U.S. Department of Agriculture report means the answer is a confident yes. “Amid the current environment of seesawing sentiment, macro-economic unease and gyrating financial markets, the grains markets […] Read more
Early farm vehicles have military history
DOG POUND, Alta. — If there is an abandoned jeep parked behind the barn, collectors Stewart and Donna Geekie want to know about it. “It seems like a shame to see them sitting out in fields rusting away. They are just such a unique part of our history,” said Donna, who would like to save […] Read more
Scenic location plants seed for resort, tourism
TOGO, Sask. — Cottages in varying stages of readiness dot the high riverbank overlooking the Lake of the Prairies where cattle once grazed. Unlike other farmers ready to retire or change careers, Konrad and Claudia Zangl are building up their farm enterprise in eastern Saskatchewan to include this lakefront development being rolled out in two […] Read more
Agco air seeder based on Amity single disc design
KANSAS CITY, Missouri — Agco has filled a gap in its machinery lineup with an air seeder and drill. The company that began 21 years ago as an ensemble of short-line farm equipment manufacturers now has a lineup of field tools that fills nearly every spot on a western Canadian farm’s machinery roster. Under the […] Read more
