Mailbox

Wanted: Information on obtaining parts, repair, ribber, etc. for a Harley-Kay knitting machine. – G. Gross, Box 69, High Bluff, Man. R0H 0K0, 204-243-2831, ext. 217.

Hog company seeks help

Reeling from losses in its fresh pork business, Olymel has retained former Quebec premier Lucien Bouchard to find ways to restore stability. The company said in a news release that its fresh pork business lost more than $100 million between 2003 and 2005. It foresees losing another $55 million this year. The company represents almost […] Read more

Pro-CWB provinces speak out

As the federal government proceeds with its plan to dismantle the Canadian Wheat Board’s single desk, prairie provincial governments opposed to the plan are getting more involved in the debate. The governments of Saskatchewan and Manitoba plan to offer advice and support to a new coalition of prairie farm groups pressing Ottawa to hold a […] Read more


New eating habits boost turkey

In North America, the turkey is seen as a symbol of prosperity. Canadians eat it usually during Thanksgiving and Christmas. But over the past year there has been a change to eating habits. Canadians ate more turkey than usual, and not just during the obvious seasons. Comparing this year to last, domestic consumption of turkey […] Read more

Competition fierce for rail cars

Grain shippers are competing hard for rail cars as the busy fall shipping season heats up. Prairie farmers delivered 4.9 million tonnes of the major grains, oilseeds and pulse crops to primary elevators in the first eight weeks of the crop year ending Sept. 24. That’s up from 4.2 million tonnes a year ago. Export […] Read more


APAS defends delivery inspection

The federal government and Parliament should reject a consultant’s suggestion that inspection and weighing of grain being delivered to transfer or terminal elevators be made optional, said the president of Saskatchewan’s largest farm organization. Ken McBride, president of the Agricultural Producers’ Association of Saskatchewan, told the House of Commons agriculture committee last week that the […] Read more

KVD must loosen, say seed officials

Western Canadian farmers could reap hundreds of millions of dollars in benefits from new wheat varieties if the rules governing kernel visual distinguishability were less strict, says a senior official from the Canadian seed trade. Jeff Reid, general manager of SeCan Association and second vice-president of the Canadian Seed Trade Association, said the seed industry […] Read more

CFIA joins war against weeds

The Canadian Food Inspection Agency has joined the national war effort against invasive weed species It has been given a $50 million budget and orders to eliminate pests that destroy landscapes. “CFIA has not been in the weed business up to now. It was mostly plants and insects,” said Barb Njie of CFIA’s plant health […] Read more


Short line likes ass’t commissioners

Politicians studying proposals to change the way the Canadian Grain Commission works heard a strong argument last week to ignore a proposal to get rid of regional assistant commissioners. Conrad Johnson, a grain producer from the Climax, Sask., area and chair of the Great Western Railway short line, told MPs Oct. 5 that the commission […] Read more

Oilfield weed control tightens

Thistles and tangled foxtail are often associated with oilfield sites but increasing scrutiny of the industry is forcing better weed control. Contractor Herb Plain works on weed control for mid-sized oil and gas companies. His firm sprays about 10,000 wells, 150 compressor sites and 5,150 kilometres of rights of way each year. He said it […] Read more