RED DEER – When Bill Dobson was nine years old he remembers going with his father to a meeting in his community of Paradise Valley, Alta., about building a hockey arena. The meeting was heated with each side shouting and pointing their fingers. The ‘no’ side won at that meeting, but on the way out […] Read more
News
New Wild Rose president faces rebuilding task
Menzies quits post to make federal run
Alberta farmer Ted Menzies has stepped down from his national farm leadership positions to try to win the right to run for a seat in Parliament in an expected spring federal election. The Claresholm grains and special crops producer announced Jan. 12 he is seeking the Conservative Party of Canada nomination in Macleod constituency, south […] Read more
Canada’s pork stock seen rising
EDMONTON – Canada will soon be one of the most important pork producers in the world, says the manager of an international pork company. Jordi Masbernat, a manager for PIC in southern Europe, said Canada is one of few countries with an abundance of land, high quality standards and plenty of feed. “If you ask […] Read more
Popular low-carb diet bad news for potatoes
Slumping demand brought on by a diet craze has spoiled the market for a good potato crop. “You could watch potato sales decline if you put a finger on the calendar indicating the day that the study came out validating the Atkins diet. Atkins has had a huge impact,” said Manitoba Agriculture potato specialist Bill […] Read more
Shellmouth dam damages awarded
Gerald Moriarty found it can take half a lifetime for government to right past wrongs. The farmer from Kamsack, Sask., was among dozens of producers who endured additional flooding on parts of their farmland after the Shellmouth Dam was completed on the Assiniboine River in 1970. Seeding delays became frequent for farmers upstream from the […] Read more
Wheat growers group revived
After spending much of the past year on life support, the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association is out of the hospital and ready to resume normal activities. The right-of-centre farm lobby group suspended operations last summer in the face of drastically shrinking membership and a lack of money. But a volunteer committee has been working […] Read more
Pigs, profits and prairie politics – Special Report (about)
Western Canada’s hog industry isfacing difficult times after two years of poor prices and tight profit margins. Some expansion plans are on hold, production contracts are being revised and producers are bracing for an uncertain future. But economic problems are not the only impediment to expansion. Opposition is also rising againstthe industry, led by communities […] Read more
Hog investors threaten lawsuit
A group of Saskatchewan investors is planning legal action against an Alberta hog barn promoter. About 75 farmers and businesspeople in the Portreeve, Sask., area allege they lost $430,000 to a company called Pure Lean Hogs (Portreeve) Inc. The money was raised in 2001 to explore the feasibility of building a 600-sow hog barn in […] Read more
Pigs, profits and prairie politics – Special Report (main story)
After four years of fighting, Roger Desilets’ uphill battle to keep a proposed hog barn out of his neighbourhood is beginning to look steeper than ever. Desilets, a beekeeper from Oakburn, Man., is one of several rural residents opposed to a $4.5 million, 2,500-sow farrowing operation that recently received municipal approval from the RM of […] Read more
Farmers live on the wild side
MACDOWELL, Sask. – All is quiet this time of year on Len and Marlene Gobeil’s acreage north of MacDowell – or as quiet as it can be with five children under the age of 10 in the house. The yard is blanketed with snow and surrounded by trees, muffling sound and creating a peaceful atmosphere. […] Read more
