About 25 would-be trappers young and old were on hand at the local Legion Hall for a hands-on trapper education course last week. In one corner, two men were busy learning how to flesh beaver pelts over their knees with a sharp knife, and on display on long tables were tools of the trade, from
Doing it right on the trapline
Edible oil market analyst bullish on global outlook for canola and soybeans
When filling up their seeders this spring, Canadian farmers should have canola and soybeans coming down the spout, but not sunflowers and flax. That was the advice from Thomas Mielke, executive director of Oil World, a global edible oil market research firm based in Germany. “Unlike 2008, the price decline has been moderate, and there
Wheat growers want no-cost buybacks to get grain moving
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has pledged to push the Canadian Wheat Board for no-cost buybacks for farmers who want to pre-empt the open market expected Aug. 1. Ritz told the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association meeting in Moose Jaw last week he would push for such an arrangement or changes to producer pricing options during
Cold-weather-proof biogas project to demonstrate renewable energy viability
Capturing methane gas from manure is taking the world by storm — in warm countries. In energy-poor countries of Southeast Asia, for example, biodigester facilities are popping up like mushrooms, including on large-scale livestock operations seeking less expensive and more reliable power, as well as ways to reduce odour and create a new revenue stream
Ritz confident C-18 will win legal nod
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz declared the battle for “marketing freedom” all but won in front of a friendly crowd at the 42nd annual Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association convention. Noting that Bill C-18, the Marketing Freedom for Grain Farmers Act, received royal assent on Dec. 15, Ritz cited the “supremacy of Parliament” as meaning that
Making hay for a living means adapting when the sun doesn’t shine
Growing hay for export to finicky horse owners and demanding dairy producers requires a special level of knowledge and skill — and a little luck, too, especially when the hay is flat on the ground and rain clouds loom. Dan Jorsvick, who grows forages on 2,000 acres in the foothills of Alberta where the rainfall
All good things must come to an end. So say Owen and Pat Beever, who are retiring from their position as Ag Days co-ordinators after nearly 35 years with the organization’s various incarnations. “I’ve been telling everyone that we’re past our best-before date,” joked Owen. “It’s been a good run, though.” Manitoba’s pre-eminent agricultural trade
Councils survey the cost for missing markers
Rural municipalities would like to know who is messing with their survey markers. A recent Association of Manitoba Municipalities resolution calls on the province to amend legislation so local governments can keep tabs on the markers. Currently, if survey monuments are disturbed or missing due to construction or oilfield work, the municipalities have no way
Ritz to press CWB for interim no-cost buybacks
Federal Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz has pledged to push the Canadian Wheat Board to allow no-cost buybacks for farmers who’d like to market grain ahead of the official end of the single desk. Ritz told the recent annual meeting of the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association in Moose Haw that he would push for such
Benchmarking tools boost competitiveness, profits
Trying to keep up with the Joneses is a bad idea, unless you’re in the hog business. After a plunge in hog prices about five years ago saw many weak hands and smaller operations fall out, Maple Leaf Agri-Farms, a division of Maple Leaf Foods, adopted a computerized benchmarking system that has helped it stay
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
