The prospect of bankruptcy is extremely scary – but hiding from financial problems is the worst thing you can do. “The first thing that I always hear from the creditor is, ‘The farmer quit talking to me. I don’t know what’s going on, so I have to do something,’” said Gerry Friesen, a “recovering farmer”
Farmers Urged To Talk About Financial Woes
McLeod Highlights Cowhorse Training Strategy At RMWF Workshop
It was his first trip to town, and because horses never lie, it showed. The four-year-old stallion with less than six months of training was jumpy in front of the crowd, neighing loudly, rearing up, and throwing his head around. For a minute or two, it looked like he might be a handful. But holding
Horses That Won’t Break The Piggy Bank
If your love of horses is greater than your acreage or budget, miniature horses may be just the thing. It was for Heather Hart, who with husband Rod, has about 65 head at Meadowind Miniatures, a 10-acre breeding farm near Carman. “My dad and grandfather had raised Percherons, and we thought, ‘Wouldn’t it be cool
Harvest Cattails To Divert Phosphorus, Says IISD
Phosphorus in run-off water is turning Lake Winnipeg into the “most eutrophic” of all the large lakes on Earth. But on the other hand, phosphorus is a valuable nutrient that is arguably more strategically important to modern economies than crude oil. But what if the cattails in Netley Marsh were harvested and pelletized into solid
Bugs Work, Says N.D. Weed Control Officer
The good bugs are working south of the border to control the bad weeds. Biocontrol agents – a.k.a. beetles – have shown good success, said Derrill Fick, weed control officer for Ward County, near Minot, North Dakota, in a presentation at the recent annual general meeting of Manitoba Weed Supervisors. The brown spurge flea beetle
Beetles Find It Tough Going In Manitoba
Manitoba has been using biocontrol beetles since 1988 in Spruce Woods Park, but the results haven’t been encouraging. In the 1990s, there were 3,500 beetle releases, mainly the black and brown flea beetle species, said John Johnson, president of the Manitoba Weed Supervisors Association. In 1996, 350,000 were brought in from a capture site in
Two Growers Needed To Try Something New
Ever wonder what would happen if you just dumped a shotgun blast of legume, cereal and brassica seeds into the seeder and drilled it in? Two or more growers in the southwest and southeast corners of the province are needed to do just that, as MAFRI’s polycrop trial enters its second year. “The multicropping thing,
Access To Drug Gives Goat Producers New Hope
The goat market is booming in Manitoba and now a streamlined approval process for an effective liver fluke medication promises to put one of the industry’s biggest headaches behind it. “Supply cannot keep up with demand,” said Bill Paulishyn, president of the Manitoba Goat Association, “but the downside is that this liver fluke infestation is
Ritz Pulls Back From CWB Debate
Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz says his party “respects the vote” of farmers who back the single desk and suggested there won’t be any attempt to impose dual marketing on the Canadian Wheat Board unless a majority of producers vote for it. “Until farmers make that change, I’m not prepared to work arbitrarily,” said Ritz. “They
Kicking The Anger Habit
In the hands of a master blacksmith, a piece of spitting, white-hot steel fresh from the forge becomes something useful, or even a work of art. Anger is a bit like that piece of steel – handling it well takes wisdom, and often, years of practice. “There are times when anger is a good thing,”
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