Agroup of residents in the Turtle Mountain area is up in arms after a family fell sick after a crop duster allegedly sprayed a hazardous pesticide on their rural acreage. Lorna Canada said her two children, her husband and herself were ill for several days after an aerial applicator made repeated passes over her home
Turtle Mountain residents fuming over spray plane incident
An up-close look at what farming is really like
Annual Open Farm Day offers a glimpse of real-life farmers at work under the great blue dome of the sky
Mother Nature can be cruel or kind — Pat and Larry Pollock hope it’s the latter over the next eight weeks. Earlier this summer, their farm was hit hard by a freak windstorm that wreaked havoc in Shilo and even knocked buildings off their foundations in nearby Sioux Valley. An experimental buckwheat rotation crop was
Beef producers approve of newly updated beef code of practice
The latest updated version of the voluntary beef code of practice is out, and the Manitoba Beef Producers is offering a thumbs-up review of the document. “The revisions to the code are practical and science based,” said Trevor Atchison, MBP president, in a press release that quickly followed the announcement from the National Farm Animal
School teaches art of sheep shearing ‘blow by blow’
Two-day course shows shearers how to separate the wool from the sheep with a minimum of fuss
Imagine trying to provide a full-body buzz cut to a woolly, four-legged Greco-Roman wrestling opponent. That’s sheep shearing in a nutshell. Nine students had a chance to hone their technique at a recent two-day sheep-shearing school sponsored by the Canadian Co-operative Wool Growers and hosted by Miniota shepherd Brian Greaves. Shearing is a lot like dancing,
Pilot Mound farm’s prize-winning meat product seized by health inspectors
Clinton and Pamela Cavers are looking for a path through the bureaucratic and regulatory maze that has blocked them marketing their prizewinning meat products. The Pilot Mound owners of Harborside Farms had their entire inventory of about 160 kg of charcuterie, which is cured pork and beef products, seized by health inspectors last week, a
BIXS reboot expected to ease access to carcass data
Ranchers who don’t double as computer geeks may be pleased to hear that the Beef InfoXchange System (BIXS) is due for an update aimed at smoothing out its rough edges. Larry Thomas, the national co-ordinator for the program supported by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA), said that after almost two years in operation, the online
‘Vitamin Z’ ban could set back beef productivity gains
Pinpointing the exact cause of lameness in feedlot cattle could be a challenge, says beef science expert
Pinpointing the exact cause of lameness in feedlot cattle could be a challenge, says beef science expert
Losing the feed additive Zilmax isn’t a big deal in the short term, but losing a product known as “Vitamin Z” would have a huge impact, and reach far beyond the feedlot sector, says the science director for the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association’s Beef Cattle Research Council. “Not having access to these tools doesn’t just impact
U.S. beef industry to offer ‘tender’ cuts
Back in the days when oxen past their prime usually ended up on dinner plates, there was a saying that eaters of such fare would “sit down hungry and stand up tired.” A century or so later, with the realization that tenderness is one of the most significant factors in consumer acceptance of beef, the
Feedlot association to let market sort out Zilmax flap
Tyson Foods’ decision to stop buying cattle given the feed additive Zilmax is sending waves through the beef industry, but Canada’s feedlot sector is determined to stay the course. “Our position is to follow science and let the market decide. Full stop,” said Brian Walton, chair of the National Cattle Feeders Association. His organization doesn’t
Hay harvest well behind schedule
Endless parade of summer showers has affected hay quality, and for many the first cut still hasn’t been rolled up
The wet summer has created endless headaches for hay producers, and left their harvest schedules in tatters. “It’s been a challenge trying to put it into a bale of any kind,” said Darren Chapman of Virden-based Chapman Farms, one of the largest hay exporters in southwestern Manitoba. “We’ve been raking hay and trying to baleCyber-Savvy Farmer
