The Port of Churchill in 2015. (CNS Canada photo by Jade Markus)

Proposed deal ‘fallen apart’ for Hudson Bay Railway

An acquisition deal-in-principle for northern Manitoba’s Hudson Bay Railway appears to have collapsed and the line’s current owners warn the railway may now be down for yet another shipping season. Hudson Bay Railway (HBR), a subsidiary of Colorado-based shortline operator OnmiTrax, announced Tuesday “it now appears that this transaction has fallen apart.” The proposed sale

This photo from June 1981 shows a Manitoba Pool elevator at Franklin, northwest of Neepawa in the Rural Municipality of Rosedale, under renovation. The taller elevator was built in 1959 next to the shorter elevator from 1927. A balloon annex once stood to the right of the older elevator. The renovations in 1981 included a new office and larger driveshed, and installation of a metric scale. The crib annex at left, built in 1958, was moved here from Mentmore, 12 miles to the southeast. In 1991, the old elevator was demolished and replaced by three steel tanks. The 160,000-bushel elevator was closed in July 2000, following the opening by Agricore of a large, new facility at Minnedosa. The last elevator in the municipality was demolished in 2002.

PHOTOS: This Old Elevator: June 2018

The Manitoba Historical Society wants to gather information about all the grain elevators in Manitoba

In the 1950s, there were over 700 grain elevators in Manitoba. Today, there are fewer than 200. You can help to preserve the legacy of these disappearing “Prairie sentinels.” The Manitoba Historical Society (MHS) is gathering information about all elevators that ever stood in Manitoba, regardless of their present status. Collaborating with the Manitoba Co-operator it is supplying these


STARS donation

Manitoba farm family issues challenge to support STARS

Portage la Prairie farm donating the profits from a 40-acre soybean crop 
to support the air ambulance service

A Manitoba farm family is donating proceeds from a crop to support the STARS air ambulance program and issuing a challenge to other farms to do the same. They’ve planted 40 acres of soybeans and will donate the net profits to STARS, said Jill Verwey of Verwey Farms in the Portage la Prairie area. STARS




Pick up the phone, join the party

Pick up the phone, join the party

Our History: June 1951

You’ll have to explain this to the grandkids — this ad from our June 7, 1951 issue offered tips on party line etiquette, reminding rural subscribers with magneto telephones to ring off rather than using the push button when completing a call, as well as to replace the receiver gently so as not to disturb


Primo’s “Rustic Beef Barley” soup. (PrimoHeartySoups.ca)

Soup maker Baxters sells Canadian arm

The Canadian business of Scottish soup and condiment maker Baxters Food Group is back in Canadian hands, including private, public and labour-sponsored Quebec investors. Provincial venture capital firm Investissement Quebec and labour-sponsored Fonds de solidarite FTQ and Fondaction announced Tuesday they would each put up $8 million, plus an unspecified amount from investors led by

Higher carbon dioxide levels could negatively impact the nutritional value of rice, an important crop to many lower-income countries.

Rice’s nutritional value decreases in higher CO2 concentrations

Researchers examine how climate change can impact dietary quality of crops

Rice grown at higher carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations, like those possible later this century, has lower nutritional value, according to a recent study. Notably, some varieties of rice seemed to react differently to increased levels of CO2, say the study’s authors, showing relatively smaller decreases in nutritional value. The finding that rice’s nutritional quality can


Flies swarm around these cattle as they are being moved.

Controlling cattle pests vital

Left untreated, pests can cause significant loss in production

Integrated pest management concepts that are commonplace for controlling crop pests also apply to controlling livestock pests, North Dakota State University Extension livestock and pest management specialists say. Those key concepts for controlling pests effectively are using the right type of control at the right time for the right duration. “Many livestock producers apply pest