Twelve years ago, Mortlach, population 240, seemed just another small Prairie town dying on the vine. The downtown business section consisted of a failing store and an insurance office. There wasn’t even a place to have coffee. No one expected new people would move to town, much less build a house. No one thought new
Mortlach Embodies Small-Town Revitalization
Tory Resolve Stiffens To Cancel Bipole Route
Manitoba’s Progressive Conservatives say they are determined to prevent the proposed western route for the Bipole III transmission line, following a recent protest meeting by local residents. The Oct. 1 rally in St. Claude drew over 160 people worried about what the line will mean for them, said local MLA Blaine Pedersen, who hosted the
Ottawa Cited For Delay In Cattle Flooding Program
Manitoba has done its part to develop an emergency aid program for flooded cattle producers and it’s now up to Ottawa to deliver the goods, says Agriculture Minister Stan Struthers. The NDP government approved its share of the assistance package weeks ago and it’s not responsible for a federal delay in announcing it, Struthers said
Quota Levy Still A Mystery
Confusion still reigns over a new surcharge on quota sales for milk, eggs and poultry six months after the Manitoba government announced it. The two per cent levy is still not in effect and producers remain in the dark over how the province will implement it. “There is very, very little information on how it
Producers Must Now Register Livestock
Attention Manitoba livestock producers. Tell the government where your animals are. A new program launched this month requires producers to register the land on which their livestock are kept with the province. Called premises identification, it’s part of a national initiative to develop a livestock traceability program which identifies farm animals, spots their location and
Information Key To Giving Feedlots What They Want
Henry Rosing is a straight-ahead commodity beef producer. He’s not hormone free. He’s not organic or natural. He doesn’t differentiate his beef as a specialty product. He doesn’t supply niche markets. Yet his production methods are such that feedlot buyers in Eastern Canada are willing to pay in the top end of the price range
Hog Producers Crawling Back To Break-Even Point
Hog prices have finally returned to profitable levels but it’ll take years for pork producers to recover from their worst financial crisis in recent history, an industry official says. Repaying massive debts racked up over the last three years will be a tough job for hog producers who haven’t already left the industry, predicts Andrew
Turkey sales recover from setback
anada’s turkey industry is slowly recovering after a series of disasters in the last two years knocked back consumer demand, officials say. A perfect storm hit the industry in late 2008, just as sales of processed turkey items were starting to see double-digit growth, said Phil Boyd, Turkey Farmers of Canada executive director. Feed and
Turkey Not Just For Thanksgiving Any More
It’s a traditional holiday scene: A golden-brown roasted turkey accompanied by mashed potatoes, gravy and all the trimmings on the dining room table. But try picturing that scene at some time other than Thanksgiving, Christmas or Easter. That’s the challenge facing the Turkey Farmers of Canada. The good news is that 36 per cent of
Late Harvest Delays Cattle Aid
Urgently awaited aid for Manitoba’s flood-ravaged cattle producers could still be weeks away because of a holdup in calculating feed losses. A cool, wet fall has delayed the harvest and federal officials don’t know yet what hay and forage yields in flooded areas will be. As a result, they can’t say what kind of financial
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
