“Do you have to contribute up to 85?” – LAURENT PELLERIN, CFA Farmers, who have traditionally fallen outside work benefits programs, may now qualify for employment insurance under new federal legislation. The proposed law would extend benefits, such as employment insurance, to the 2.6 million Canadians, including agricultural producers, who are self-employed. Self-employed people could
EI Extended To Self-Employed, Including Farmers
Paradigm Shift Needed For Beleaguered Hog Industry
For the past two years, Perry Mohr encouraged financially battered hog producers attending the Manitoba Pork Marketing Co-op’s fall district meetings to hang in there – things would be better by spring. And this year? “It’s one of the possible outcomes,” was all the co-op’s CEO would say. Mohr is nothing, if not a realist.
Hog Transition Program Takes Small First Step
The first go-around of a government program to help financially troubled hog producers leave the industry has nibbled at the edge of the problem, but not taken a big bite out of it. Seventy-four producers filed successful bids to receive $10 million in return for idling their hog barns under the $75-million Hog Farm Transition
Maple Leaf To Conduct Hog Loading Site Inspections
Maple Leaf Meats is increasing its surveillance of loading practices for hogs shipped to the company’s slaughter plant at Brandon. Maple Leaf will conduct assessments at loading sites in Manitoba between now and December 2010, a company official said. Sixteen farms randomly selected from Maple Leaf’s hog operation network will undergo loading assessments to ensure
Biodiesel Mandate In Effect For Manitoba
Manitoba has become the first province in Canada to require biodiesel in diesel fuel. Fuel suppliers are now legally required to include a blend of two per cent biodiesel in their overall sales of on-road and off-road diesel. Manitoba is expected to use at least 20 million litres of biodiesel a year as a result
New Life For Old Soldiers’ Club
They stood deep in thought at the 11th hour. Jim Fargey thought of May 30, 1944 in Italy when his Sherman tank and its five-man crew were hit by enemy fire. Only he and another man got out alive. Rod McPherson thought of his brother who spent three years and eight months in a Hong
Farm Building Code To Vary With Operations
“You can’t treat a farm building across the board.” – CHRIS JONES, DEPUTY FIRE COMMISSIONER The Manitoba fire commissioner’s office is recommending against a one-size-fits-all approach for including farm buildings under the provincial building code. Different kinds of operations should be subject to different building standards, said Chris Jones, deputy fire commissioner. “You can’t treat
Greyhound Lifts Threat To Suspend Manitoba Service
“The way we know Greyhound now is not the way we’ll know Greyhound in the future.” – manitoba government spokesperson Greyhound buses continued to roll this week as talks continued between the company and the province on ways to keep the carrier operating in Manitoba. The government is offering an as-yet undisclosed package of route
Late Fall Could Affect Health Of Trees
Acool summer and unusually late fall may have affected Manitoba’s largest perennial crop: trees. Leaves stayed green far longer than usual this year and some scientists suggest trees may go into winter in a weakened state as a result. It was common last week to see trees still with green leaves, which would normally have
Financially Strapped Hog Farmers Seeking Tax Relief
Manitoba’s financially stressed hog farmers are asking the provincial government for tax relief as barns shut down and producers leave the industry at an accelerating rate. The Manitoba Pork Council wants the province to waive municipal taxes on hog barns this year, saying many producers just can’t afford to pay. MPC made its appeal in
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
