Articles by Steve Gorman | Manitoba Co-operator

The rusty patched bumblebee is noted for the bright-brown patch on its abdomen.

U.S. lists first bumblebee species as endangered

The species is just one of 47 in the U.S. and Canada, a quarter of which are considered at risk of extinction

By Steve Gorman January 23, 2017

The rusty patched bumblebee, a prized but vanishing pollinator once familiar to much of North America, was listed Jan. 10 as an endangered species, becoming the first wild bee in the continental United States to gain such federal protection. One of several species facing sharp declines, the bumblebee known to scientists as Bombus affinis has

Beef cattle, Livestock

Washington begins killing wolf pack for preying on livestock

By GFM Network News, Steve Gorman August 29, 2016

Reuters — Wildlife agents authorized to eradicate a group of 11 wolves for repeated attacks on cattle in Washington state have hunted down and killed six animals from the condemned pack and are searching for the rest, a state game official said on Monday. State biologists fatally shot two members of the so-called Profanity Peak

Markets

Contract negotiators for U.S. West Coast ports reach tentative deal

By GFM Network News, Steve Gorman February 21, 2015

Los Angeles | Reuters — A group of shipping companies and a powerful dockworkers union clinched a tentative labour deal on Friday after nine months of negotiations, settling a dispute that disrupted the flow of cargo through 29 U.S. West Coast ports and snarled trans-Pacific maritime trade with Asia. The settlement, confirmed in a joint

Markets

U.S. farmers hit hard by labour strife at West Coast ports

By GFM Network News, Steve Gorman February 13, 2015

Los Angeles | Reuters –– Protracted labour strife and shipping disruptions at U.S. West Coast ports have hit farmers especially hard, posing a major barrier to perishable goods headed to overseas markets and resulting in losses estimated at hundreds of millions of dollars a week. Foreign Pacific Rim customers facing chronic delays in shipments of

Crops, Markets

U.S. West Coast ports undergo partial shutdown

By GFM Network News, Steve Gorman February 12, 2015

Los Angeles | Reuters –– The 29 ports on the U.S. West Coast were effectively closed to cargo freighters for the second time in less than a week on Thursday under a partial shutdown imposed by shipping lines and terminal operators in an escalating labour dispute with the dockworkers’ union. The loading and unloading of

Crops, Markets

U.S. West Coast port operations resume, more labour talks scheduled

By GFM Network News, Steve Gorman February 9, 2015

Los Angeles | Reuters — U.S. West Coast port operations resumed in full on Monday after shipping companies suspended loading and unloading of freighters for the weekend, citing chronic cargo backups the shippers and dockworkers have blamed on each other during months of labour tensions. Reopening of the ports to cargo vessels idled by the

Crops

Drought forces California farmers to idle cropland

The price of California farm goods, including fresh fruits and vegetables is likely to rise

By Steve Gorman February 20, 2014

Drought-stricken California farmers facing drastic cutbacks in irrigation water are expected to idle some 500,000 acres (200,000 hectares) of cropland this year in a record production loss that could cause billions of dollars in economic damage, industry officials said. Large-scale crop losses in California, the No. 1 U.S. farm state producing half the nation’s fruits

Crops

California eyes turning off the taps

The forecast for a zero allocation in 2014 is unprecedented

By Steve Gorman February 12, 2014

A worsening drought in California will likely force a first-ever complete cut-off this year in state-supplied water sold to 29 irrigation districts, public water agencies and municipalities up and down the state, officials said Jan. 31. Although the state Water Resources Department typically ends up supplying more water than first projected for the year ahead,

Crops, Weather

California water allocation forecast hits record-low level

By GFM Network News, Steve Gorman February 1, 2014

Los Angeles | Reuters — A worsening drought in California will likely force a first-ever complete cutoff this year in state-supplied water sold to 29 irrigation districts, public water agencies and municipalities up and down the state, officials said Friday. Although the state Water Resources Department typically ends up supplying more water than first projected

News

California Farms Lose Main Water Source To Drought

By Steve Gorman March 5, 2009

California’s main source of irrigation water is expected to go dry this year for most of its growers due to drought, idling at least 60,000 workers and up to one million acres of farmland, federal officials and experts said Feb. 20. The zero allocation for most of the farmers who buy water from the federally

Baltic Dry Index hits 12-year high

Prairie cash wheat: Prices rise as worldwide stocks fall

Grain exports running well behind year-ago pace

GFM Network News