European agency launches food security initiative

london / reuters /The European Bank for Reconstruction and Development launched an initiative Nov. 28 to boost food security through private-sector investment to unlock the production potential of suppliers like Russia. The lending institution, which has traditionally focused on emerging European economies, announced in Novembera it planned to expand operations to the Middle East and

CFB Signs New $125-Million Five-Year Agreement

A new five-year $125-million funding agreement signed between the Canadian Foodgrains Bank (CFB) and the federal government means the Canadian food aid program will continue its quick and early response to global food crisis. Minister of International Co-operation Beverly Oda announced October 26 that Ottawa will provide the CFB, a partnership of 15 churches and


Buhler Industries Entering Combine Market

I would like to see the next 100,000 before I retire, said a smiling Dmitry Lyubimov, who became president of Buhler Industries when the Russian combine manufacturer Rostselmash bought a majority stake from Manitoba entrepreneur John Buhler in 2007. The company, which has been shipping the Canadian-made tractors to Russia since the acquisition, is now

A Dose Of Buhler Logic

It must have felt particularly sweet for John Buhler, founder of Buhler Industries Ltd. to be honoured with a degree for distinguished achievement during the University of Manitoba s fall convocation Oct. 19. The self-made multimillionaire and noted philanthropist was a high school flunkie. As he described it while addressing the Harvest Gala banquet in


Letters – for Sep. 1, 2011

As the District 2 CWB director, I attended the three so-called producer information meetings set up by the CWB in Medicine Hat, Camrose and Falher. Having read some of the media reports of the meetings in Manitoba and Saskatchewan, I knew that these meetings were all about politics, and an all-or-nothing message from the CWB



Flood Waters Take Toll On Trees

Add one more category of victims from this year’s flood – trees and shrubs lining Manitoba’s riverbanks and shorelines. Trees drown if they stand in water too long and certain species are past that point already, says a forester with the Manitoba Agriculture Food and Rural Initiatives’ Manitoba Agro Woodlot Program. “It’s almost a form

Federal Funds Diverted From Beef To Hogs

While Manitoba’s hog industry celebrated some rare good news last week, the beef sector was reeling from yet another setback in the bid to re-establish federally inspected beef slaughter capacity here. Citing unspecified problems with the Keystone Processors Ltd. business plan, the federal government has withdrawn $10 million in financing it promised the beef-processing company


India’s Job Program Creates Farm Labour Shortage

Sitting at the edge of fields in the heart of India’s grain bowl, Gurdayal Singh Malik shakes his head in resignation about the lack of workers needed for his 60-acre farm, blaming the government’s flagship welfare program for the shortage. Ever since the start of the program, which guarantees 100 days of work a year

Planning For A Sow Housing Revolution

Bernie Peet is president of Pork Chain Consulting Ltd. of Lacombe, Alberta, and editor of Western Hog Journal. His columns will run every second week in the Manitoba Co-operator. By the end of next year, pig producers in the European Union should have converted any existing sow stall housing into group housing. Legislation requires them