Our response ability

Did you hear the story about the Winnipeg bus driver who gave away his shoes to a barefoot guy he saw on the sidewalk? It was pretty hard to miss. Perhaps the most enlightening aspect of that story, which was picked up exhaustively locally, nationally and then internationally, was that it was news at all.

Record low to record highs

Sometimes the weather actually does behave just like the “textbook” says it should — and that’s what we saw late last week and into last weekend. After we discussed “Indian summer” we saw record-cold overnight lows turn into record-warm daytime highs! The warm temperatures at the end of the month made September 2012 the 16th


New Ranchers’ Forum targets wider audience

It’s time to move beyond just moving cattle, say organizers. The Manitoba Forage Council’s annual Grazing School, an event that in years past showcased the latest advances in pasture and forage production, has been renamed Ranchers’ Forum to reflect a new focus aimed at incorporating more aspects of livestock production. “Basically, we’re looking at a

Electric fencing tips to keep your goats from roaming

Expert recommends five strands of heavy-gauge, high-tensile wire with proper 
grounding for containing a herd of climbers, leapers and stubborn old billies

Good goats love to roam and you need a fence that’s up to the job. Characteristics that make goats effective at grazing rough pastures — such as aggressive feeding habits and the ability to stand on their hind legs — also means they like to explore new areas and will jump and climb and otherwise


France putting brakes on biofuel push

paris / reuters / French President Francois Hollande wants “a pause in the development of biofuels” and creation of strategic food stocks. The move is in response to the third global food price spike in four years, this time sparked by the worst U.S. drought in over half a century and persistent dry conditions in

EU to limit crop-based biofuels

The European Union will impose a limit on the use of crop-based biofuels over fears they are less climate friendly than initially thought and compete with food production, draft EU legislation seen by Reuters showed. The draft rules, which would need the approval of EU governments and lawmakers, represent a major shift in Europe’s much-criticized


Food crisis strengthens EU biofuel critics

Drought-stricken crops and record-high grain prices have strengthened critics of the European Union biofuel industry, adding fears of a food crisis to their claims that it does not ultimately reduce carbon dioxide emissions. The renewed anxiety adds to pressure on the EU’s executive commission to forge a deal this year to help ensure that EU

It’s onward and upward as crowds flock to St. Norbert Farmers’ Market

It’s official: Le Marché St.-Norbert Farmers’ Market is one heck of a draw. The market on Winnipeg’s southern outskirts drew 10,000 people on a single day in August. The huge Saturday crowd demonstrates why recently announced renovations and improvements are badly needed, said Marilyn Firth, the market’s community relations manager. Those include upgraded drainage, improved


Variable creep feed intake confounds trial results

The benefits of creep feeding are notoriously variable, with some research trials showing a positive benefit and others showing no advantage. Even taking into account factors such as weaning age, length of the creep-feeding period, and type of diet fed, it is somewhat of a mystery why the outcomes are not more consistent. So what’s

More states join call for end to U.S. ethanol rule

Two U.S. states that depend on the livestock industry are adding their voices to a string of states asking Washington to ease pressure on corn prices by suspending rules that send a large share of the crop to produce ethanol. Georgia, the centre of U.S. poultry production, and New Mexico, with its large cattle industry,