Producers Urged To Test Nutritional Quality Of Forage

Feed testing will be especially important this year as the quality of weather-damaged or mature forage may not be adequate to meet the nutritional requirements of livestock. “With the amount of hay that has been cut late and is over-mature, or has been cut at the right time, turned twice, sat in the swath or

Open Letter To Premier Selinger

I recently attended a Manitoba Hydro landowner’s information session, and wish to register my opposition to the Bipole III Transmission Project on the west side. I am vehemently opposed to this route for many reasons. I will only list three at this time. First, the health impact to residents and livestock is alarming. Denial of


Letters – for Oct. 14, 2010

Eating local can be done While there may be some accurate points in Ronald L. Doering’s recent articleManitoba Co-operatorOct. 7 article regarding “locavores,” energy consumption of production, processing and preparing of certain foods and how it outweighs transportation of food, you cannot make the subject so “simplistic” that it applies to all food. For example,

Organic Agriculture Is The Future

Does organic agriculture have a future? For some, such as well-known plant scientist E. Ann Clark, organic is the future. In a paper released earlier this year, the University of Guelph professor joined those who say that the end of cheap oil will mean the end of conventional agriculture as it’s currently practised. “(T)he future


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

Buy Local — But Ignore The “Locavores” Nonsense

You can’t open the food section of your newspaper these days without another sermon on the virtues of eating local. The eulogy takes as self-evident the moral superiority of the gospel of locavorism: relocalizing the food supply promotes sustainability because it reduces the fossil fuel needed to deliver the food. Buying local makes a good


Farmers Rally To Protest Bipole III

Manitoba Hydro is making Bert de Rocquigny what it calls a good offer to run its Bipole III transmission line through his farm. But de Rocquigny says money isn’t the issue. “I told Hydro, you can’t pay us enough,” said de Rocquigny, who stands to have the controversial line cut through 11 quarter sections on

EU Targets Market Speculation – for Sep. 23, 2010

BRUSSELS/PARIS/REUTERS The European Commission is taking aim at growing speculation and volatility in commodity markets, using its plan to reform wider financial markets, just as EU grain futures hit contract highs Sept. 20. Michel Barnier, the European Commissioner in charge of financial reform services, said at a conference that he wanted to use a planned


CGC Short A Commissioner – for Sep. 23, 2010

Ever dreamed of becoming a Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) commissioner? The salary ranges from $135,300 to $159,200. And there’s an opening, although the deadline to apply was July 5. Cam Dahl’s three-year term as a CGC commissioner ended Aug. 15 and he decided not to seek a renewal. “It was a very difficult decision,” Dahl

Rancher Tries Out New Grazing Strategy – for Sep. 9, 2010

When some ranchers get on in years, they get to be like a ball of rusty old barbed wire. Before even thinking about straightening them out – or talking about newfangled ideas in the cattle business – proceed with caution. But for Ron Batho, 74, who has been ranching near Oak Lake since 1952, trying