Waldo Thiessen

Celebrating 20 years of direct farm marketing in Manitoba

Organizers of the Direct Farm Marketing conference see even more growth over the next five years

Selling products directly off the farm is nothing new — for as long as crops have been grown, farmers have sold the fruits of their labour to friends, family and neighbours. But today there’s increasing demand from other consumers to buy directly from farmers, which was reflected in the themes at the 20th anniversary of

Woman holding jar of jam.

Berry good: New jam takes top honours

Taste, marketing and nutrition all play a role in the development 
and launching of new food products

New jam takes She ditched the sugar and still managed to score a sweet victory. Jill Tanner’s Jamore! — a fruit spread made with wild blueberries, prunes and organic chia seeds, but no added sugar or sweeteners — took home gold at this year’s Great Manitoba Food Fight, held at Red River Community College in


The future of the 850 cattle at the Brandon Research Centre is uncertain.  
Photo: Laura Rance

Price insurance for livestock on its way

There’s been no official announcement, but commodity groups say price insurance for livestock producers will soon be a reality

Price volatility could soon be a thing of the past for Manitoba’s beef producers, if a proposed livestock price insurance program comes to fruition. The insurance plan could be announced within weeks, said Cam Dahl, general manager of the Manitoba Beef Producers. “I’m very hopeful that there will be an announcement made very soon,” said

If you prick the round end of an egg it will help to prevent cracking while boiling. photo: thinkstock

Producer price per dozen dips as feed costs shrink

Falling grain prices have cut feed costs and so egg farmers will get a nickel less — but none of the big grocery chains will say if the savings will be passed on

For the first time in years, the price Manitoba egg farmers receive for their products is going down. Following a year of bumper grain crops, feed costs have declined — resulting in a five-cent reduction in the producer price of eggs in Manitoba. “The cost of production is updated as input costs change, it could


ACU helps launch national fund for co-ops

Many financial institutions don’t understand 
how co-operatives work and are less likely 
to loan them money

Assiniboine Credit Union is helping lead the creation of a national Co-operative Investment Fund that will provide essential loans for growing and expanding co-operatives across Canada. “The idea for the fund is driven by national research that shows there is a gap in financing for co-operatives in part because many financial institutions do not understand

Successful first year for “Build a Better World” campaign

Co-operative supporters climbed mountains, shaved their heads, and pulled out their chequebooks to help raise funds for the Co-operative Development Foundation’s first year of Build a Better World campaign. “We are delighted with the way that co-operatives, credit unions, and individual donors have responded to the campaign,” said board chair Michael Barrett. “We can credit


Sharing business can foster local shopping

Gift cards, local currencies and “disloyalty” cards can all be used to build businesses and jobs where you live

There’s a wave of business building going on around the developed world, and it doesn’t require a government program to make it happen. It just requires the businesses in a community to get together and agree on one thing: to jointly sponsor a community gift card, a local currency, or both. The community gift card

U.S. futures regulator targets commodity speculation

washington / chicago / reuters The top U.S. futures regulator says he would support appealing a court ruling last month that struck down his agency’s attempt to place limits on speculation in commodity markets. Gary Gensler, chairman of the U.S. Commodity Futures Trading Commission, said his agency drafted the original rule at the direction of


Shelf those décor ideas

Uncomplicated solutions are often the best answer to decorating dilemmas. Something as simple as an inexpensive shelf can provide solutions for storage and display, as shown in the photo. A decorative shelf in any room provides easy access to items that are used on a daily basis — an alarm clock in the bedroom, toiletries

Cutting co-op support destabilizes rural economies

The termination of the Co-operative Development Initiative and the drastic cuts to the Rural and Co-operatives Secretariat announced in the federal budget will have a significant impact on the development of new co-operative businesses, jobs, and services for communities throughout Canada. In the year that the United Nations has declared the “International Year of Co-operatives,”