The sun was just peeking above the horizon as the Boeing 777 banked south just over Cairo, Egypt and headed for Addis Ababa, the Ethiopian capital that serves as the hub for all of Africa. We’d been travelling ahead in time, losing a night as we left Washington, D.C. at around 11 a.m. on Saturday, […] Read more
In Ethiopia: First impressions of a far-off land
Video: CWB directors on road ahead of plebiscite deadline
Farmer-elected directors of the Canadian Wheat Board held a series of meetings across the Prairies earlier this month to discuss the implications of the federal government’s plans to end the board’s single desk. Manitoba director Bill Toews told the more than 300 farmers attending the meetings at Oak Bluff, Man., that Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz’s […] Read more
Ugly perennials getting admiring looks
In a back corner of the Ian N. Morrison Research Farm here is a nursery of what most farmers would consider butt-ugly plants with spindly stems, tiny seeds, and weedy characteristics. But they might just be the salvation of grain farming if the impact of climate change falls hard on the Canadian Prairies. The plots […] Read more
Western Man. evacuation order creates confusion
Mark Emilson, a cattle producer from Vogar, Man., said producers in his area have been told they must move hundreds of cattle to higher ground as floodwaters continue to swell Lake Manitoba, but people don’t know where to go. Provincial officials warned producers at a meeting Monday night that up to 100,000 head of cattle […] Read more
Editors’ Picks: Self-grooming cows yield more milk
A group of dairy cows in New York, able to make their own spa dates with a self-grooming device, has been found to yield more milk and develop fewer cases of mastitis. Researchers at Cornell University’s Quality Milk Production Services department at Ithaca, N.Y. and the Sprucehaven Farm and Research Center at Union Springs, north[...]
Editors’ Picks: Public taken off U.K. strawberry fields
British fans of U-pick strawberries have found that not all strawberry fields are forever, the Reuters news agency reports. Strawberry producer Boddington Farm, considered one of the largest U-pick fruit farms in Britain, announced it has dropped the U-pick business after health and safety officials ordered extra safety infrastructure such as handrails between the strawberry […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
