Columnists – Page 13

After carefully filling in around the well, Dan Mitchell makes a pad for the trough, then works on sloping the hillside behind so that the animals don’t have a drop off.

Securing another water source

Eppich News: A stream 13 feet underground was tapped and will water cattle on the northeast side of the home section

By Heather Eppich February 16, 2024

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year! In December our weather continued to be mild. We had a few cold days with a cold wind but for the most part we were still above normal temperatures. The animals are quite happy with the temperatures. On Dec. 15 we had Dan Mitchell from Kerrobert come out with […] Read more

Growing potatoes in Prairie farm gardens should be relatively easy if you’re able to anticipate and avoid the usual problems.

Columns, Potatoes, Practical Tips

Let’s meet the potato family

Part 4 of a series on Prairie farm gardens

By Ieuan Evans February 13, 2024

The potato is a member of the solanum or Solanaceae family, made up of thousands of wild and cultivated species that range from deadly nightshade to tomatoes. Commonly cultivated in farm gardens are potatoes, tomatoes, peppers, eggplants and tomatillos. Members of this family also include petunias, lobelias, tobacco and common weeds such as black nightshade […] Read more

Several reasons exist for the recent divergence between our two interconnected economies.

Columns, Home Quarter Investing

The tale of two economies

Strong energy prices would normally lead to a strong Canadian currency

By Herman VanGenderen February 6, 2024

U.S. third-quarter GDP (gross domestic product) grew at an annualized rate of 4.9 per cent. This followed second-quarter growth of 2.1 and first-quarter of 1.1 per cent. Rather than the widely predicted recession, the U.S has experienced accelerating growth. Canada, on the other hand, is flatlining, with first-quarter growth of 0.8 per cent, second-quarter at […] Read more

parents and an adult child discussing finances

Columns, Farm Life

Get the tough and tender transition conversations started in 2024

A farm’s founders may not want the embarrassment if they see a personal net worth lower than expected

By Elaine Froese January 25, 2024

Seven years ago, here’s what I said about getting transition conversations started: Show up as adults to attack the issues, do not attack the person who is delivering ideas for change. Understand transition is a journey of many plans, with communication as the foundation. Spend some quiet time with yourself thinking about what you truly […] Read more

Columns

Grainews columnists I have known

Part 1 of an intermittent series. In this instalment: Alf Bryan

By Les Henry January 20, 2024

Younger readers may not know how Grainews got started. The first edition was in 1975 and the publisher was United Grain Growers (UGG). UGG was a farmer owned grain company with shares – it was not a co-op. The first editor was John Clark and he recruited active farmers to write it as it was […] Read more

Columns, Editor's column, Wheat & Chaff

Editor’s Rant: In good company

By Dave Bedard January 20, 2024

So for weeks I’d been planning to fill this space with a tirade about last month’s cynical-yet-predictable developments in Ottawa on Bill C-234, but when Linamar went public with its plan to buy Bourgault Industries I got distracted by developments closer to home, so to speak. In case you missed the news shortly before Christmas, […] Read more

ethanol production plant in western manitoba

Columns

Picks and shovels for the alternative energy industry

The dominant players in the biofuels sector today are the traditional grain handlers and processors

By Herman VanGenderen January 14, 2024

It’s said that the big money, in gold rushes of yore, wasn’t in the gold miners but in those who supplied the picks and shovels. Vendors of sins, booze and brothels also did well. With this issue we’ll have a look at companies that, while not wholly reliant on alternative energy, stand to benefit from […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner, Columns, Rancher’s Diary

It’s been a wonderful visit

For years we've shared our lives with Grainews readers and they've done the same with us

By Heather Smith Thomas January 14, 2024

This will be my final Rancher’s Diary column. I was recently informed that with the current business changes at Grainews, my column will no longer be published, but I was graciously given the chance to say goodbye to my readers — many of whom have become personal friends over the years. I first became aware […] Read more

A chickpea and flax intercrop mix on Colin Rosengren’s farm at Midale, Sask.

Columns, Crops

Cover crops: enough already

The benefits are often 'blown up' while the challenges are understated

By Les Henry January 2, 2024

Cover crops is a topic with a lot of ink spilled in many farm publications in recent years. Some scribblers seem to imply that a farmer is a laggard and an environmental hazard if she/he is not using cover crops on a regular basis. Cover crops actually include a wide variety of cropping sequences, and […] Read more

Columns, Farm Life

Why can’t farm moms ask for what they need?

It could be due to scarcity mindsets, generational neglect of needs or disrespect of in-laws

By Elaine Froese December 26, 2023

December can be an emotionally strained month with high expectations for seasonal celebrations and gifts. Last year, due to a myriad of circumstances and miscommunication, my Christmas stocking was skinny, and truthfully, I was disappointed and tempted to feel sorry for myself. When you consider the terrible wars in the Middle East and Ukraine though, […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures continue gains, hogs slide

Alberta Beef Producers announces withdrawal from Canadian Cattle Association

Chinese anti-dumping duties shut market to Canadian canola

GFM Network News