Farms.com Home   News

Snow Causes Shut Down At Simplot's Portage Potato Facility

The build-up of snow and ice on the roof at Simplot's potato processing facility just west of Portage la Prairie has led to a shutdown.

Josh Jordan is a Senior Communications Manager for the J.R. Simplot Company, and he explains after noticing the heavy build up they called in KGS Group, a consulting engineer firm. KGS found that the amount of snow and ice was of concern, and proceeded to recommend Simplot should take steps to remove some of it. Jordan notes it's unfortunate they had to shut down but adds the safety of personnel remains a priority.

"The safety of our personnel is obviously the most important thing for us," says Jordan. "We'll be able to make up any lost time by running a little bit more through when we're back up and running."

Jordan adds they are hoping to be back open come this Saturday.

He notes, everyone there is ready for spring.

Source : Steinbachonline

Trending Video

Polycultures with Dr. Jillian Bainard

Video: Polycultures with Dr. Jillian Bainard

Producers rely on grazing native, tame perennial pastures or stockpiled feed to typically feed their livestock. Diverse forage mixtures, such as polycultures, give producers an opportunity to provide high-quality feed while also gaining additional benefits for the soil and ecosystem. Polyculture cover cropping, also known as multi-species or cocktail mixture planting, is the intentional co-planting of several species of plants in the same field or plot. New research is underway to find the best mixtures to plant as forage to improve crop yield, soil organic matter, moisture retention, weed control, and even add more nutrients – all potentially great benefits to farmers, ranchers, and producers.

Join Young Agrarians and Rural Routes to Climate Solutions to learn about forage polycultures with Dr. Jillian Bainard of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. As a Forage Ecophysiologist, Dr. Bainard’s research involves studying forage crops and the interface between plants and their environment. Through her work, she collaborates with many other disciplines including forage breeders, ecologists, animal scientists, soil scientists, economists and more to develop forage practices that are beneficial nutritionally, environmentally, and economically. Dr. Bainard’s current areas of research include:

- diverse annual forage crops (polycultures, cover crops) - integrated crop-livestock systems - plant response to stress - plant endopolyploidy and genome size - plant ecology in rangeland ecosystems

This webinar is a great opportunity to learn more about the latest polyculture research happening in the Canadian prairies.