Consumers at the wheel of potato market

Circana food industry analyst Vince Sgabellone visibly brightens when he recalls the childhood Sundays when his family wandered the Ottawa Valley hunting for the best chip wagon. “Those days before social media, my parents would follow a tip they heard from somebody at work or one of the neighbours about a food truck parked on[...]

Opinion: Better get used to higher food prices

Despite a negative inflation rate, recent StatsCan numbers are telling us that we are in for a wild ride at the grocery store. The numbers are also telling. While the general inflation rate sits at -0.2 per cent, the food inflation rate is at 3.4 per cent. In December 2019, Canada’s Food Price Report forecasted[...]


Food and beverage sector misunderstood by regulators

Officials from Food and Beverage Canada told a parliamentary committee that the COVID-19 pandemic shows there is a “fundamental misunderstanding of how Canada’s food system operates” among senior policy-makers. The comments were made during a digital meeting of the Standing Committee on Agriculture and Agri-Food on May 8. James Donaldson, who sits on the board[...]

A rhubarb Q&A with Getty Stewart

Rhubarb is a staple of the Manitoba garden and beloved in pies, cobblers and muffins throughout the year. Though it thrives in our cool climate, it’s not native to our soil. Rhubarb is native to central Asia, according to an article from the University of Minnesota, where it was valued for its medicinal qualities. Marco[...]


Can organic no till work in the field?

Hairy vetch may be the key to reducing tillage in organic farming, at least in the short term. Martin Entz, a professor and agriculture systems expert from the University of Manitoba has been looking at mulches for organic weed suppression, rather than the tillage typically used. “We found that when we used the right mulch,[...]

Year in Review: Local food producers struggle ahead

Manitoba has a way to go before it's a friendly place for small food and drink producers, several articles demonstrated throughout the year. Be it crippling regulations, lack of risk management programs for small farmers, or simply lack of local supply chains, several factors say Manitoba's local food system has yet to fully mature. "It[...]


Manitoba Organic Alliance names agronomist

Manitoba’s organic farmers now have an agronomist to call their own — even if it’s only for a year. The farmer organization the Manitoba Organic Alliance has teamed up with the University of Manitoba and the provincial Agriculture Department to create a one-year term position for an organic agronomist and Katherine Stanley has been named[...]

Artisanal cheese makers cheesed off

A Manitoba couple says red tape has killed 100 years of cheese history and put them near bankruptcy. Husband and wife team Dustin Peltier and Rachel Isaak, along with Peltier's parents Gary and Silver Peltier, say the province has blocked them at every turn as they've attempted to bring their traditional, Trappist-style cheese to market[...]



Manitoba Flavours: Discover your favourite apple

If I had to choose a favourite fruit, I wouldn’t hesitate to say apples. Hardly a day goes by that I don’t enjoy an apple in one form or another. But if I had to choose a favourite type of apple, I’d have a much harder time selecting just one. I love that apples come[...]