Irrigation Archives | Manitoba Co-operator

Farmer Ian Shippen stands under a mobile irrigation boom stretching nearly half a kilometre on his farm in the heart of Australia’s Murray-Darling River basin.

China claims Australian irrigation scheme is an unfair subsidy

By Manitoba Co-operator Staff 5 days ago

China’s 80.5 per cent tariff on imports of Australian barley stem from an anti-dumping, anti-subsidy investigation launched in 2018. Beijing justified the penalty May 19, concluding Australia’s Murray-Darling Basin Plan — a scheme to improve the well-being of an ecologically vital river system — is a subsidy for Australian growers. Under the plan, Australia buys

New pilot program for agri-food labour welcomed

Meat processors, greenhouse and mushroom growers, livestock producers get first crack at program

Ottawa — Federal officials hope a new pilot program will help stabilize ongoing labour issues in certain sectors of the agri-food value chain, while also providing citizenship to some foreign workers. Critics, however, contend more support is needed. “This pilot will help to ensure that farmers and processors have the much-needed skills, experience and labour

A question often coming into sharp focus is the cost of becoming overly reliant on China as a trading partner.

Editorial, Op/Ed

Editor’s Take: China is our greatest ‘frenemy’

By Gord Gilmour May 28, 2020

In recent years it has become increasingly apparent that China makes its own rules when it comes to trade. Its 2002 membership in the World Trade Organization is an excellent example. The rest of the world agreed to give China open access to markets, ostensibly in exchange for similar access to China’s. One can hardly

New dean of agriculture named for U of S

Soil science prof Angela Bedard-Haughn takes over Aug. 15

By GFM Network News, Gfm Staff May 15, 2020

One of Western Canada’s major post-secondary ag institutions will get a new hand at the wheel this summer. The University of Saskatchewan announced Wednesday it has named soil science professor Angela Bedard-Haughn as the dean for its College of Agriculture and Bioresources for a five-year term starting Aug. 15. Raised on a family farm in

Crops, Weather

Saskatchewan crop insurance deadline pushed to mid-April

Governments offer farmers 'flexibility'

By GFM Network News, Gfm Staff March 31, 2020

The month-end deadline for Saskatchewan farmers to finalize contracts with the provincial Crown crop insurance agency for 2020 has been moved to April 13. Provincial Agriculture Minister David Marit and federal Ag Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Monday announced the extension on farmers’ deadline to “apply, reinstate, cancel or make changes” to crop insurance contracts. “We

Weather

Chances of flooding in Manitoba depend on weather

By GFM Network News, Glen Hallick - MarketsFarm February 28, 2020

MarketsFarm — Manitoba has issued its spring thaw forecast of 2020 — with high water levels coming for the Red River. That’s due to significant soil moisture levels left over from the fall and above-normal snow levels in the river’s U.S. watershed. “Our focus is currently on the Red River, where we are expecting a

Weather

Average Prairie heat, more rain in summer forecast

By GFM Network News, Phil Franz-warkentin February 16, 2020

MarketsFarm — Canada’s Prairies should see higher-than-normal precipitation and generally average temperatures during the 2020 growing season, according to a forecast from Scott Kehler of Weatherlogics. Speaking Thursday at CropConnect in Winnipeg, Kehler said “there’s not really a strong pattern one way or the other” when it comes to the temperature outlook. The Weatherlogics forecast

Crops

Machinery costs driving up fixed farming expenses

By GFM Network News February 5, 2020

MarketsFarm — Fixed costs on farms continue to rise year-over-year, a statistic largely attributed to increasing land values and interest rates. At the beginning of 2019, Farm Credit Canada (FCC) reported farmland values across Canada increased by an average of 6.6 per cent during the previous year. But that’s not the main driver of fixed

B.C. to punch up AgriStability

Reference margin limit eliminated for 2019, 2020

By GFM Network News, Gfm Staff February 2, 2020

British Columbia plans to make another $9 million available to farmers through “enhancements” to AgriStability for the 2019 and 2020 program years. The province on Thursday announced it will increase the compensation rate available through the federal/provincial income stabilization program from 70 per cent to 80 per cent when margins fall below the 30 per

AgDealer offers online equipment financing, shipping tools

By GFM Network News, Gfm Staff January 28, 2020

Canada’s biggest used farm equipment shopper publication has added tools to link prospective buyers to options for payment plans and shipping. AgDealer on Monday announced “major enhancement(s)” at its AgDealer.com site, where each equipment listing will include buttons linking to tools from CWB National Leasing and Trusted Dispatch. The online tools allow AgDealer.com users to

COVID concerns weigh on chicken farmers, processors

U.S. livestock: Live cattle down as slaughter recovers, beef prices sag

U.S. grains: Wheat falls as dollar bounces

GFM Network News