Irrigation Archives - Page 5 of 12 - Manitoba Co-operator

China to step up investment in rural infrastructure

By Dominique Patton, GFM Network News October 25, 2022

Beijing | Reuters – China will accelerate investment in rural infrastructure to improve its ability to ensure food supply while also stabilizing the economy, according to a plan published by the agriculture ministry on Tuesday. The plan, backed by eight ministries and government agencies, comes amid slowing growth in the world’s second-biggest economy, due to

Nate Horner, shown here speaking Oct. 4, 2022 at Southland Trailers at Lethbridge, was named Oct. 21 as Alberta’s minister of agriculture and irrigation. (Alberta government video screengrab via YouTube)

Alberta reorganizes ag portfolio for returning minister

Horner to handle agriculture and irrigation file

By Dave Bedard, GFM Network News October 22, 2022

Both Alberta and Quebec have re-upped with their incumbent agriculture ministers in cabinet shuffles this week — but incoming Alberta Premier Danielle Smith’s shuffle will also streamline that province’s ag portfolio. Chosen by Alberta’s governing United Conservatives (UCP) on Oct. 6 to replace outgoing premier Jason Kenney, Smith on Friday announced Kenney’s incumbent minister of

An aerial view of parched terrace fields at Chongqing’s Fuyuan village in east-central China on Aug. 19, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Thomas Peter)

Farmit Manitoba

Yangtze tributary runs dry as China faces another month of drought

Water is running low when crops are at a crucial stage, officials say

By Reuters August 31, 2022

Chongqing/Shanghai | Reuters — Residents living near a tributary of the Yangtze river in the southwestern region of Chongqing clambered along the dry riverbed Aug. 18 amid an unprecedented drought across the region that could last another month. “I am actually pretty worried, because the water has been cut off in my compound,” said Tian

Shown here are solar panels from Europe that allow for a tractor to mow in between rows. This type of panel can also be used as fencing for livestock, according to the manufacturer, Next2Sun GmbH.

Farmit Manitoba, Machinery

What are agrivoltaics — and can they generate money?

Ten sites are being tested next year in Ontario; proponents say better policies could help solar

By Matt McIntosh August 31, 2022

Canada’s pastures and cropland are prime sites for the mass deployment of solar energy infrastructure, according to advocates of agrivoltaics – a term used to describe the simultaneous use of land for solar energy and food production. The use of solar panels on buildings, in pastures and in other areas of working farms is not new. Solar farms

The sun sets on the shrinking Lake Mead, April 16, 2022, where water levels have declined dramatically to lows not seen since the reservoir was filled after the construction of Hoover Dam, as climate change and growing demand for its water shrink the Colorado River and create challenges, in Boulder City, Nevada.

Comment, Op/Ed, Other

Opinion: Water reckoning coming to southwestern U.S.

A megadrought and runaway water use is a recipe for disaster

By Alan Guebert June 29, 2022

From 35,000 feet, the white ring that marks the high level of Lake Powell looks just like the ring of an emptying bathtub. The only difference is the chalky top mark on this big tub, once the second-largest freshwater reservoir in the U.S., is an unscrubbable 1,900 miles around. And Lake Powell, the upper reservoir

Olds College president Stuart Cullum announces a new partnership with Saskatchewan Polytechnic. (Liam O’Connor photo)

Crops

Partnership gives Prairie ag students new 800-acre opportunity

Saskatchewan farmland bequest expanded Smart Farm eastward

By GFM Network News June 6, 2022

Students from Saskatchewan Polytechnic and Olds College will be getting more opportunities to collaborate with each other on a large scale. The two institutions have signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) which entails both schools working together for five years on various programs, notably Olds College’s Smart Farm operation. The partnership comes as a result

File photo of barrels on display in a Nova Scotia vineyard. (Tashka/iStock/Getty Images)

Wastewater regulation eased for Nova Scotia on-farm processing

By GFM Network News May 26, 2022

Nova Scotia has introduced regulatory changes that allow on-farm processing operations to better manage wastewater on their smaller scale. The changes, which took effect May 11, come at the request of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture (NSFA) — which has said that owners of small farm-level processing facilities shouldn’t be treated the same as

Op/Ed

Opinion: A drier world looms

The window of opportunity to address increasing drought and expanding drylands is vanishing

By Margot Hurlbert May 25, 2022

Chile, Argentina and the American West are in the midst of a decade-long, megadrought — the driest conditions those regions have seen in a century. And many areas in Western Canada and the United States are experiencing extreme drought — a once-in-20-year event. Drought makes agriculture less productive, reduces crop yields and increases heat-related deaths.

News

Water management: What’s the plan?

A full-fledged water management strategy has been in the works for over a year

By Geralyn Wichers May 25, 2022

As Manitobans ride a pendulum swing from too little to too much water, they await the province’s promised comprehensive water strategy — the first update to the plan since the early 2000s. The volatile weather has made plain why it’s needed. “We’re seeing an increase in variability,” said Dimple Roy, director of water management with

A portion of Oak Hammock Marsh, near Stonewall, today.

News, Other

DOWN THE DRAIN: Manitoba’s wetlands a shadow of their former selves

It’ll take years to reverse the trend, but the effects will be cumulative

By Gord Gilmour May 12, 2022

Manitoba farmers heading out to plant this spring can thank the likes of R.T. Riley for the fact that they have fields to work instead of swamps. Riley, best known today as one of the founders of the Great West Life Assurance company (now Canada Life), was the son of a prominent British businessman who

Daily Network News

U.S. livestock: CME cattle tick lower in thin pre-holiday trade

U.S. grains: Wheat extends gains on short covering, war risk

Prairie forecast: Plenty more chances for snow over Holidays

Irrigation