“It was extremely good picking. It didn’t take you long to fill a basket…” – Ken Lucko, Monominto Berry Farm.

Manitoba sees bursting berry season

Unlike the rough start of many crops, fruit growers — and strawberry growers in particular — won the production lottery this year

Ken Lucko lucked out this year with his acres of strawberries, and he’s not alone. One of the proprietors of Monominto Berry Farm near Anola in eastern Manitoba, Lucko knew earlier this spring that the season had promise. He now labels it as excellent, and his u-pick and pre-pick operation has closed for the season.

“The sooner you can get out there and get control of it, the better.” – Courtney Boyacheck, Canola Council of Canada.

What’s the future of flea beetle management in canola?

Producers are looking for answers, but experts say there aren’t many new solutions

If you’re a Prairie farmer on Twitter, you’ve probably seen the posts. In the background, a stand of canola languishes, pock-marked with flea beetle feeding. The producer is on a second foliar pass, or maybe third or fourth. Spring 2022 has given growers another frustrating year for flea beetles after a wet and delayed seeding


Smoke billows during a fire in an area of the Amazon rainforest near Humaita, Amazonas State, Brazil on Aug. 14, 2019. (Photo: Reuters/Ueslei Marcelino)

Market value alone is selling nature short, governments told

Economic valuations needed but 'not sufficient,' co-chair says

Reuters — What is the value of a river? Is it for the nutritional content of the fish it sustains? The economic benefit of the local livelihoods it supports? Or does the river have its own value which humans cannot measure? Such questions may seem removed from the issues the world faces, from deepening climate



brazil pineapple

Comment: The world’s inefficient food web

The world’s affluent must start eating local food to tackle the climate crisis, new research shows

The desire by people in richer countries for a diverse range of out-of-season produce imported from overseas is driving up global greenhouse gas emissions, new research has found. It reveals how transporting food across and between countries generates almost one-fifth of greenhouse gas emissions from the food sector – and affluent countries make a disproportionately

hydroponic lettuce

OCN’s Smart Farm is a source of physical and mental health

A computer-controlled farm, on-site research and fresh produce are providing ways to combat diabetes in this northern community

It sits behind the wall that holds the community centre’s bingo board — and its name is Bertha. This ‘Smart Farm’ is Stephanie Cook’s domain on Opaskwayak Cree Nation (OCN), more than 600 kilometres northwest of Winnipeg. After more than six years of farming, Cook can walk into the room and smell if something is


A Mexican port-of-entry sign on Highway 92 near Naco, Arizona. (Rex_Wholster/iStock/Getty Images)

CUSMA leaders to discuss agreement during Mexico visit

Mexico City | Reuters — U.S. President Joe Biden and Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau will discuss terms of the Canada-U.S.-Mexico (CUSMA) agreement, which was ratified in 2018, during a visit to Mexico, Mexican President Andres Manuel Lopez Obrador said Monday. “We’ll have a summit to discuss terms of the trade agreement treaty… in Mexico,”

As Peak of the Market reinvents itself as a private company, the Co-operator takes a look at the colourful history of the sector.

From Peak to obsolete

Peak of the Market’s monopoly began with protests, newspaper wars and threats of violence. It ended with near silence

In the embryonic days of Peak of the Market, Wally Kroeker recalls a farmer threatening to thrash his dad. His father, Walter, was a staunch proponent of orderly marketing for his potatoes and vegetables. The other farmer was not. “My dad was a pretty conservative guy,” Kroeker said. “Some people could never understand why a


An original proposal by Health Canada to label ground beef as high in saturated fat has been shelved.  Photo: Jeff Haynes/Reuters

Health Canada to slap warning labels on sugary, salty and fatty foods

Ottawa | Reuters – Foods high in sugars, sodium and saturated fat will come with clear warning labels in Canada starting in 2026, the federal government said on Thursday, in an effort to promote healthier eating choices and reduce chronic health risks. “We know that it’s not always easy to make healthy choices,” Health Minister Jean-Yves Duclos told

Winkler cidery opens orchard-side tasting room

Winkler cidery opens orchard-side tasting room

Once a vegetable farm, Dead Horse Cider is making award-winning forays into fabulous flavour

Tasting notes of tequila, lime, strawberry and… horse blanket? Think hayloft, not manure, says Dead Horse Cider founder Marcus Wiebe. He ushers a Manitoba Co-operator reporter over to the taps in the Winkler cidery’s sun-dappled tasting room. After tasting the funky crispness of the Backyard Blend, made entirely from local apples, it makes sense. There