Visitors to Brooks and Jen White’s farm, Borderland Agriculture near Pierson, Man., got a closer look at adaptive grazing with bison in summer 2018.

Can regenerative agriculture products find a premium niche?

“We have a product that we should be able to demand a premium from. I just don’t know how to do it,” says Brooks White

Pipestone’s Brooks White needs no convincing about the biological value of regenerative agriculture. His fields of cover crops, annual stands grazed by bison, and adaptive pasture system speak for themselves of his commitment to this way of farming. And for that commitment he’s been rewarded — in the form of lower inputs, higher soil organic matter, more and better feed for his livestock and

blaine pedersen

Crop insurance: What’s new in 2020?

The organic sector, farmers with extended grazing and high-value crop growers can all expect more insurance options this year

Crop insurance coverage is poised for another increase in 2020, according to Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp. (MASC). AgriInsurance coverage will hit $3 billion this year, with similar premiums to 2019. Why it matters: Better production knowledge has yields, and coverage, trending up, while the organic sector and producers with extended grazing will get more safety


A new strategy to control grasshoppers can protect your crop, safeguard biological controls and cut your costs.

Cutting pesticide costs with RAATs

The technique is widely used to control grasshoppers in the U.S. but hasn’t found popularity in Manitoba

Reduced area and agent treatments (RAATs) may be a way to control grasshoppers and keep costs down in the coming year, entomologist John Gavloski told producers at St. Jean Farm Days on January 8. Gavloski, an extension entomologist with the province, showed grasshopper count maps from the last few years, which show a steady increase

Manitoba producers are eligible for the Hay Disaster Benefit for a second year.

Short feed triggers Hay Disaster Benefit for second year

Until last year, Manitoba had never triggered the Hay Disaster Benefit built into AgriInsurance

Manitoba’s Hay Disaster Benefit has been activated for the second year in a row after forage once again fell short of expectations in 2019. Estimated payments are far in excess of last year. On Jan. 10, the provincial and federal governments said they expected payments to exceed $5 million for losses suffered in 2019, compared


Letters: Changes requested

Our provincial government listened to producers when they said they wanted to see changes to the Crown Lands Act. Unlike previous governments, we don’t take the agricultural sector for granted, and were excited to phase in new rules for Crown land leases. The first auctions took place over November and December of 2019, and saw



The Manitoba government’s proposed changes to Crown land leases could financially hobble young producers looking to enter the cattle business.

Letters: Crown land changes ‘abhorrent’

My husband and I moved to the Ste. Rose area from Alberta in May of 2019. We have been caught up in the Crown land modernization fiasco. The fact that there was a Conservative government in the province, along with reasonable land prices, made it an attractive place for us to grow our cattle business.

Letters: Crown land leases – then and now

Letters: Crown land leases – then and now

Way back in 1976 my very first job with Manitoba Agriculture was a three-month contract, to do a review of the province’s Crown land leasing program. It was a steep learning curve for me at the end of which I concluded that the then existing system was: a) Expensive to administer; b) Undervalued the province’s


Conception rates have been a concern for vets and livestock specialists as early as last spring.

Open cow rates sky high

Some cattle producers in the Interlake will have their calf crop cut by a quarter next year thanks to poor nutrition earlier this season

Cattle vets are seeing their fears on fertility realized as more and more pregnancy checks come back open. Dr. Keri Hudson Reykdal, of Ashern, has noted alarmingly consistent open rates between 20 and 30 per cent, four to six times what she would expect in a normal year. Hudson Reykdal estimates a normal open rate

Syngenta’s Interaction Centre at Stein, Switzerland. (Syngenta.com)

Syngenta owner ChemChina to merge ag assets with Sinochem’s

Zurich | Reuters — ChemChina and Sinochem are consolidating their agricultural assets into a new holding company to be called Syngenta Group, ChemChina unit Syngenta said on Sunday. Chen Lichtenstein, current CEO of Shenzhen-listed crop protection company Adama, which will also be incorporated into the new group, will be nominated chief financial officer of the