A chili-inspired pumpkin stuffing simmers.  photos: alexis stockford

Build-a-recipe stuffed pumpkin

Savoury stuffed pumpkin is an easy way to impress at the next holiday family gathering

If you’re lucky enough to have a big garden, you’ve probably had to excavate new recipes to suit the bumper crop that came from the garden corner that had exactly the right conditions. In some years it might be recipes for green beans or corn, or there might be so many English cucumbers that you

so called ugly vegetables

Nothing for the bin

For Peak of the Market, food waste reduction and food security go hand in hand

Peak of the Market has no interest in feeding Canada’s food waste problem, especially when food insecurity is so high. Pamela Kolochuk, CEO of the vegetable marketer, said the company has an internal policy where no food goes in the garbage. Instead, Peak of the Market has developed a network of charitable avenues to use


Winnipeg’s Natural Bakery is one of the many corporate donors to Harvest Manitoba.

Farmers help fight off hunger this holiday season

Food banks and aid charities are facing serious spikes in demand and Manitoba farmers are pitching in

Tis the season when feasts usually weigh down the tables, but this year a much greater number of cupboards in Manitoba are bare. Food bank use has never been higher in the province, according to Harvest Manitoba CEO Vince Barletta. The Winnipeg-based charity supports about 360 rural and urban food banks. Barletta said those food

Water systems need to be monitored and the biggest needs identified so they can be specifically targeted, says the director of water management at the International Institute for Sustainable Development.

Available water a limiting factor for vegetable growers, says Peak of the Market

The province’s new water strategy puts heavy emphasis on conserving water and adapting to climate extremes

A new provincial strategy treats water like a precious, scarce commodity – and it is, say Manitoba’s vegetable growers. “We cannot grow any more acres of (vegetables) in southern Manitoba because we do not have access to enough water,” said Pamela Kolochuk, CEO of Peak of the Market. The province rolled out its new water


A G-Mac’s custom seed treatment unit loads a truck with treated peas in a 2020 video screengrab. (G-Mac’s AgTeam via YouTube)

Simplot to buy western Saskatchewan ag retail chain

G-Mac's AgTeam to rebrand under Simplot name

An independent crop input retail chain in western Saskatchewan is set to become part of agrifood firm J.R. Simplot’s retail arm. Simplot announced Nov. 15 it has a deal in place to buy G-Mac’s AgTeam, which owns and operates 15 outlets in the region, for an undisclosed sum. The deal, which will see the G-Mac’s

Table 1: Percentage Harvest Completion by Crop and Region to Oct. 25, 2022.

Harvest in Manitoba 95 per cent complete, fertilizer applications ongoing

Manitoba Crop Report: Issue 25, October 25, 2022

Overview Harvest progress sits at 95 per cent complete across the province. Harvest is wrapping up or done in most parts of southern Manitoba, and significant amounts of fall fieldwork, and surface drainage cleanout have been completed. Fall fertilizer application is generally behind last year’s pace. Fall anhydrous ammonia application continues as soils cool, but


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

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

Manitoba harvest nears completion

Manitoba Crop Report: Issue 24, October 18, 2022

Overview Harvest progress sits at 90 per cent complete across the province, having caught up to the 5-year average of 91 per cent complete by week 42. Harvest is wrapping up or done in many areas of southern Manitoba, and fall fieldwork, tillage, fertilizer application and drainage is underway. Winter cereal crops appear in good


Soy harvest hits half-way mark, overall harvest progress varies widely

Soy harvest hits half-way mark, overall harvest progress varies widely

Manitoba Crop Report: Issue 23, October 11, 2022

Overview Harvest progress sits at 79 per cent completed across the province, approximately two weeks behind the 5-year average of 89 per cent complete by week 41. Canola continues to be harvested in all regions, but notable progress has been made in the Southwest region, where crops were generally later and more variable than other

Photo: Thinkstock

Alberta harvest on the verge of completion

MarketsFarm – Combining in Alberta is almost finished with the latest crop report indicating it’s at 96.3 per cent complete. The province’s Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development (AFRED) department noted that as of Oct. 4, the harvesting of all crops advanced nine points from the previous week due to dry weather. Of the 11