Farmers are hoping a developing Colorado Low will skirt south next week, as they continue to grapple with the aftermath of a historic snow storm
[UPDATE: Oct. 16, 2019] Manitoba is bracing for its next hit, even after it digs out from a historic snowstorm. The weather event, which hit on the eve of the Thanksgiving weekend, closed highways, caused unprecedented power outages and left unharvested crops under half a metre of snow or more. Eric Dykes, meteorologist with Environment […] Read more
Once you have wireworms, it’s hard to get rid of them, but that might be changing once BASF’s new seed treatment launches in 2021
Growers will soon be able to knock back wireworm populations rather than just holding the line. BASF says it is two years away from launching its new cereal seed treatment, Teraxxa, on both sides of the Canada-U.S. border. The seed treatment will introduce a new chemistry to the market. Teraxxa will be a Group 30 […] Read more
Outraged Crown land lease holders will get their first right of refusal for legacy leases, the province now says
Ranchers with existing Crown land leases will have a first right of refusal, the province says. The news comes after new Agricultural Crown Land regulations sparked outrage among ranchers. Ranchers argued that the regulations, which dropped term lengths from 50 years to 15 years and cemented allocation by open auction, threatened the future of their […] Read more
Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler announced a slate of insurance and loan programming meant to help livestock producers tide themselves over the winter
Producers fighting a feed shortage will get some help from the province, Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler announced Sept. 30. The province has been under pressure to help producers deal with yet another year of critically low feed and an expected heavy cull. Why it matters: Producers with short feed have been in a holding pattern, first through […] Read more
Lack of long-term leases, right of first refusal has many livestock producers pondering their future
Dale Myhre had plans to expand his ranch near Crane River, before the province announced its new approach to agricultural Crown lands. Now he’s wondering if he is going to lose his farm. The long-awaited agricultural Crown land regulation overhaul was announced Sept. 27, sparking immediate anger from ranchers. The new regulations shortened lease terms […] Read more
Tension was high in the Ste. Rose du Lac community hall Oct. 2 during a last-minute meeting of forage and grazing Crown Land leaseholders
Ranchers in the Parkland and Interlake say they are worried that changes to the province’s Agricultural Crown Lands regulations will cost them their farms. It was standing room only at the community hall in Ste. Rose du Lac Oct. 2 as over 350 leaseholders came to express their outrage over incoming regulations. The new regulations, […] Read more
Manitoba’s agriculture needs and waterways are on opposite sides of the phosphorus debate — or are they?
Lake Winnipeg might be drowning in phosphorus, but plenty of soils in the province are gasping for it. Lake Winnipeg has become infamous for its water quality, and not in a good way. Algal blooms and E. coli cases have become a familiar state of affairs in the south basin, while over half of samples […] Read more
Pests like soybean cyst nematode and clubroot are present and rising in Manitoba fields, but the steps to prevent both of those pests are largely the same
Farmers are being urged to keep equipment clean after the confirmation of yet another soil-borne crop threat in the province. Farmers got the unfortunate, but not unexpected, news that soybean cyst nematode (SCN) infections have been confirmed in four municipalities Sept. 16. The nematode, which can spread through water, has been present in North Dakota […] Read more
Producers are getting ready to begin fall spreading, but some manure lagoons will need extra precautions as the province’s PED numbers climb
Manitoba’s latest battle with PED has put a new focus on biosecurity as fall manure spreading gets underway. The province suffered another spate of PED confirmations this month. The Chief Veterinary Office (CVO) had confirmed 78 cases as of Sept. 20, with the last confirmed Sept. 13. Eight of those cases have been added since […] Read more
Weeds are in for some one-on-one attention with the latest spot-spraying tech coming down the pipe
It looks like something out of science fiction. Above a Saskatchewan field, a line of drones rises in formation, sensors primed to pick out enemy targets below. But this isn’t the latest Terminator movie. This is Daniel McCann’s brainchild for green-on-green spot spraying, an offshoot of precision spraying that promises to identify and take out […] Read more
