The federally appointed veterinarian in Manitoba’s equine infectious anemia (EIA) scare says he expects positive results to trickle in through 2018. Alex McIsaac, Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) western animal health specialist, said a number of EIA carriers in the province have slipped through the cracks until now due to infrequent testing. Animals infected with
EIA down, but not necessarily out, with incoming cold
The risk of spreading equine infectious anemia is slowing down as cold weather lowers fly populations, but the CFIA warns that more cases might be detected next year
Manitobans sign up to Drive Away Hunger
Farm Credit Canada (FCC) hopes to add at least five million meals’ worth of support to Canada’s food banks through its over-month-long Drive Away Hunger campaign
Combines may be busy on the field, but Farm Credit Canada (FCC) is occupied with a different kind of harvest. This year marks 14 years of FCC’s Drive Away Hunger campaign, a joint fundraising and food drive held nationally by FCC each fall in support of Food Banks Canada. The program launched Sept. 6 and
Rourke Farms explores organic equipment options
Rourke Farms near Minto put equipment options to the test this year as the farm started the process of becoming certified organic
When Rourke Farms decided to go organic, it went all in, both in terms of acres and equipment. Over 4,000 acres of cropped land started the transition this year, while another third of that has been put to green manure and the farm’s fleet of tractors, seeders, cultivators and harrows has expanded as owners make
Dry season causes combine fire concern
It was an issue for poducers in Saskatchewan, but there are no official numbers available for Manitoba
Meg Reynolds had little warning before the combine she was driving went up in flames. The Saskatchewan producer was midway through a field of durum wheat Sept. 9 when the blaze sparked in the engine. Her engine temperature was clear the last time she checked it, she said, something she does regularly while in the
How many fire extinguishers are enough?
Experts weigh in on how to avoid combine fires
Keith Castonguay, Manitoba Farm Safety Program director, says walkabouts are critical to catch combine blockages before they heat up and catch fire. “When you shut the machine off, you walk around looking for hot spots or any accumulated chaff that you might have there that might pose a problem,” he said. Combine fires are a
4-H beef program aims at breeding over butchering
A small number of 4-H’ers in the Interlake are turning their heifer projects into purebred herds
It’s all about the ladies at Ashern’s Lakeside 4-H Beef Club. Unlike other clubs, and their focus on finishing cattle for market, this group is concentrating on breeding heifers, and senior members are aging out with a purebred herd already in hand as a result. Steers, ordinarily a 4-H staple, are in the minority, making
Opening eyes with Open Farm Day
Manitoba’s agriculture industry opened to the public Sept. 17 for the 14th annual Open Farm Day
Farm work doesn’t stop when it rains, and neither did the province’s Open Farm Day Sept. 17. The 14th annual event, run by the Manitoba Association of Agricultural Societies, opened 46 venues on schedule this year despite a rainy, cold forecast in several regions. “We’ve had excellent feedback from the host sites that were involved,”
Pollinator seed mixes tailor made
Just like cattle and hogs benefit from the right rations, bees can benefit from the right mix of flowering plants
What’s good for the bumblebee may not be good for the honeybee. That was the message as the Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives dug into pollinator-friendly seed mixes Aug. 30 during its Brookdale site field tour. “You want to have something that’s going to grow and, depending on how much time they have, legumes in
Beyond the dugout: The making of a watering system
Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives is testing the waters on a solar-powered pump system in both continuous and rotational grazing
Dugouts aren’t always ideal, and farmers who run rotational grazing or lack surface water are looking for options to get their herd a drink. For many, that means pipelines, although designing the details may quickly become complex. Will the system draw on nearby open water? Will it be piped from a yard site or pumped
Fighting European corn borer? Manitoba Agriculture wants to hear from you
There’s been no Bt resistance yet in Manitoba’s European corn borer population, but entomologist John Gavloski is keeping a sharp eye out
John Gavloski is back on the hunt for European corn borer (ECB). The provincial entomologist hopes to collect 50-100 larvae from Carman-area fields this year, part of a long-standing project to monitor resistance to Bt (Bacillus thuringiensis), a toxin-producing bacteria and the most commonly cited ECB management method. Bt is either used as a spray,