Jill Verwey is not hauling water to her cattle, although plenty of her neighbours have had to at some point this year. Like most with cattle in Manitoba, Verwey’s beef, grain and dairy operation near Portage la Prairie is dry. Feed is short. Pastures are browning and she has watched with concern as dugouts drop
Recent rains fail to slake water concerns
Dry dugouts have finally got some rain, but experts say dugouts still have a long way to go
Rains bring relief for winter wheat seeding
Winter wheat is ready to go, but the fields slated for the cereal may not be ready
Recent rains have brightened the outlook for winter wheat, assuming farmers can get on the drill. Western Winter Wheat Initiative agronomist Ken Gross said conditions are ideal for the crop’s first flush, despite the dry conditions that have plagued Manitoba this growing season. “As far as getting winter wheat into the ground, it may be
Doors prepare to swing open for Open Farm Day
Open Farm Day will run Sep. 15. This year’s roster includes 56 sites, including 23 that have never been seen on the day’s schedule before.
[UPDATED, Sept. 12, 2019] Open Farm Day organizer Wendy Bulloch is more than ready to take a swing at the wall between farmer and the non-farm public. It’s the main point of the event, after all — to foster public trust in food production and bridge the gap between, not only farms and the urban
Producer’s key to calving is only a click away with camera system
Calving cameras promise to de-stress the most stressful weeks for livestock producers
Colin Palmer no longer fits the image of the sleep-deprived, anxiety-ridden beef producer when calving starts — despite having more than double the cattle he did a decade ago. Instead, he is losing fewer calves, spending less money on gas and steps off his farm near Saskatoon more lightly in spring, since he can pull
Cow cams may fall short without tall towers
Failure to connect: Like anything involving video transfer, calving cameras will need good internet and cell service to transmit an image of the calving pen off the farm
Cow cams may promise peace of mind but, like most things connected to data agriculture, they also bring up the perennial challenges with rural internet. Rural internet is an obstacle for the farmers wanting to adopt cow cams, Colin Palmer (a producer and speaker on cattle surveillance systems) admits. He has reaped the benefit of
Election 2019: Pallister promises rural economic development office
PCs say office would become new go-to resource for rural industry
Manitoba’s Progressive Conservatives say they want to streamline rural economic development and, to that end, they have promised a central office in Brandon if re-elected. The new economic development office became the latest promise on the PC campaign trail Aug. 29, during a media event in Brandon. “The office itself is not designed to just
Election 2019: PCs promise better intel, more officers to fight rural crime
The Canadian Centre for Justice Statistics puts Manitoba’s rural crime rate 42 per cent higher than urban areas, although rural areas in the south are much safer Manitoba’s Progressive Conservatives say they want smarter crime fighting in Manitoba, and they are promising to bolster those efforts if re-elected. A press release earlier this month promised
Livestock producers scrambling for feed solutions
DROUGHT Two years of drought has the sector scrambling as winter approaches See story pg 6
Producers searching for feed may have to go off the beaten path again this year, as supply concerns mount. The province got little relief from its recent streak of poor forage this year. Most first cuts yielded between 40 to 60 per cent of normal, according to a recent report from the Manitoba Forage and
Split nitrogen pays off on protein, not yield
High-yielding wheat varieties need a lot of nitrogen, but new research suggests that splitting that application may decrease the economic and ecological risk while also paying dividends on protein
Split nitrogen application could boost protein in spring wheat, but it might be hard to gauge whether that boost adds actual financial value in a given season. Amy Mangin and Don Flaten, both crop nutrition researchers with the University of Manitoba, have been hoping to update nitrogen management in spring wheat, given the new genetics
Calculating a good cover crop plan
Set yourself up for success when it comes to cover crops
Farmers will need more than a cursory plan to reap the benefit of cover crops in the Keystone province. Cover crops have gained their champions in Manitoba. The practice is cited among other alternative grazing strategies like bale or swath grazing to extend the grazing season and, arguably, improve soil, according to livestock and forage