When shelves across Western Canada were empty of sugar after strike action at the Rogers Sugar refinery in Vancouver, Canada’s sugar beet growers renewed calls for a national sugar strategy. Groups including the Alberta Sugar Beet Growers have long decried Canada’s reliance on imported cane sugar rather than Canadian-grown sugar beets. Alberta’s crop makes up about eight per cent of the sugar
Beets won’t benefit from Hamilton sugar refinery
Sugar beet growers want more market share for their locally grown crop, but they won’t get it from Canada’s newest sugar refinery
Final word on livestock predation pilot
Composting, fox lights, predator-resistant pens among winners of tested prevention strategies
The predators haven’t gone away, but the livestock industry now has better ideas on how to handle them. The Livestock Predation Prevention Pilot, Manitoba’s three-year examination of its predator loss problem, is over. Prevention strategies have been tested, reports sent, and every resulting bit of advice has been made available in print and video form
Life hacks for winter fencing
Tips for temporary fencing when corn grazing
The humble pigtail is a common sight on most cattle operations that use rotational grazing. They’re light, easy to stomp into the ground, easy to pull out and it takes only seconds to insert the wire. They’re a key labour-saving tool for the miles of temporary fencing that farmers string and unstring every season. When
Editorial: Ghosts of CETA
Canada’s cattle sectors aren’t the only ones up in arms about U.K. acceptance into the Comprehensive and Progressive Agreement for Trans-Pacific Partnership. On Feb. 12, the pork industry also weighed in. It is vehemently against the idea of British participation in a trade agreement that, so far, has been pretty good to Canada’s meat-producing sectors.
Livestock police request encounters inspection debate
Manitoba wants dedicated officers for livestock theft and fraud, but mandatory inspection is a thornier issue
Manitoba’s beef sector wants police that specialize in livestock. A successful resolution at the Manitoba Beef Producers annual meeting Feb. 8 called for MBP to approach the province about a potential livestock investigations unit “or another mechanism aimed at reducing local livestock-related crime.” “We’ve seen a rise in … theft or fraud-related instances in our
Corn-soybean intercrop put to grazing test
The novel crop combination is getting an even more novel utility test
[UPDATED: Feb. 23, 2024] Brett McRae is spicing up his corn grazing system this year. He’s got more than one variety growing – a grazing-oriented option and the typical silage corn – but the real experiment is happening beneath the canopy. This year, the corn shared space with forage soybean and hairy vetch. The beans
Crown land auctions cancelled
Province hits the brakes as system goes under review
Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn says there will be no Crown land auctions this month. The province has paused lease allocations while it takes another look at the agricultural Crown land program, he announced Jan. 29. “We’ve paused it for a number of reasons. Actually, we feel that we need to maybe do some consultation
Managing pulses when the well runs dry
Growers urged to watch seeding depth, rate and crop rotations
There’s still lots of winter left for the coming year’s pulse ground to get moisture, says Manitoba Agriculture pulse specialist Dennis Lange. That said, producers can be forgiven for wondering how they’ll manage their pulse crops, should 2024 turn out to be another dry year. While Canada’s Drought Monitor expected Manitoba’s moisture situation to improve
Pro tips for a calving crisis
When is it actually time to call in the vet?
The calf was breech. Standing a few feet away, Brandon veterinarian Dr. Grayson Ross coached the producer at the rear of the cow through the potential disaster. “Get it in your mind’s eye,” he said. “You’ve got the rump of a calf right in front of you. The tail’s there. You’ve figured out where the
ACC enters hopeful home stretch
Funding gives college a big boost towards ag expansion
Assiniboine Community College is holding out for federal funds that would top off what it needs to start construction on its Prairie Innovation Centre for Sustainable Agriculture. The provincial government has committed around $90 million, college president Mark Frison said, and as of the third week of January, the private fundraising campaign had met its
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