It’s not time to panic yet on winter cereals, despite sparse snow and cold weather. Curtis Sims of Winter Cereals Canada, and a MacGregor-area producer, says the lack of insulation and frigid weather was far from ideal but it is too early to measure spring impact. “One always feels more comfortable with more snow, but
Snow-bare cereals see deep freeze
Winter cereal crops are facing down extreme cold warnings without much snow buffer this winter, so what will that mean for spring?
Farmers don’t need to feel like they’re choking down silage cost: Ag Days speaker
Silage becomes more palatable for producers if you look beyond simple cost per acre, Manitoba Agriculture’s Ray Bittner told the Ag Days audience Jan. 17
It’s time to add a little fermentation to your feed plan. That’s the message Manitoba Agriculture’s Ray Bittner had for his Ag Days audience. The livestock specialist centred his talk around maximized silage value. Silage is old hat for producers in the Interlake, but its expense, and the fact that it often requires a custom
Forget cost per acre — what’s it cost to grow a bushel?
Cost is often expressed as dollars per acre, but farm management specialist Darren Bond says it makes more sense to think of cost in terms of product produced
Darren Bond wants farmers to stop thinking in dollars per acre. The farm management specialist with Manitoba Agriculture says cost per bushel sold is a more valuable number when farmers go to develop a marketing plan. Farmers sell their product per bushel, making it easier to track and predict profitability if cost uses the same
Drought bullet dodged, but what’s next?
Crops drew heavily on water reserves last year, something that might be a problem with Manitoba’s meager snow cover
Manitoba managed to thrive last year despite scant rainfall, but skimpy snow cover might mean trouble when it comes to maximum yield next year. Water was one of four things that Rigas Karamanos says will impact yield potential, along with genetic potential of the variety, solar radiation and fertility. The senior agronomist from Koch Fertilizer
PHOTOS: Ag Days holds the course on exhibitor numbers
This year’s Ag Days attendance and participation lines up with previous years
The weather is clear, the crowds have arrived and the exhibitor list is as big as ever as Manitoba Ag Days kicks off. Exhibitors met the bar set last year during the 40th anniversary event. The show expanded both its footage and exhibitor list after opening up the over 19,000-square-foot Brandon Curling Club for booths.
VIDEO: Dr. Rigas Karamanos offers talk on crop yields at Ag Days
Dr. Rigas Karamanos started off the MNP Theatre speaking schedule this morning at Manitoba Ag Days 2018. Karamanos touched on what goes into max yield potential for a given crop, what farmers can control and what’s up to nature. See more Ag Days coverage in upcoming issues of the Manitoba Co-operator.
Cervid producers call foul on CFIA participation requirement
They say a new move to require participation in a ‘voluntary’ program if farmers want support isn’t helpful for areas without CWD
Manitoba elk and deer producers are less than impressed with incoming federal rules over chronic wasting disease (CWD). As of April 1, producers who want federal help with CWD are going to have to be part of the CFIA’s Voluntary Herd Certification Program. They’ll only be compensated for destroyed animals if they are registered with
Bison farms stand to be counted
Canada’s bison producers are taking a snapshot of their industry with a recently released census
The Canadian Bison Association is counting heads for the first time in five years. The group has released its 2018 bison census survey, available until Jan. 15. Terry Kremeniuk, Canadian Bison Association executive director, says the census will provide much-needed information on herd distribution, animal numbers, age groups, gender and size of the breeding herd.
Manitoba putting points system out to pasture
Producers will have to bid for forage and grazing Crown lands as of next fall rather than the current points-based system
Manitobans will have to jump through different hoops to access Crown lands for haying or grazing this year. The province announced an end to the old points-based system in December, to be replaced by a tendering system similar to how cropped Crown lands were already leased. Changes will be in place for the next round
Nip forage diseases at the bud
Spoiled feed can mean wasted profit and, depending on the pathogen, animal health issues
Moisture is the enemy when it comes to forage diseases. For any farmer who has watched dark splotches appear on their low-laying alfalfa leaves or opened a bale only to find it spoiled, that will come as no surprise. Fungi are the culprits for most forage diseases, Linda Jewell, AAFC plant pathologist said during the