The Saskatchewan government is asking citizens for their views on agricultural drainage through an online forum running Sept. 1 to March 31, 2014. “We’re looking for input and opinions because drainage has been an issue for a while and the 25-year plan (for water management) identified it as an area of concern to be addressed,”
Saskatchewan begins consultations of agricultural drainage
A tale of two beans
This spring prices were better for soybeans than edible beans, but the tables are turning, farmers were told during the Manitoba Pulse Growers Association annual plot tour Aug. 7. Soybean prices are softening because a big crop is expected in the United States this fall, while tighter edible bean supplies in North America and Argentina
Tour presents pulse research agronomy
The long stretch of cooler-than-normal temperatures came up often as farmers visited during the Manitoba Pulse Growers Association (MPGA) tour Aug. 8. Most soybean and edible bean crops look good around the province, but growers want hotter temperatures to ensure the heat-loving crops mature before the first killing frost this fall. MAFRI’s weekly weather data
Researcher uses microwave oven to treat edible bean seed
The heat that's generated might control certain pathogens
Preventing some seed-borne diseases in edible beans might someday be as simple as microwaving a pizza pop. Allison Friesen, a master’s student at the University of Guelph, is studying how well microwaving edible bean seed prevents halo blight, anthracnose and common blight. One of her test plots was a stop on the Manitoba Pulse Grower
The Atlantic Dreamer Churchill’s first grain ship of 2013
The Hudson Bay Route Association predicts more than 500,000 tonnes of grain will be exported this season
The Hudson Bay Route Association predicts more than 500,000 tonnes of grain will be exported this season
The Port of Churchill’s 2013 grain-exporting season began Aug. 4 when the Atlantic Dreamer arrived to load 30,000 tonnes of wheat destined for Mexico. There was enough grain on hand to load three more vessels, Hudson Bay Route Association (HBRA) president Sinclair Harrison said in an interview. Last year Manitoba’s only seawater port exported 432,434
KAP welcomes Manitoba’s delay in banning coal burning for heat
Doug Chorney says more time is needed to develop biomass as an alternative for those now burning coal
Doug Chorney says more time is needed to develop biomass as an alternative fuel for those now burning coal
The Manitoba government is delaying its ban on burning coal for heat. The ban was set to go into effect on Jan. 1 (save for Manitoba Hydro and lime maker Graymont located near Moosehorn), but has been pushed back three years for those with an approved conversion plan filed by June 20, 2014. Keystone Agricultural
KAP will work on checkoff, membership promotion
The general farm organization doesn’t know if or when it might get ‘stable funding’ legislation
Keystone Agricultural Producers aims to take a more persuasive approach while still pushing the province to introduce what it calls “stable funding” legislation. “We’ve come to the realization that we don’t control the legislative agenda and we have to deal with the circumstances in front of us,” KAP president Doug Chorney said following the organization’s
New Growing Forward 2 aimed at cleaning up farm run-off
A $750,000 fund will help Manitoba conservation districts work with farmers towards better water quality
A new $750,000 fund for Manitoba’s conservation districts to spend helping farmers improve water quality is welcomed, but it’s a drop in the bucket when it comes to saving Lake Winnipeg, farmers and conservation district leaders say. “I’d say this program is better than nothing, but barely,” Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) president Doug Chorney saidWet spring sees more acres unseeded but well below the 2011 record
The number of acres too wet to seed doubled this year, according to Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation data. The agency estimates 237,799 acres weren’t planted in 2013 because of excessive moisture, versus 117,623 acres a year ago. “Provincially that’s not a very significant number, but we saw most of it in the southwest,” said David
Manitoba farmers plant record acres of soybeans, corn
Manitoba corn and soybean growers have a record number of reasons for hoping for more warm weather and no early frost. Farmers collectively upped their corn acreage by a quarter this year to 342,593 acres and seeded a whopping 1.08 million acres of soybeans (a 28 per cent increase), according to estimates from Manitoba Agricultural