This photo taken at the Saskatoon CanoLab shows resistant kochia in the front tray and susceptible in the rear.

WGRF funding hunt for glyphosate-resistant kochia in southern Manitoba

A search for glyphosate-resistant kochia in Manitoba will be done this fall thanks to $17,000 in funding from the Western Grains Research Foundation (WGRF). WGRF executive director Garth Patterson confirmed the funding in an interview May 6. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Hugh Beckie, a world leader in herbicide-resistant weed surveys, will work with officials from

Manitoba processing potato growers have agreed to be paid the same price as last year for their spuds, plus produce fewer acres, says Gary Sloik, manager of the Keystone Potato Producers Association.  photo: allan dawson

Manitoba processing potato growers settle contracts

Manitoba processing potato growers will be paid the same prices for their 2013 crop as they were for 2012 but they have agreed to cut acres by about 10 per cent, Gary Sloik, manager of the Keystone Potato Producers Association, said in an interview May 10. “The new contract doesn’t cover our cost increases and


The axe is falling again at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. Union officials predict 400 job losses following Workforce Adjustment notices issued to almost 700 staff May 9. Beef research at the Brandon Research Centre is one of the casualties.  

Hundreds of jobs cut at Agriculture Canada

Farmers question the 
federal government’s 
commitment to publicly funded agricultural research

by Allan Dawson Almost 700 Agriculture and Agri-Food (AAFC) employees across Canada, including 55 in Manitoba, have been notified their jobs are on the line. Their unions say the notifications are part of a plan to eliminate an estimated 400 jobs as the federal government tries to cut spending. The Brandon Research Station’s beef research

Wind picking up soil near Miami on May 14. Allan Dawson photo

Wind picks up speed, soils

Wind warning in effect in southern Manitoba

Winds running up to 90 km/h are picking up soil Tuesday afternoon (May 14) in southern Manitoba. Environment Canada at 3:17 p.m. on Tuesday issued a wind warning for the Morden, Winkler, Altona, Emerson and Morris areas for northwest winds gusting from 70 up to 90 km/h, in the wake of a cold front that


Kostyshyn told the Manitoba Farm Writers and Broadcasters Association May 1 he supports stable funding for general farm organizations but said later in an interview it was premature to commit to introducing legislation this spring.  Photo: allan dawson

KAP ups ante on push for stable funding

The president of Keystone Agricultural Producers says it will seek the Manitoba ombudsman’s assistance to enforce current checkoff laws if the provincial government balks at introducing better legislation for funding farm organizations this spring. “We have to do, what we have to do,” KAP president Doug Chorney said May 3. “We’ll have no choice if

A million acres of glyphosate-resistant weeds in Canada?

A million acres of glyphosate-resistant weeds in Canada?

More than one million acres of Canadian farmland have glyphosate-resistant weeds growing on them, including 43,000 in Manitoba, according to an online survey of 2,028 farmers conducted by Stratus Agri-Marketing Inc. based in Guelph, Ont. The shockingly high Canadian numbers met with skepticism from some experts who suggest farmers might be mistaking hard-to-kill weeds with


KAP counting on new checkoff legislation this spring

Keystone Agricultural Producers’ (KAP) membership and revenues could more than double if the Manitoba government comes through with legislation this spring to revamp the general farm organization’s checkoff system, the organization’s president says. “(Agriculture) Minister (Ron) Kostyshyn has committed to me they will move forward with something in the spring session,” Doug Chorney said in

KAP opposes $5,000 cap on farmland education tax rebates

The new $5,000 cap on farmland education tax rebates the Manitoba government announced in last week’s budget should be scrapped, farmers meeting here last week said. A resolution to lobby the government to reverse changes to the program passed at the Keystone Agricultural Producers’ general council meeting April 18. “If you take a look at


Crop insurance changes discussed at KAP meeting

Changes coming to Excess Moisture Insurance (EMI) are aimed at reducing “moral hazard” that could undermine the program’s integrity. “It just seemed from our experience there was a disproportionate amount of land coming into our program in wet years than there was in dry years,” David Van Deynze, the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation’s (MASC) manager

Fall in grain prices inevitable

Speakers at Canada Grains Council say too many farmers have forgotten that high prices eventually fall

Watch out! The five-year run of high grain prices is going to end — possibly sooner than later — and those producers who are in denial could be in for a painful reckoning, attendees at the recent Canada Grains Council annual meeting were warned. “There is a lot of optimism out there and a lot