After connecting with Manitobans through a “virtual” meeting on the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) June 29, there’s no question most Manitobans support the board’s statutory single desk, Stan Struthers says. More than 70 per cent of respondents who voted over the phone favour that, Manitoba’s minister of agriculture, food and rural initiatives said in an
Most Manitobans Support Keeping CWB Single Desk: Struthers
Flax Is The 97-Pound Weakling Of Crops
Flax is a wimp. That’s why weed and disease control and fertility are key to getting a good yield, says Anastasia Kubinec, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives’ (MAFRI) oilseeds specialist. “Flax hasn’t had the genetic improvement like canola,” she told those attending the 16th annual Crop Diagnostic School organized by MAFRI and University of
Rely On Management, Not The Book
Growing canola has gotten easier since herbicide-tolerant varieties were commercialized 20 years ago, but pulling off high yields still requires good management. “You just can’t seed the crop and walk away from it,” Anastasia Kubinec, Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives’ (MAFRI) oilseeds specialist told those at the 16th annual Crop Diagnostic School organized by
Cwb Will Hold Farmer Vote
Outraged open-market proponents were calling on farmers to boycott a plebiscite on grain marketing announced by the Canadian Wheat Board last week. Agriculture Minister Gerry Ritz says he will place little to no value on the results. The current CWB Act requires farmers approve such a change through a vote first; the government plans to
Lake Manitoba Outlet Gets Fast-Tracked
The Manitoba government wants an outlet to lower water in lakes Manitoba and St. Martin operating by Jan. 1, 2012 to reduce the threat of spring flooding next year. Premier Greg Selinger announced that and additional flood aid under the Building and Recovery Action Plan July 4. Record flooding will cost the Manitoba government more
Soggy Soils, New Lessons At Crop School
The wet weather that has plagued Manitoba farmers also hit the Crop Diagnostic School. But organizer John Heard says that just makes the school more relevant. “We always say it’s better for us to make the mistakes than farmers,” said Heard, a soil fertility specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives (MAFRI). The 2011
Cwb Vote Issue Heads To Court
Friends of the Canadian Wheat Board (FCWB) is asking the Federal Court to block the federal government from abolishing the Canadian Wheat Board’s (CWB) statutory single marketing authority for wheat and barley. The FCWB, a coalition of farmers and other Canadians in support of a democratic, farmer-controlled CWB, was to apply for a judicial review
AgriRecovery Program For Unseeded Acres In The Works
Manitoba Minister of Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives says his tour of flooded areas of southwestern Manitoba last week left him more determined than ever to get an assistance program in place by early July. “It’s a mess,” Struthers said in an interview after visiting Souris, Melita, Oak Lake, Deloraine, Whitewater Lake and Brandon June
Oberg Criticized For Defeatist Attitude
The heated debate over the future of the Canadian Wheat Board rose a few more degrees last week with the Grain Growers of Canada (GGC) and the Western Grain Elevators Association (WGEA) accusing the CWB’s directors of not trying hard enough. GGC executive director Richard Phillips lambasted CWB chair Allan Oberg for taking a defeatist
More Than 5,100 Signed Petition For CWB Vote
As of June 24 more than 5,100 people had signed the Manitoba government’s online petition calling on the federal government to let farmers vote on whether or not to create an open market for wheat and barley Aug. 1, 2012. That figure doesn’t include those who have signed petitions in Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural