CGC Short A Commissioner – for Sep. 23, 2010

Ever dreamed of becoming a Canadian Grain Commission (CGC) commissioner? The salary ranges from $135,300 to $159,200. And there’s an opening, although the deadline to apply was July 5. Cam Dahl’s three-year term as a CGC commissioner ended Aug. 15 and he decided not to seek a renewal. “It was a very difficult decision,” Dahl

Two More Farmers Running In CWB’s District 9 – for Sep. 16, 2010

Two more farmers have announced they’re running to be the Canadian Wheat Board (CWB) director in district 9. Garry Draper and John Sandborn farm at Lenore and Benito, respectively. Last month Dauphin-area farmer Ernie Sirski announced he was running for the job being vacated by Shoal Lake farmer Bill Nicholson, who can’t run again because


Goss’s Wilt Widespread In Manitoba Corn – for Sep. 16, 2010

Goss’s wilt, a bacterial corn disease new to Manitoba that can’t be controlled with a fungicide, is widespread throughout the province’s corn belt this year. Farmers will have to grow tolerant varieties, plant corn less often and step up tillage to keep the potentially devastating disease at bay, Wilt Billing, Pioneer Hi-Bred’s Manitoba agronomist, said

Know What You Grow – for Sep. 16, 2010

Farmers making their first deliveries to an elevator this fall will have to sign two declaration forms instead of the customary one. Since 2006, producers have had to declare that the wheat they were delivering is eligible for the class to which it’s going. Now farmers are being asked to declare the non-wheat board crops


Flax Faces Rigorous Testing – for Sep. 16, 2010

More rigorous testing for the presence of CDC Triffid will be required before farmers can deliver flax this crop year. Producers must send a two-kilogram representative sample to an approved laboratory (see box). The lab will then test four 60-gram samples. “All four lots must be Triffid-free for the result to be considered a negative

Manitoba Tomatoes Ravaged By Disease This Year – for Sep. 9, 2010

Nothing beats the taste of a homegrown, vine-ripened tomato, but there are a lot fewer this year due to fungal diseases that have defoliated plants and rotted the fruit. There’s no controlling it now, but Manitoba gardeners can pick uninfected fruit and let it ripen off the vine. They can also cut out the infected



Soybeans A Bright Spot – for Sep. 9, 2010

Manitoba soybean growers are poised to harvest a great crop, God willing and the creek don’t rise. Despite the heavy rains this spring that destroyed or damaged cereals and canola across the province, there will be average to above-average soybean yields barring an early frost or other calamities, Brent Reid, a farm production manager with


Harvest And Spring Both Too Wet – for Sep. 9, 2010

Harvest and seeding this year have something in common: too much rain. South-central Manitoba had heavy rains Aug. 30. While Morris received almost 100 mm, there were unofficial reports of close to five inches at Lowe Farm and south of Miami. Many areas received at least 25 mm, with others such as Dugald reporting almost

Cmemap Cheques Being Mailed – for Sep. 9, 2010

Cheques to compensate Manitoba farmers for crops lost or unseeded this spring due to excess moisture are on the way. About 900 cheques under the Canada-Manitoba Excess Moisture Assistance Program (CMEMAP) had been mailed as of Aug. 31, said David Van Deynze, manager of claim services with the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corp. (MASC), which is