“We need researchers and practitioners to work together to develop and demonstrate practical BMPs.” – Don Flaten Does off-stream watering of cattle and the use of vegetative buffer strips actually help improve water quality in Manitoba? Preliminary answers to those questions were revealed at the MCDA annual convention in early December, based on studies of
Sneak Peek At BMP Testing In Manitoba
No Rush For C. D. Map Rewrite
“It’s change, and there’s some apprehension there.” – WAYNE HILDEBRAND The goal of realigning all conservation districts to match true watershed boundaries will continue, but municipalities and C. D. s won’t be pressured to conform, according to an official from Manitoba Water Stewardship. Most stakeholders agree that the integrated watershed model, which is internationally accepted
Turning Rice Into A C4 To Feed The Hungry
If you were the richest man in the world, what would you do? Bill Gates, founder of Microsoft, along with his wife Melinda, decided to give most of his money away. His example inspired fellow billionaire Warren Buffet to contribute the majority of his billions, too, to the Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation. Now their
Science The Solution, Says Ex-PM
“We need clarity of purpose if we are to achieve the great goal of feeding everyone, everywhere.” – JAMES BOLGER To feed nine billion people by 2050, world agriculture will have to pull out all the stops. Achieving the goal of both feeding the world and protecting the environment will require abandoning “romantic” notions of
Healthy Soil The Key, Says Bio-Ag Pioneer
“My father’s generation could grow wheat without any problems. The present generation can hardly grow a bushel of wheat without the use of fungicides.” – Gerald Wi Ebe Prior to the Second World War, “chemical” agriculture didn’t exist. In Gerald Wiebe’s opinion, it’s all been downhill ever since for farmers, their soil and consumers. In
A Road Map To Marketing Success
“How can you send a message to that person living in the city that when they buy the product off the shelf, they are getting a piece of that dream, even though they don’t get to live it personally?” – DAG FALCK, NATURE’S PATH FOODS Unlike their conventional brethren, organic farmers can’t just dump truckloads
AMM Backs New Brandon Medical School Proposal
Aresolution calling on the provincial government to establish a rural medical school at Brandon University to churn out doctors prepared to work in rural areas got the nod from Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) delegates last week. Sponsored by the R. M. s of Pipestone, Roblin and Shoal Lake, the resolution was aimed at finding
AMM Calls For Case-By-Case Rules
Delegates at the AMM annual convention want the provincial government to back off on regulations that will phase out and ban new installations of sewage ejectors. The Onsite Wastewater Management Systems regulation, which would cover installations from private dwellings and businesses which generate a waste water flow of less than 10,000 litres per day, drew
Mixed Reception To Transparency Rules
“I know that many of you are thinking, ‘Contributions? People actually spend money on campaigns?’” – DON REID New legislation extending conflict-of-interest, campaign-financing and code-of-conduct rules to municipal level politicians was met with mixed sentiments at the annual AMM convention. The implications of Bill 35, which was recently passed by the Manitoba legislature in early
Tips For Fixing Up Old Forage Stands
“By year three, they were getting three times more bales in the fertilized than the non-fertilized field.” – JANE THORNTON, MAFRI It costs a lot to renovate an old forage stand. That’s why it’s important to get it right the first time, according to provincial pasture and rangeland specialist Jane Thornton. But if it’s springtime
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
