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Producers need to pay close attention to four essentials: understanding their situation, understanding their finances, knowing their cost of production and how their commodity is priced.
News

Risky business? For farmers it’s just another day at the office

Peril can come in all forms, from the predictable to ‘black swan’ events

By
Farmers, by the nature of their business, must embrace risk. But at the same time, they need to manage it. That was a central theme at the 2020 Keystone Agricultural Producers AGM during a recent Tuesday morning panel discussion on risk management, featuring two farm management experts. Eric Olson, a farm management consultant with MNP’s
Ray Archuleta (left) with his volunteers, (left to right): Mike Bennet, Tyson Dueck, Codie Dueck and Markus Dueck.
News

Spreading the word

Pioneers of regenerative agriculture speak in Rosa

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In late January, U.S. conservation ag guru Ray Archuleta asked for four volunteers to come to the front of the room and help him with an experiment. Called the ‘slake test’ it was designed to demonstrate soil stability to the 100 attendees at a soil health workshop at the Shevchenko Ukrainian Centre in Rosa. Archuleta,
Bill Campbell was acclaimed to another term at the helm of KAP at the organization’s recent annual general meeting.
News

Campbell sees challenges ahead for Manitoba farmers

KAP’s president says safety nets, carbon tax and Crown lands among big issues on the radar


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Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) president, Bill Campbell, kicked off the 2020 annual general meeting last week by acknowledging the disastrous weather challenges, and calling governments to action. “We began in the spring with dry conditions and feed shortages,” Campbell said. “We ended the year with excess moisture and crops still out in the field.” That’s just how weather goes, but
The one-metre side wall fans are angled at 22 degrees and spaced every three metres providing one fan for every four beds.
Livestock

New hybrid barn solves ventilation challenge

A new take on free-stall barn design meets its functionality goals

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One of the most difficult decisions dairy farmers face when building a new free-stall barn is determining the best ventilation system for the facility. A building can be ventilated naturally by putting a hole in the roof and allowing air to come in through the side, while the cow heats the air up. A barn
Carol Boonstoppel says she’s already seen European cheese displacing Canadian products as loss leaders at supermarkets.
Dairy cattle, Farmit Manitoba

Canadians want their own dairy farmers

Shoppers are seeking out the Blue Cow logo in a show of support

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Manitoba’s dairy farmers are beginning to find their footing in a new world that, for the first time in decades, includes significant dairy product imports. That was the message a three-producer panel shared with the Manitoba Co-operator, at the recent Dairy Farmers of Manitoba (DFM) annual convention. A year ago those same producers spoke to
News

Getting HR right a challenge

A new focus on human rights requires care and respect by farm employers

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One of the biggest challenges facing farmers is finding the right people at the right time to work on their farms. It’s a situation made even more challenging by a changing hiring landscape that puts limitations on the kind of questions an employer can ask of a prospective employee, according to one expert in the
There’s a trend to higher yields for earlier-seeded crops — but don’t ignore the risks.
Crops

Early seeding comes with risks

They can be managed but the issues shouldn’t be ignored

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As the weather warms, thoughts turn to early seeding — but how to balance the risks and rewards of the practice? According to crop insurance data, early-seeded crops tend to show increased yields compared to later-seeded crops. But there are risks involved. For example, nutrient availability and uptake, particularly phosphorus, is severely hampered in cold,
The heavy coulters seen here use their uneven profile to transmit forces sideways. Some say it breaks up soil compaction 
but local soil specialists aren’t so sure.
Crops, Equipment

The vertical-tillage question defies pat answers

The controversial practice can serve a purpose, but won’t solve soil compaction

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Vertical tillage is a tricky term to grapple with. It’s less a method of tillage than it is a grouping of implements sold under that banner. It is marketed as a means to deal with soil compaction but in reality the implements marketed under that umbrella do little to address that problem. Yet, in certain
Brian Tischler’s autonomous tractor.
Crops, Equipment

The future of autonomous agriculture is here. Should we embrace it?

The answer to that question boils down to liability, liability and more liability

By
We have heard a lot in recent years about self-driving vehicles. Technology has arrived that makes the concept affordable and relatively simple. Alberta farmer, Brian Tischler spoke to an audience at the CropConnect conference in Winnipeg last month to provide insights into what that new tech means for farmers. Tischler is something of a hobbyist
Manitoba growers haven’t yet voted with their acres when it comes to accepting corn as a major crop in the province, 
despite some modest growth.
Cereals, Crops

Corn’s future should be bright in Manitoba

The results of five years of corn agronomy research show it to be among the most profitable crops but farmers aren’t yet adopting it widely

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Corn has seen some moderate acreage gains recently as a crop for farmers in Manitoba, and for good reason. The yield per acre seeded has grown exponentially over the past 20 years. But that growth in acres hasn’t been exponential as well. It’s been more in the realm of the slow and steady. For example,

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AGCanadaTV: In Case You Missed It – Your National Ag News Recap for the week ending July 10, 2020.

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