One bad potato can spoil the batch, which is why processor J.R. Simplot is reminding producers to beware of pink rot as they begin harvest. “If you know there’s rot in there, tell your harvest operator, ‘when you come to that low spot, pick up the harvester, drive over, and don’t harvest those certain areas,’”
Potato processor warns against pink rot as harvest gets underway
There are a number of strategies to avoid pathogen spread and potato spoilage in storage
NFU report adjusts sequestration, fuel emissions numbers
Uncertainty about absolute numbers isn’t the same as uncertainty about trends: author
Canadian agriculture is sequestering more carbon than originally thought, but it’s also burning more diesel fuel, according to a new report from the National Farmers Union. In August, the NFU released the third edition of its Agriculture Greenhouse Gas Emissions in Canada report. It reflected updated information from the latest national inventory that the federal government released this year. Why it matters:
Pummelled by hail: The onslaught of erratic weather is real
Extreme weather events are increasingly commonly being blamed on climate change, but how much of that is real, and how much is hot air?
If farmers think the weather was erratic this year, data says they’re right. Earlier this summer, the Co-operator reported that farmers in the Rivers area were pummeled with near-apocalyptic hail. Weeks later, they’d been hit again. At the time, hail claims in Manitoba had already exceeded the total number of claims last year. Why it
Tile recycling opens path to water Goldilocks zone
Tile drainage, capture and recycling system shows promise in face of increasing wet and dry extremes
A system to recycle tile drainage discharge is helping Kelsey Sunaert keep his field moisture levels just right. The system, installed on Sunaert’s Deloraine-area farm, uses tile to reclaim flooded fields, but that water doesn’t disappear downstream. Instead, it is retained and used for irrigation later in the season. “Not only do we get to farm those acres, but we
Sweet and salty: Using sweet clover to fight salinity
Producers use salt-tolerant forage to claw back productivity on previously flooded land
East of Deloraine, in the far southwestern corner of Manitoba, waves of yellow sweet clover are reclaiming farmland that, three years ago, was under the waves of Whitewater Lake. A road runs near the field planted with the legume, a raised snake of land that, in 2019, would have been surrounded by water. In August,
For its size, Manitoba’s pork sector is an overachiever. Here’s how it happened
How NAFTA, the end of the Crow Rate and the end of single-desk marketing shaped the sector, and what got lost along the way
Ian Smith’s hog farm hasn’t changed much since his family began raising pigs in the late 1960s. It has no pit system. Smith scrapes the pens and spreads straw twice a day. His 10 to 15 sows spend time outside. On his 160 acres near Argyle in Manitoba’s Interlake, he raises his own barley and
Underused housing tax undue burden on farmers, ag groups say
Many farms can apply for exemption, but the process can be expensive, a letter to federal ministers says
Agriculture leaders say a federal tax on ‘underused’ housing is causing an unintended and undue burden on farmers. “We urge the government to exempt farmers from the requirement to file a [underused housing tax] return,” said a letter sent to federal ministers. The Canadian Canola Growers, Canadian Federation of Agriculture, Canadian Cattle Association, Ontario Fruit
Saskatchewan company to buy flax straw in Gilbert Plains area
Prairie Clean Energy to pelletize flax straw for animal bedding
A Saskatchewan biomass company says it is buying flax straw in the Gilbert Plains area this fall for use in pellets. Prairie Clean Energy, a Regina-based company, has leased time in a Gilbert Plains plant for its initial commercial run of flax pellets, it said in an announcement posted to the Canadian Biomass website. The
Variable moisture, variable yields as harvest in Manitoba begins
Early reports say spring wheat crops are rated mostly fair to good; some producers report below-average or average yields
Variability was the name of the game as spring wheat harvest began in the third week of August. “This is the most variable I can remember,” said Clayton Harder. He has fields around the north side of Winnipeg and said he has soybeans that are ankle high and others that are waist high. One field
New ACC course to target advanced technical know-how
Two courses, mechatronics and horticulture (new to the college’s Parkland campus), have been slated for launch next year
A course set to open in Brandon’s Assiniboine Community College campus next fall will prepare workers to run, troubleshoot and fix equipment in increasingly automated agri-food processing facilities. “It’s the future. Everything’s going digital,” said Chris Budiwski, chair of the college’s agriculture and environment school. On Aug. 2, ACC announced that, as of September 2024, it will
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
