EMILI’s Innovation Farms has become the second Manitoba “smart farm” to join a country-spanning data-sharing and learning network. The Enterprise Machine Intelligence and Learning Initiative, launched in 2016 to accelerate digital technology in agriculture within the province, announced May 31 that it had joined the Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network. “We wanted Manitoba to be represented
EMILI joins Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network
Network shares and compares data across the country
Automated washer a possible biosecurity, labour boon for hog producers
The Manitoba Pork Council has drawn a direct line between understaffing and outbreaks of PED
A hog farm in southeastern Manitoba is taking a crack at automating its barn washing process with help from a Danish robot. “It definitely creates labour efficiencies,” said Dickson Gould, president of the Progressive Group. It is testing a Washpower robotic pressure washer in a batch farrowing barn. Why it matters: Labour gaps and disease biosecurity have both
Rural residents endorse idea of public transit
Residents in southeastern Manitoba said they’d consider transit if it was affordable
Most residents of southeastern Manitoba have their own vehicles but say they’d consider public transit or alternative transportation if it was affordable, would help them avoid parking issues or winter travel and be a support for seniors unable to drive. Those are the takeaways after the Southeast Regional Transportation Initiative surveyed residents in more than a
Southwest storm shreds crops, trees
“It’s just a mess”: high winds, hail flatten fields, smash windows and siding
Farmers near Oak River and Rivers are surveying the damage after a storm pummeled fields and yards with hail, wind and torrential rain. “It’s like the trees got shredded,” said Reeve Bob Christie of the RM of Oakview. The storm cut a swath between Rivers and Oak River, just northwest of Brandon early Wednesday evening.
‘Trallala’ takes hemp expert on magical journey
Anndrea Hermann’s fascination with hemp led her from Missouri to Manitoba, where she jumped into a fledgling industry
[UPDATE: July 12, 2023] A little hempseed named Trallala is sitting on her plant when an elderly cat named Max passes beneath and tells her about a mysterious field of singing flowers. She pleads with the black and white feline to take her there. Adventure follows as Trallala travels across “Hempworld” farm, meeting friends and learning everything
With crop in the ground, keep an eagle eye on cost of production: management specialist
With crop in the ground, keep an eagle eye on cost of production: management specialist
Canadian farmers may have received more for what they sold last year, but they paid a pretty penny to get it to market. It showed in their profit margins. Overall farm income fell by nearly 10 per cent in 2022, according to a recent report from Statistics Canada. Canadian farmers’ realized net income — the difference between cash
Farmers urge caution on carbon credits
Farmers say they were told carbon credits would cover subscription costs with a little extra but the reality fell far short
[UPDATED: June 13, 2023] Several farmers from Manitoba and Saskatchewan say they are out thousands of dollars after subscribing to a carbon credit program offered by Farmers Edge. “We have not seen a dime,” said Barclay Uruski, who farms near Arborg, Man. Why it matters: Carbon credits have been touted as a way for farmers
California animal housing law spells trouble for local trade
Prop 12 stipulates out-of-state farms must meet specific housing standards to sell in California -- and Canadian regulations may not meet them
Pork groups say a recently upheld U.S. law, which could reduce the flow of Manitoba-born weanlings to the United States, will contribute to breakdowns in an integrated Canada-U.S. market. If individual states can introduce non-tariff trade barriers, “it will change the fundamental dynamic of how we can handle international trade negotiations,” said Stephen Heckbert, executive
European organics ponder gene-editing coexistence
Unlike their Canadian counterparts, organic farmers across the pond haven’t contended with GMO crops at scale
United Kingdom and European Union organic groups are pushing for coexistence strategies as their governments debate how to regulate gene-edited crops. The problem is that the very idea of gene-edited crops is anathema to their sector. “The credibility of organically certified produce is built on the confidence of the shopper that they are choosing to
Nature-based solutions can shore up crumbling water infrastructure: IISD
‘Natural infrastructure’ is cheaper and comes with many additional benefits, a new report says
Natural infrastructure can help bridge an ever-growing investment deficit in crumbling water infrastructure, according to a new report from the International Institute for Sustainable Development. “It’s less expensive, easier to maintain and comes with many other benefits to communities,” said Dimple Roy, director of water management, in a May 10 news release. WHY IT MATTERS:
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