Parents in Rosenort are getting a local day care after years of fundraising and advocacy. “There is a huge need,” said Jenn Rzesnoski. When her oldest son went into daycare, Rzesnoski had to drive him to St. Jean Baptiste, 20 minutes away from her home, and then drive another 20 minutes to Rosenort. Other community
“Daycare in a box” brings desperately needed rural childcare
Federal-provincial agreement funds 17 daycares in rural and First Nations communities
Available water a limiting factor for vegetable growers, says Peak of the Market
The province’s new water strategy puts heavy emphasis on conserving water and adapting to climate extremes
A new provincial strategy treats water like a precious, scarce commodity – and it is, say Manitoba’s vegetable growers. “We cannot grow any more acres of (vegetables) in southern Manitoba because we do not have access to enough water,” said Pamela Kolochuk, CEO of Peak of the Market. The province rolled out its new water
Public increasingly positive on hog sector, says Manitoba Pork
Animal care, environmental issues continue as sticky points
Public opinion is slowly shifting in their favour despite opposition, Manitoba Pork told its members at a regional meeting Nov. 1. “It’s just been moving up a little bit all the time,” said Manitoba Pork public relations director Susan Riese in an interview with the Co-operator. She said the Manitoba Pork Council has surveyed public
Website signals provincial shift in food business support approach
The streamlined site is a good step, but small business owners want one-on-one coaching, interviews show
A new website for developing food businesses in the province is a way for Manitoba Agriculture to do more with its business support resources. “We are going to be looking at our service delivery being more of a one-to-many approach,” said Robin Young, director of Manitoba Agriculture’s value-added branch. The province launched the “Business Pathways:
Manitoba Pork floats PED plan to producers
Working group says an elimination approach the only viable option
Pork producers recently got a first look at Manitoba Pork’s plan to virtually eliminate PED from the provincial hog industry. The draft plan’s goal is to eliminate 96 per cent of porcine epidemic diarrhea (PED) infections by 2027, according to the presentation at the Nov. 1 producer meeting. Details are pending. The draft showed objectives
Rural doctors stagger under administrative burden, burnout: report
Manitoba has lowest number of family doctors per capita, and more are about to leave says Doctors Manitoba
A young man visits a doctor’s office in his rural town. A few weeks earlier, he had squashed his finger in a work accident. He didn’t need medical attention but he couldn’t do his normal job. Now he’s ready to go back to work, but before he can punch the clock again, he needs a
Frozen out: BSE-era relief programs a case study in how Indigenous farmers fall through the cracks
Officials told First Nations farmers they didn’t qualify for BSE relief cash; 20 years later, governments say that wasn’t true
It’s long ago enough that the fine details are fuzzy. The story begins in the early days of the BSE or “mad cow” crisis. Cattle prices are hemorrhaging, with U.S. border closure the market equivalent of a jugular slash. Interlake cattle ranchers meet at the Ashern auction mart and board a charter bus bound for
CFIA, CropLife defend against collusion allegations
Groups say proposed CFIA regulations would allow gene-edited seed to enter market without oversight
The Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) says allegations that a lobby group had inappropriate input into guidelines governing seed, including gene-edited seeds, are inaccurate and misleading. “The CFIA always authors its own independent guidance and policies,” a CFIA spokesperson said in a statement sent to the Co-operator. “External parties, including industry associations, are never the
The way we talk about digital agriculture obscures interests behind it, says author
Facebook users pay for use with data. Farmers pay with data and for using it
Treating farm data like it’s a natural resource or comes ‘from on high’ makes it harder to see the forces that shape and profit from it, contends a new book. “In agriculture, just like in other contexts… there are really powerful interests behind the collection of data and the use and misuse of data,” said author Kelly Bronson
Farmers open to new 4R practices; concerned about risks
About half of western Canadian wheat and canola acres are already officially managed with 4R
Manitoba farmers say they are open to trying new 4R techniques and building upon current practices but have an eye on cost and risks. It’s important to be challenged by the question, “what more can we do to reduce our emissions… while running a farm properly?” said Dean Harder, who farms near Morris. During this
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
