Four African scientists found parallels between their home lakes and the problems facing Manitoba’s lakes during a recent visit to the province. “We have this common problem of pollution. It doesn’t spare anyone,” said Gladys Chigamba, a research scientist at Lilongwe University in Malawi. Chigamba and three other women from Malawi, Kenya and Tanzania, visited
African freshwater scientists visit Manitoba lakes
Pollution, algae blooms a big concern in African and Manitoban lakes
Farmers frozen out of climate funds
They say RM-watersheds wrangling has left them out in the cold
A group of farmers are locked out of a federal funding pool for emissions reduction because their municipalities don’t have agreements with their local watershed districts. Two farmers from the RM of Roland, one from the RM of Portage la Prairie and one from the RM of Morris told the Co-operator they didn’t qualify for funding under the Prairie
‘Innovation Farms’ to allow agricultural technology testing on commercial operation
Ability to vet tech for potential ROI may benefit his farm and his customers says Rutherford Farms owner
Space for ag technology start-ups to test tech on a working commercial farm has officially launched, announced EMILI (Enterprise Machine Intelligence and Learning Initiative). “We intend to use this space to develop real world digital ag solutions that will give Canadian producers the edge in a quickly changing industry,” said EMILI board chair and Enns
Tree ring timeline a window into the past – and future
Recent droughts have been devastating but the trees say we ain’t seen nothin’ yet
It’s 888 CE. In Europe, the Vikings are rampaging through England and France and the Carolingian dynasty is losing its grip on the Holy Roman Empire. In China, the Tang Dynasty is in power. In what’s now Saskatchewan, Indigenous peoples are living through a dry spell that would last another three or four decades. Scientists
Manitoba sisters follow parents’ pioneering ways to innovative plant ‘milk’
Since the 1980s and ‘90s, the Pizzeys have believed flax is much more than an industrial oilseed
Three sisters from Russell are forging a new path with a plant-based ‘milk’ they say is packed with benefits. “It’s not only a dairy-free option. Flax seed is full of other nutritious properties,” said Mary Ekman, CEO of Manitoba Milling Company. The company is the retail arm of flax processor Pizzey Ingredients. The three Pizzey
Province funds nutrient budgeting app, biocarbon project
The province pledged $1.5 million through its Conservation and Climate fund
An app that calculates available soil nutrients and a research project that turns human waste into biocarbon are among 14 projects funded through the Conservation and Climate Fund, the province announced Sept. 22. “These environmentally responsible initiatives will help protect the environment while advancing the Manitoba government’s priority to transition the province to a sustainable, low-carbon
Organic exports dipped in 2021
Canadians’ demand for organic products continued to increase last year
Canada’s organic food exports saw a sharp drop in 2021 compared to 2020’s banner year. Export totals dropped to $417.3 million from nearly $608 million in 2020, according to new figures from the Canadian Organic Trade Alliance (COTA) presented in a Sept. 12 webinar. However, that drop doesn’t look as stark when compared to 2019,
BACK TO THE LAND: ‘We used to plant hay here.’
The past, present, and hopeful future of Indigenous agriculture in Manitoba
For decades, farming has declined in Derrick Gould’s community of Pinaymootang (Fairford) First Nation. In the late 1950s and early ‘60s, Gould estimates 35 to 40 families were raising cattle in pastures and hay lands along the Fairford River. Gould family history relates the beginning of the end for many of those farms: In 1961,
Fertilizer emissions view split on party lines: survey
Farmers generally pessimistic, distrustful of government’s emissions target
Farmers who vote Liberal or NDP are far more likely to think the federal fertilizer emissions reduction target is feasible than farmers who vote Conservative, a recent survey indicates. That meant the majority of survey respondents were pessimistic about the government’s goals, as 77 per cent said they’d vote Conservative. In an Aug. 29 survey,
Province’s protein strategy means playing the long game
Deep industry-academic-producer group connections are priceless, but need sustained effort to bear fruit
This spring, the province proclaimed itself halfway to achieving some key Protein Advantage Strategy goals — namely in investments and job creation — yet the Manitoba Protein Consortium and its sub-groups appear to still be in the planning stages. How does one square the two? While flashy figures of jobs created and investments made are
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