Young Manitoba farmers have asked KAP to lobby for better rural access to childcare. “If I didn’t have that support from another family member then I’d be home and I couldn’t work,” said Sam Connery-Nichol, who seconded the resolution. “You can’t get a lot done with an eight-month-old wandering around, crawling,” she added. Connery-Nichol farms near Portage la Prairie with her
Young farmers call for better rural childcare
Lack of care can make it hard to get work done — and presents safety hazards for kids and parents
Virtual trade missions a logistical boon but relational challenge
Cereals Canada and the Canola Council of Canada held online trade missions this year and say they were a success
Virtual trade missions have given access to a wider audience but can’t quite replace the connections forged on in-person trips, say two agriculture industry leaders. “There’s no way to replace it, in a sense,” said Brittany Dyck, senior manager of canola utilization with the Canola Council of Canada. “Trade missions, I think, are really about connecting with —
‘Just hoe in and do things’
Elders look back at hard times past, offer encouragement for hard times present
Hard times come and go, but as we approach three months of gruelling lockdowns and closures, these dark days can seem endless. The Co-operator asked three seniors to look back at challenging times in their past and offer advice and encouragement to younger folk on how to weather these days. Their advice was practical: accept your lot, do your
Cam Dahl appointed Manitoba Pork general manager
Dahl comes from the chief strategy officer role with Cereals Canada and has extensive organizational experience in agriculture
Longtime agriculture leader Cam Dahl will take the role of general manager at Manitoba Pork starting February 22. “We’re very much looking forward to his working at Manitoba Pork,” said George Matheson, Manitoba Pork Council chair. “(Outgoing manager Andrew Dickson) had a great history with us, but time moves on and we’re looking forward to
Meat industry’s 2020 performance ‘phenomenal’: analyst
Kevin Grier lauded the tremendous effort from meat plant workers, management to safely bring packers back online after pandemic shutdowns
Meat plant closures in the early days of the pandemic were hard to wrap his brain around, said analyst Kevin Grier. He recalled the moment he heard Cargill’s beef-processing plant in High River, Alberta had gone down to one shift. “I literally could not believe it because of the ramifications,” Grier said. “Shortly after it
‘Salad Month’ was a big deal in 1965
Archival video shows salad parade, ‘Salad Bowl’ football game, and virtues of Manitoba vegetable production
A “Salad Bowl” football game, a horse race, a “Salad Queen” and a parade of vegetable-covered floats — just a few of the big events Manitoba held to promote its vegetable industry in 1965. “In this province, the food business is big business,” says the 1965 video “The Salad Bowl.” The promotional film, produced by
Ag in the Classroom to pilot virtual Ag Days Adventure
Virtual game, videos and other e-learning activities supplement cancelled in-person event
Agriculture in the Classroom’s new virtual learning program will allow more students to learn about food production around the world and their place in it, the organization says. The organization will pilot the virtual Manitoba Ag Days Adventure, which will replace this year’s cancelled, in-person event. “It’s not only going to be schools that are
Hacault reflects on decades in ag leadership
Marcel Hacault saw the hog industry through years of upheaval before moving on to agriculture safety
His dad told him not to farm. Marcel Hacault decided to do it anyway — in any way he could. “I think that was pretty common,” Hacault told the Co-operator. Farming wasn’t a popular occupation when he was a young man. Hacault grew up on a mixed farm near Mariapolis, in south-central Manitoba. They ran
Fava innovation a labour of love
Faces of Ag: The Glenboro startup has since partnered with Arlene Dickinson and Roquette
It started with a desire to feed her sick mom. Around 2015, as Hailey Jeffries settled into farm life with husband Cale, her mother was diagnosed with cancer. As she suffered through rounds of chemotherapy, Hailey’s mom didn’t have much of an appetite. She asked for bagels, muffins and other baked goods. While Hailey wanted
Survey seeks farmers who intercrop organic peas
The University of Manitoba study is analyzing the economics of pea-cereal intercrops
A University of Manitoba study is looking for farmers’ input to analyze the economics of organic pea intercropping. “The overall goal of the questionnaire is to add on-farm information to an economic analysis of different pea-intercrop seed mixtures,” said Will Bailey-Elkin, a master’s student in the department of plant science. Bailey-Elkin is looking for farmers in Manitoba,
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