Crack open a cold one and hold it under your nose. Now take a deep slurp. The aroma you smell and the bitterness you taste come from hops, a flavouring and stabilizing ingredient used in beer making. Right now, all the hops used by breweries in Manitoba is imported. But in a few years, with
New Crop For Local Brewers May Be Possible
Organic Food No More Nutritious: Study
A new study from Great Britain has revived the old controversy about whether organic food is better for you. The study by a team from the London School for Hygiene and Tropical Health found no major difference in the nutrient content of organically grown food compared to conventionally grown food. Any differences that do exist
Frost Threatens Late-Developing Prairie Grain Crop
The threat of an early and devastat ing frost hangs over the western Canadian grain industry as anxious farmers hope for warm weather in August to ripen seriously delayed crops. Nearly all of the Prairie grain region has experienced much below-normal temperatures so far this growing season, putting crops two to three weeks behind their
Viterra Enters Canola-Crushing Business
A Manitoba canola-crushing plant with a checkered past has a new owner who promises a bright future for the facility. Viterra Inc. last week held a grand opening for its canola crush operation which it purchased earlier this year from Associated Proteins LP. It’s Viterra’s first venture into the canola-crushing business but likely not the
Cool Summer Dampens Honey Outlook
The cool weather so far this summer could deliver a double hit to Manitoba‘s honey producers. Besides depressing honey yields, it could also weaken bee populations going into the winter. That would be the last thing Manitoba beekeepers need after experiencing record honeybee losses in 2008-09. “There is a lot of concern unless we get
Producer confidentiality becomes a concern
Manitoba farmers worry the confidentiality of their environmental farm plans may be at risk, now that the provincial government has taken over administering the program. The Farm Stewardship Association of Manitoba (FSAM) will no longer administer environmental farm plans (EFPs), following transfer of the program to the province under the Growing Forward agreement. FSAM will
Early Warning For Fusarium In Oats Lacking
The symptoms of fusarium head blight in cereal crops are classic. Portions of the heads appear bleached, blighted and straw coloured. But while it’s easy to detect fusarium in wheat and barley, it’s not so easy in oats. Commercial oats tend not to show symptoms of the disease until the crop is practically in the
Manitoba Shearer Wins North American Prize
“This is not something everybody thinks is a great way of making a living.” – MARI A STIGLMAYR The winner and still North American champion hails from the Interlake. That’s pretty good. In fact, it’s not baaad at all. Maria Stiglmayr of Fraserwood successfully defended her title in the intermediate category of the North American
China Erects Pork Wall At Alberta Border
Don’t get Grant Lazaruk going about H1N1. And don’t ever let him hear you call it swine flu. The disease and its unfortunate name have been nothing but a headache for Lazaruk’s company Hytek Ltd. and its hog processing plant, Springhill Farms in Neepawa. That’s because Hytek was recently forced to ship pork to China
U. S. Issues Warning Over Hog Assistance Proposal
The threat of U. S. trade action has come back to haunt Ottawa as it mulls a recovery program for Canada’s financially devastated hog farmers. American pork producers have given notice they may seek trade retaliation if they perceive a bailout package to be an unfair subsidy. That could plunge Canada’s hog industry into something
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
