For Mark and Yanara Peters, 2019 had been a year full of challenges. Yet despite a less than average potato crop on Spruce Drive Farms, a dozen miles northwest of Portage la Prairie, the couple chose to keep a new tradition alive on their farm. Sine 2016 they’ve donated more than 120,000 pounds of potatoes
Manitoba potato growers keep on giving
Despite a challenging year this farm family keeps an important tradition alive
PHOTOS: Celebrate Canada’s Agriculture Day with farm photos
A way to share the joys and challenges of farm life with other Canadians
February 11 is Canada’s Agriculture Day, intended to showcase all the amazing things happening in our industry. It’s a time to create a closer connection between consumers, our food and the people who produce it. Sharing what you love about Canadian agriculture can be as simple as posting a photo. For me, a social media
Three gifts at Christmas for you
I don’t think anyone in agriculture will dispute 2019 was a year for the record books. The challenges kept mounting throughout the growing season – all of them beyond our control. Drought followed by untimely, excessive rains and snowfalls. A long, difficult harvest with conditions causing many crops to be left in the field. Poor
Timing is everything – especially in farming
Manitoba finally got some moisture – right when farmers didn’t need it
Well September, you sure weren’t yourself this year. The warm, sunny, dry, harvest days you usually provide happened ever so briefly the first week you were here. Then the rains, which we had longed for all spring and summer, came pouring down, bringing a sudden halt to harvest for the remainder of the month. What
Keep CALM and garden on
This elementary school teacher takes joy in teaching his students about food production
From the moment you step into his classroom, Stewart Akerley’s unbridled energy, passion and enthusiasm for teaching is evident. My husband and I first met this Portage la Prairie School Division elementary teacher when we volunteered for Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month (CALM) in March 2015. This was also Akerley’s first year of participating in Agriculture
Agvocating through experience
Farm-stay business offers both a retreat and up-close view of a working farm
Tracy Wood and Taralea Simpson knew they found the perfect spot when they discovered a 95-acre wooded river lot just outside of Portage la Prairie was for sale. Having long dreamt of owning their own farm-stay, bed and breakfast business, the sisters officially opened “Farm Away Retreat” last month. With their roots deeply embedded in
Comment: You don’t have to be alone with farm worries
There are resources to help those whose mental health can be determined by the level of the rain gauge
I thought I was doing fine. Not too worried or concerned. I kept telling myself it would all work out, and if it didn’t we’d be OK. We’ve always had a crop. We would this year too. It wouldn’t be a bumper crop. Not even an average one, but after being married to a farmer
Opinion: Clarifying ‘What’s in a name?’
Science has always led the way in agriculture, and continues to do so today. Yet advances in plant breeding are being met with skepticism, fear and vehement opposition by many consumers. Perhaps we aren’t listening closely enough to their concerns. Because we understand the science, we assumed they would too. We’ve failed in telling our
Building their community one potato at a time
Mark and Yanara Peters are turning a potato giveaway into an annual event in Portage la Prairie and beyond
How does it feel to give away 35,000 lbs. of potatoes in just under five hours? “It was awesome… a lot of fun,” recalls farmer Mark Peters with a wide smile. Peters and his wife Yanara, of Spruce Drive Farms, grow certified seed potatoes 12 miles northwest of Portage la Prairie. On Saturday, October 14,
Don’t forget agriculture when considering careers
Dear Graduate, It’s finally here – high school graduation. A long-anticipated, exciting time, perhaps filled with a bit of trepidation of what the future holds. Do you have a clear vision and goal of what you want to do and where you want to go? If not, why not consider a career in agriculture? You
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
