Glacier FarmMedia assembled a team of reporters from its network of publications, which includes the Manitoba Co-operator, to examine the implications of Canada’s new trade deal with the European Union on Canadian agriculture and food processing. In coming weeks, watch for a series of articles that zero in on the challenge Canadian agriculture faces turning
Dairy farmers see CETA as a sign of the future
Glacier FarmMedia Special Report: The industry knows it must adapt and hopes proposed compensation packages will help
Processors under pressure to cut prices
An increase in production, coupled with less robust holiday sales, could translate into a quota reduction
Canadian turkey farmers could receive a belated lump of coal this spring, as reduced Christmas sales come home to roost. With 2015 closing stocks sitting at 19 million kilograms, Phil Boyd said a reduction in the national quota allotment is a possibility. Closing stocks in 2014 came in at 14.7 million kilograms. “What we’ve seen
Turkey producers brace for TPP
Canadian turkey processors could export dark meat to Mexico under TPP, but would have to overcome U.S. entrenchment first
The Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) loomed large last week, as the Manitoba Turkey Producers gathered in Winnipeg for its annual general meeting. “This is the most significant and serious issue that we as turkey farmers will be facing in the coming years,” said chairman Bill Uruski. Calvin McBain of the Turkey Farmers of Canada said when
Facts alone are unconvincing when it comes to our food
Science offers farmers a great many things, but ethical justification isn’t one of them
It gets used to defend GMOs, livestock production and food additives. But when speaking to consumers, experts say it is time to retire the phrase “science based” and focus on shared values instead. “You cannot abandon science, you absolutely have to have that to prove the claims you’re making, but at the end of the
Prairies to play pivotal role in future food production
Climate change will provide both challenges and opportunities for Prairie producers by the year 2050
What will Prairie agriculture look like in the year 2050? That’s something a diverse group of experts and researchers set out to determine in a Green Paper presented at the Alberta Institute of Agrologists, titled Moving Toward Prairie Agriculture 2050. “Our future includes change from a number of perspectives, we understand some better than others,
New flax variety sparks debate
It is not transgenic, but some fear glyphosate-resistant flax will produce a second Day of the Triffids
Some Manitoba flax growers are expressing concern after learning a glyphosate-resistant flax variety is only a few years away from being market ready. Eric Fridfinnson of the Manitoba Flax Growers Association said the move towards herbicide-tolerant flax began several years ago and stemmed from a desire to increase yields, which hover around 22 bushels per
Mix it up for phosphorus’s sake
Some producers have found innovative ways to balance phosphorus levels, including land swapping
It’s time for producers to mix things up. Speaking at the annual Crop Connect conference in Winnipeg last week, Don Flaten said that mixed farming can help balance phosphorus levels in the province. “But I’m not saying everyone should have some cows, some pigs, a few chickens, forage and crops,” he said. “What I mean
Crop data assists in tracking crops and disease
It’s not a bird and it’s not a plane, those are satellites up there and farmers can access the data they produce for free
Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is aiming to bring satellite technology down to earth for Prairie producers. “Typically in agriculture you’re thinking biology, maybe chemistry, well this is physics in agriculture,” said Leander Campbell, speaking at the recent Crop Connect in Winnipeg. Campbell, a remote sensing specialist with the earth observation team at Agriculture Canada, said
Cities have nutrient recycling role too, soil scientist says
Winnipeg continues to be the province's largest generator of nutrients such as phosphorous
It’s time to begin recycling nutrients from the province’s largest confined feeding operation — Winnipeg, a University of Manitoba soil scientist says. “If you look at Manitoba’s largest confined feeding operation, it is Winnipeg,” said Don Flaten, speaking at Crop Connect in Winnipeg last week. “And to just be putting the waste water nutrients into
Hog enrichment comes in many forms
Not just toys for pigs, enrichment makes swine smarter and easier to transport
The time for thinking about enrichment as “toys for pigs” has long passed. Speaking to producers and members of the pork industry at the Manitoba Swine Seminar in Winnipeg, Jennifer Brown said not only is enrichment mandatory under the current code of practice, it actually provides benefits to both animals and those who handle them.
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
