Organic processing in Manitoba a bright spot

The numbers look slim, but experts say Manitoba’s modest processing increases in 2016 miss part of the story

Manitoba had one more organic processor in 2016 than 2015, according to the last Organic Agriculture in the Prairies report, but provincial organics expert Laura Telford says the view might be more optimistic than that implies. “The report doesn’t release the type of processing. I think what we’re seeing there is an increase in primary

Glyphosate-resistant kochia is still rare in Manitoba, but the time to prevent it from spreading is now.

ON THE GROW: Herbicide resistance is spreading quickly

Manitoba Agriculture is warning about new and looming threats when it comes to resistant weeds

Manitoba’s provincial weed specialist is urging a harder line on herbicide resistance. “Zero tolerance is really where you need to be,” Tammy Jones of Manitoba Agriculture said. “Controlling your escapes. Control them with mowing; control them with tillage. If you really want to, control them with hand weeding, but if you have resistant wild oats


Executive director, Jen Sims.

VUELC cares for kids from area communities

Villages United Early Learning Centre provides much-needed licensed daycare facilities

Through the growth and expansion of licensed daycare facilities in area communities, the non-profit organization once known as the Hamiota Kids Club Inc., is now known as Villages United Early Learning Centre Inc. (VUELC). Enrolment numbers prompted the expansion in Hamiota, along with opening new centres in the neighbouring communities of Kenton and Oak River.

A provincial oilseeds specialist is recommending canola growers adjust their seeding rate based on seed size and fertilizer placement.

Canola producers put on watch against seed burn

Some cereal fields in Manitoba are seeing seed burn, and Manitoba Agriculture is warning farmers to guard against the same problem for canola

The weather isn’t the only thing that’s hot. Manitoba Agriculture is warning canola producers to avoid banding fertilizer too close to the seed row as continuing dry conditions raise the risk of seed burn. “Adjust your seeding rate based on your seed size and your fertilizer placement strategy,” provincial oilseeds specialist Dane Froese advised during


Glen Blahey has retired from the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association (CASA).

Farm safety specialist reflects on career spanning nearly four decades

Glen Blahey has retired from the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association. His career also included nearly 30 years with the province of Manitoba

It wasn’t easy trying to talk to farmers about safety in the early 1980s. Usually his talk was last on farm meeting agendas, and he’d end up speaking mostly to empty chairs, Glen Blahey recalls. Farmers then tended to see work done on the farm as no one else’s business. Or if safety mattered, it

Manitoba cattle producers are hoping for rain to reinvigorate dry pastures after a late spring.

Livestock producers ponder pasture stocking

Livestock operations are topping off feed supplies or looking 
to stretch what they have as a late, dry spring has pastures lagging

Manitoba’s cattle producers find themselves facing a serious hangover after a lingering winter and extremely dry start to the spring. They’re making tough decisions about whether or not to put cattle onto pasture now, with scant regrowth, or to keep their animals on feed. Darren Chapman, Manitoba Forage and Grassland Associa­tion chair, is among those


Arden celebrates 10th annual crocus contest

Arden celebrates 10th annual crocus contest

The annual event showcases the beauty of the crocus bloom

A short season didn’t prevent photographers from capturing the fleeting beauty of the crocus this spring. Sixteen prizes have been awarded to photographers in the 2018 edition of the Arden Crocus Photo Contest, the 10th anniversary of the contest. In the adult section there were 18 entrants with 63 photos over four categories. The youth

Close up Macro of Deer Tick Crawling on Straw

Tick season now underway

Provincial health officials say a daily check is critical for farmers, since they’re in easy reach of ticks

Ticks may be unavoidable in farming, but Dr. Richard Rusk, provincial medical officer of health, says getting bitten isn’t. The bloodsucking pests are starting to emerge now that the snow is gone and the province is ramping up its annual public education efforts. The blacklegged tick has once again captured most attention, overshadowing the American


Local farmers, nutritionists, researchers and industry representatives tackle the GMO debate at the Brandon screening of “Food Evolution” April 10.

Documentary takes off the gloves on GMO debate

GMOs have been a lightning rod for controversy, but documentary 
‘Food Evolution’ argues that science has been the underdog in the debate

Agriculture recently had a red-carpet moment, with twin screening of the documentary “Food Evolution” in Brandon and Winnipeg. Organized by the Manitoba Canola Growers, Canola Eat Well, the Manitoba Farm Writers and Broadcasters Association, Canadian Agri-Marketing Association and Assiniboine Community College, screening and panel discussion on April 10 aimed to educate the public about the

Michael Legary gives an update on cannabis policy on behalf of the province during an Association of Manitoba Municipalities seminar in Brandon.

Piercing the haze around local cannabis retail in Manitoba

Municipalities are sweating the details 
as cannabis legalization looms and information 
continues to trickle in from the province

Municipalities are getting some guidance on legal cannabis. Both the Federation of Canadian Municipalities (FCM) and Manitoba Municipal Relations have released guides on zoning, bylaws, and other details in the hopes of easing the transition when cannabis becomes legal this July. Municipalities are still working on the new slate of regulations, while also waiting for