News & Farming Articles - Manitoba Co-operator

There’s lots of speculation that Canada's canola dispute with China is caught up in the trade war between China and the U.S.

Canola dispute a signal of new trade era

Times have turned more protectionist and Canadian canola is a casualty

By Allan Dawson June 4, 2019

Canadian canola has had problems in China before, but this time is different, says Jim Everson, president of the Canola Council of Canada. In 2009 China threatened to block imports over fears Canadian canola could infect Chinese rapeseed with Canada’s more virulent strain of blackleg, a fungal disease. In 2016 China wanted Canada to reduce

Spotted wing drosophila (Drosophila suzukii).

Did you know?, News

Fruit-eating bug marches west

It’s been a familiar sight in Manitoba for a while,  and now seems set on new horizons

By James Tansey Saskatchewan Ministry Of Agriculture June 4, 2019

A pest that has targeted strawberries and other soft fruits in Manitoba could be headed west. The spotted wing drosophila, which is thought to have come from southeast Asia, has been spotted in Manitoba in small numbers. SWD’s presence in Alberta and British Columbia suggests Saskatchewan may be the bug’s next home. SWD is an

Local news, Other

In Your Co-operator this Week: June 6

By Manitoba Co-operator Staff June 3, 2019

Allan Dawson drills down into the numbers on falling farm income and deciphers what it actually means for Manitoba farmers. Among other things he found some cause for hope, including the fact farmers are entering this downturn from a strong position and that some commodities still saw rising cash receipts. Alexis Stockford looks at what’s

Dingy cutworm (right) may already be out and leaving missing chunks in leaves, but the redbacked cutworm (left) may get clipping as we move into June.

Crops, Local news

Dig down to spot cutworms early

Have cutworms? At this time of year, dingy cutworm is likely to be the culprit

By Alexis Stockford June 3, 2019

The cutworms may already be out, but the damage is unlikely to look like the usual “clipped” stems, according to provincial entomologist John Gavloski. Dingy cutworms are the only species likely to be mature enough to cause damage, as they overwinter as larvae, he said during a May 22 Crop Talk webinar. The greyish, dull-coloured

This Carolina grasshopper is a common sight on gravel roads but it’s not a threat to your crops.

Crops, Local news, Other

Mistaken identity

Not everything that looks like a pest insect actually is

By Alexis Stockford June 3, 2019

One of Manitoba’s best-known insect experts is reminding farmers to be sure of what they’re seeing when they scout. For example, that “wireworm” problem may not actually be a problem at all. Therevid larvae (the precursor to a large, hairy fly) are often mistaken for wireworms, provincial entomologist John Gavloski said during a May 22

Joey Dearborn is KAP’s new communications co-ordinator.

Local news, News, Other

KAP has a new communications co-ordinator

Val Ominski is retiring from KAP and Joey Dearborn has been hired to fill her position

By Allan Dawson June 3, 2019

Keystone Agricultural Producers’ (KAP) communications co-ordinator Val Ominski is retiring at the end of June. Joey Dearborn has been hired to fill the position. For the last seven years, Dearborn, who grew up in Emerson, Man., has been employed with the Manitoba government, most recently as a press secretary for Agriculture, Crown Services, and Infrastructure,

News, Oilseeds

Canadian canola hits great wall of China

China won’t discuss the situation with Canadian officials

By Allan Dawson May 31, 2019

Despite the ongoing efforts of Canada’s canola industry and the federal and provincial governments, China still is not importing Canadian canola seed, or even willing to discuss its de facto boycott that began in March. “It appears there is no immediate solution to this issue,” Canola Council of Canada president Jim Everson told a webinar

Local news

PHOTOS: Wild pigs on the loose

By Manitoba Co-operator Staff May 31, 2019

How many wild pigs are roaming agro-Manitoba? Nobody knows the answer to that question, and that’s going to be a problem for the province. Ryan Brook, a professor at the University of Saskatchewan who was educated at the University of Manitoba has the best handle, and even he admits his numbers are far from certain.

Hogs, Local news

Disease concerns highlight risk for pork sector

Wild pigs have become a reservoir for  disease in other jurisdictions

By Alexis Stockford May 30, 2019

Manitoba’s growing wild pig problem could spell trouble for one of its biggest economic engines — the pork sector. In parts of Europe they’ve become an impossible-to-control vector for African swine fever. There’s also the risk that the Canadian herd and the much-larger U.S. herd that’s moving north could soon meet and mingle, further increasing

Local news

Open season on wild pigs not the answer

Unfocused sport hunting will only  make the problem worse

By Alexis Stockford May 30, 2019

Is an open season on wild pigs the answer? Likely not, according to most of the experts, who say it’s likely that could actually make the problem worse. Private hunting may actually scatter a sounder and spread the problem unless the whole group is contained, Canadian Pork Council veterinary counsellor Dr. Egan Brockhoff said at

Daily Network News

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hog futures rise on first WASDE since September

U.S. export sales include only small soybean business to China

U.S. corn and soybean yields revised down by USDA

News