Manitoba’s percentage increase on farmland values was the second smallest of nine provinces.

Manitoba, Canadian farmland values still increasing

The rate of increase in Manitoba farmland values has slowed, but it’s expected to keep appreciating this year

Manitoba farmland values, up 25 years in a row, increased an average of five per cent in 2017 Farm Credit Canada (FCC) says in its 2017 Farmland Values Report released April 23. “In general, Manitoba saw higher-priced land values remaining relatively stable, while low- to mid-priced land values recorded increases,” the report says. Manitoba’s percentage

Some new proposed initiatives will create a new model for the province.

New era beginning for conservation work, says MCDA chairman

Meetings held to talk over future boundary changes, new programming

It’s a new day for conservation efforts in Manitoba, according to the chair of the Manitoba Conservation Districts Association. Ray Frey, who’s also an executive member of the Little Saskatchewan Conservation District, says there are a number of new and proposed initiatives that are going to create a new paradigm in the province. There’s the


AMM president Chris Goerzen (left) and Manitoba Municipal Relations Minister Jeff Wharton (third from right) present one of four Emergency Preparedness awards to the Southern Emergency Response Committee. Outgoing emergency co-ordinator Chris Kalansky (back row from left), Morden Mayor Ken Wiebe, RM of Stanley Reeve Morris Olafson, Winkler Mayor Martin Harder and incoming emergency co-ordinator Darren Driedger accept the award.

Planning for the worst

Three municipalities and one regional committee have all earned provincial recognition for emergency preparedness

The province is encouraging municipalities to plan for the worst. Four regions, the municipalities of Cartier, Hanover, Louise and the Southern Emergency Response Committee, were all recognized for their emergency programs during this year’s Manitoba Community Emergency Preparedness Awards. Awards were presented during the Association of Manitoba Municipalities (AMM) seminar April 11-12 in Brandon. The

Red Williams dies at 93

The Saskatchewan professor spearheaded advances in livestock care

Memorial services will be held “at a later date” for renowned Prairie animal science professor, Charles “Red” Williams, who died March 26 at age 93 leaving a legacy of work in livestock care and ag extension. Williams, born in Regina and raised on farms in Saskatchewan and Alberta, served in the Second World War on


Activists burn an information circular about the proposed Bayer-Monsanto deal in protest outside Bayer’s annual general meeting held
in Bonn, Germany in April 2017.

Merger mania could hurt farmers

Mergers or acquisitions have been big news in the last year — but what does that mean for the farmer?

A wave of consolidation is, yet again, sweeping through the global agriculture sector, leaving many to wonder what this is going to mean for farmers. Equipment firms, precision agriculture companies, fertilizer makers and crop protection producers, all are getting swept up in the trend. Some observers are optimistic, while others are much more cautious. The

American officials told the North American Agricultural Journalists’ meeting in Washington, D.C. April 9 and 10 that they are increasingly optimistic about reaching a new NAFTA agreement.

Senior American legislators optimistic about NAFTA talks

U.S. farmers would welcome a deal and it would let U.S. trade negotiators focus on pushing China to the trade bargaining table

There’s optimism a NAFTA deal could soon be reached, American officials told the North American Agricultural Journalists (NAAJ) annual meeting here April 9 and 10. But killing Canada’s supply management system — a key U.S. objective — won’t be met, Minnesota Congressman Collin Peterson predicted. “I’ve told people there’s no way Canada is going to


Michigan Senator Debbie Stabenow and the Democrat’s ranking member on the Senate agriculture committee told reporters April 10 the U.S. must be “strategic” when pushing China towards fair trade so as to avoid “unintended consequences.”

American farmers want markets, not subsidies, legislators say

Trump promises to protect wary farmers if there’s a trade war between the U.S. and China

American farmers are on the front lines of U.S. trade spats. Uneasy about losing NAFTA, an agreement they say is mostly working for them, they’re now even more jittery about becoming collateral damage in a China-U.S. trade war, despite President Donald Trump’s promise of protection. Farmers prefer markets to largesse, two senior federal farm state

Canadian farmers deny U.S. dumping allegations on dairy

Low milk prices in the United States are due to overproduction, not a lack of access to Canada’s dairy market, says Dairy Farmers of Canada

Canada exports some skim milk powder, but it’s not dumping, says Thérèse Beaulieu, the Dairy Farmers of Canada’s assistant director for policy communications. “We can export as long as it is the same price as the domestic market,” Beaulieu said in an interview April 13 in response to American allegations that Canada dumps surplus skim


New solutions are needed to address the labour shortages plaguing the agricultural sector across Canada.

KAP exploring apprenticeship program for farm staff

The farm group has begun early discussions with Apprenticeship Manitoba about the need for training those employed on farms and how training could be offered

With spring seeding around the corner, do you have the people you need on the payroll? Many farmers don’t and know chances of finding someone are next to nil. With the farm labour shortage intensifying, Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) this spring is sitting down with Apprenticeship Manitoba to look further afield for workers. They’re in

Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler spoke at the KAP spring advisory meeting in Portage la Prairie April 6.

Manitoba’s climate plan implementation delayed to fall

Provincial Opposition delays passage of Bill 16, saying Manitobans need more time to push for increased 
green spending from revenue collected through a carbon tax

The provincial agricultural minister said he’s disappointed about the delays his government now faces implementing its made-in-Manitoba carbon tax. The Opposition on April 5 chose to push Bill 16 forward to fall, saying Manitobans should use the time to push the government to spend the revenues on green programming. Bill 16 will pass but this


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