News & Opinion & Farming Articles - Manitoba Co-operator

“Eventually, sooner rather than later, we’d really like to see a positive income.” Rick Bergmann, Canadian Pork Council.

Backlog prevention costs pork producers

H@ms Marketing and the Manitoba Pork Council say they’re floating the idea of AgriRecovery, but don’t give much hope that government will pay out

By Geralyn Wichers September 10, 2020

Aggressive marketing appears to have kept independent hog producers from backing up despite COVID-19 cases piling up at Maple Leaf Foods in Brandon. Contingency measures have come with a cost, however, and those costs have hog sector leaders eyeing potential AgriRecovery funds. Why it matters: Pork tanked earlier this year due to a glut of

Crops, News

Getting the numbers on winter cereal varieties as fall planting approaches

Before you plant, make sure you’ve got the winter wheat or fall rye variety that works for you

By Anne Kirk September 9, 2020

Yield results are in from the 2020 MCVET (Manitoba Crop Variety Evaluation Team) fall rye and winter wheat testing locations. In addition to yield, agronomic and disease-resistance information for tested varieties is shown in the variety description tables. Things to consider Comparing yields: Data provided in the yield comparison tables helps to compare varieties at

Crops, News, Other

Crop scouting still requires boots on the ground

Imagery helps identify problem areas, but it doesn’t replace the need for field visits

By Don Norman September 9, 2020

Farmers have access to an expanding range of eyes in the sky to monitor their crops, but high-tech aids are not a replacement for boots on the ground, says Matt Fagnou, manager of Precision Ag/Echelon Canada. “Imagery can guide to where to scout and sample but there’s still no replacement for us being in the

Livestock, News

Panel discusses risks and rewards in Canada’s beef industry

Beef industry panel discusses lessons learned and the path forward in the wake of COVID-19

By Spencer Myers September 9, 2020

A few weeks ago some of the key players in Canada’s beef industry sat down for a virtual roundtable to explore sustainability in the sector. Moderated by Canadian Cattlemen editor Lisa Guenther, the hour-long panel consisted of Maryjo Tait from Celtic Ridge Farms, Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) president Bob Lowe, Jarrod Gillig, vice-president of operations

Annual ryegrass harvest underway east of Altamont, Man., Aug. 26.

News

Harvest in Manitoba starts slow, but with bright spots

About 13 per cent of harvest was complete in the province as of Aug. 25

By Spencer Myers September 9, 2020

Harvest was slow to take off across the province but farmers are reporting good progress getting it into the bin. “Harvest has been off to a good start,” according to Dwight McGill, who farms near Pleasant Valley, Man. “It’s been, ‘Hurry up and wait,’ as it was in the spring with how fields dried up

News, Other

Ag groups welcome O’Toole to new role

Erin O’Toole has won the leadership race for the Conservative Party of Canada,so what does that mean for ag?

By D.C. Fraser September 9, 2020

Agricultural groups say they are eager to start working with the new leader of the Conservative Party of Canada (CPC). Erin O’Toole’s Aug. 24 victory means a new face for producers to lobby on the issues important to them. A new name at the head of the Conservative Party of Canada means the ag sector

Crop Report, Crops, News

High winds, frost make for difficult harvest conditions

Manitoba Crop Report and Crop Weather report for September 8

By Manitoba Agriculture September 9, 2020

Southwest Region Cold temperatures and rain in some areas stopped harvest last week. Very strong winds on Saturday and severe frost Monday night have been extremely hard on some crops, and posing a serious challenge to farmers’ mental health. Wind caused damage to standing and swathed crops. Multiple reports of shattered canola and blown swaths

News, Other, Weather

Frost early, widespread in Manitoba

Farmers are still assessing crop damage

By Manitoba Co-operator Staff September 8, 2020

A big chunk of rural Manitoba got its first serious taste of fall frost overnight Monday and into early Tuesday morning. The west and southwest regions experienced the lowest temperatures, registering frost periods of around eight hours in length, and temperatures from -2 C to a low of -5.2 C, recorded in Inglis. A band

Rob Gobeil of the Canadian Agricultural Safety Association demonstrates the risk of grain entrapment.

Farmit Manitoba, News, Other

Unpacking the dangers around bin entrapment

Forays to the inside of a grain bin can quickly turn tragic

By Don Norman September 8, 2020

In 2015, seven people died in grain bin entrapment accidents. That was a spike over an average year, accounting for a significant number of the deaths reported in the decade before. According to the Canadian Agricultural Injury Reporting program, 30 people died from grain or silage asphyxiation between 2006 and 2015. It had always been

Lane Routledge (left) and Brooke Tolton (right), recipients of Gilchrist’s bursaries in 2015, stop to thank Archie Gilchrist (centre).

Farmit Manitoba, News

Former resident leaves a lasting legacy for Hamiota grads

Archie Gilchrist had been anonymously awarding bursaries for local grads for years, now funds provided by his estate will carry on the tradition

By Brenda Hunter September 8, 2020

For the past number of years, an anonymous $500 bursary has been presented to two graduating students from Hamiota Collegiate each June. Several things changed this year: the “look” of the graduation and awards ceremony itself, the anonymity and amount of the award. Why it matters: The previously anonymous source of bursaries to Hamiota graduates

Daily Network News

Southern California honeybees show resistance to varroa mites

Pulse Weekly: SaskPulse optimistic despite input, crop price concerns

Canadian aquaculture should be classed as agriculture, industry groups say

News & Opinion