Roberta Galbraith.

Galbraith leaving, Lepp joining, Manitoba Canola Growers Association

The long-time MCGA employee says more time on the farm is in her future

A key member of the Manitoba Canola Growers Association is ‘retiring’ to pay more attention to the family farm. Roberta Galbraith has been the organization’s grower engagement and extension manager for the past eight years. “In that time she has been a leader in developing and creating learning opportunities and actives for Canola farmers in

Field peas have made acreage inroads this season.

Field peas elbow in on canola acres

Price aren’t expected to be great but dry conditions made the pulse crop a Plan B

Statistics Canada’s latest report says field peas have taken some canola acres this year. Approximately 4.3 million total acres will be dedicated to field peas, StatsCan said, marking a 300,000-acre increase from estimates earlier in the year, and up from the 3.6 million acres seeded in 2018. Market participants expect that yellow peas will account


Chris Wararuk surveys one of Farmery’s hops yards, near Neepawa.

Local content scarce in local brews

University of Manitoba study shows brewers want to buy local but the supply chains don't exist

After 11 years in the business, Wells is still more than happy to yak about beer and what he’s got brewing — like the Pilsner made with Saskatchewan craft-malted barley he has in process. “So far it’s tasting awesome,” he said. Rosthern, Saskatchewan, is the closest Wells can get to local craft malt right now.

A chuckwagon racer at the Manitoba Stampede.

Manitoba Stampede takes heat from protestors

In the wake of horse deaths at the Calgary Stampede, animal rights advocates organized to question the ethics of the rodeo event

The Manitoba Stampede faced protests, both at the front gate and online, following six animal deaths at the Calgary Stampede. Video also circulated online of clean up following the death of a heifer during a team penning competition on Saturday. Activist organization Manitoba Animal Save shared the video, which shows a tractor hauling away a


rapeseed crops in China

Is Canadian canola a victim of China’s desire to be more food self-sufficient?

A recently published paper says the disruption in canola trade with China has more to do with its push for food self-sufficiency than politics. The Canadian canola industry disagrees

Canada’s canola industry and the federal government were surprised when China abruptly stopped buying canola from two Canadian exporters in March. But a new report prepared for the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI) suggests they shouldn’t have been. China has, for socio-economic and political reasons, had been planning to reduce imports of canola from Canada

“Demand is still very strong in that country for high quality canola, which we have lots of. I am very hopeful that once they are ready to start buying again we’ll be there to sell it to them.” – Rick White

Past China canola dispute resolved, this one will be too: Innes

Canada has resolved past disputes over canola exports to China and Canada’s canola industry expects the current one will be too

Canada can’t count on past rates of growth in canola exports to China once tensions between the two countries are resolved, according to a recently published paper. The paper, distributed by the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI), concludes China is on the road to more food self-sufficiency and food import diversity. However the canola industry


Record shows China prepared to use non-tariff trade barriers

Record shows China prepared to use non-tariff trade barriers

A letter issued by China’s Ministry of Agriculture documents China’s plan to use non-tariff trade barriers to bolster domestic rapeseed production

China’s interest in using non-tariff trade barriers to bolster domestic domestic food production is on the public record, says a recently published paper on Canada-China canola trade, distributed by the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute (CAPI). China’s Ministry of Agriculture (MOA) said in a letter it would monitor canola imports “to protect the (domestic) rapeseed industry…”



Attendees at the Crop Diagnostic School earlier in July pore over an oat crop at the Ian N. Morrisson Research Farm in Carman.

A thorn in the side of oat growers

Common buckthorn is a haven for crown rust spores over the winter and an easy source of infection if the farmer opts for a susceptible oat variety

Oat growers may want to gauge the distance to the nearest woody stream bed the next time they choose a variety. That’s one of the messages sent out during this year’s Crop Diagnostic School in Carman in the first two weeks of July. Why it matters: Manitoba’s most popular oat varieties have either been downgraded

Government support for Canadian farms well below global average

Government support for Canadian farms well below global average

OECD remains critical of Canada’s supply management system

Canada remains the perennial Boy Scout of international agriculture policy. Canadian farmers receive less government support than producers in many other countries, according to the latest report by the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development. However, the organization remains critical of supply management in the dairy and poultry sector. With the introduction of business risk