News & Opinion & Farming Articles - Manitoba Co-operator

Angela Fox shares her story and advice on planning for the future with this year’s crop of Manitoba Farm Women’s Conference attendees.

Because I love you: Preparing for the worst

Angela Fox found herself running the family beef farm on her own after losing her husband in 2011.  Now, she’s sharing some of those hard lessons

By Alexis Stockford December 21, 2017

Angela and Jay Fox thought they were well prepared for a worst-case scenario. They had braved the uncomfortable talk about last wishes — Jay wanted no part of a regular hearse. Instead, he wanted his coffin and family brought to the graveyard in an old farm truck. They had wills and life insurance. They knew

It takes many pairs of hands to keep the bustling Carman MCC Thrift Shop operating. The non-profit enterprise’s success is due as much from generous time put in by volunteers as the plentiful donations and customers supporting it, says the organization’s president Frank Elias (front right).

Local news, Other

Blessings from bargains

Sales of donated items at the MCC Thrift Shop in Carman this year generate $240,000 for Mennonite Central Committee’s international relief, development and peace work

By Lorraine Stevenson December 21, 2017

Stella Wiebe has cut up about 4,000 pairs of blue jeans for quilt blocks over the years. But that’s certainly not the only thing she’s done during her long stint volunteering with Carman Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) Thrift Shop. She’s been volunteering with the non-profit enterprise since its start, and today is still among its

Looming hydro rate increases have municipal leaders worried about the rising costs to operate community infrastructure.

Country Crossroads, Local news, Other

Carbon tax revenue use options pitched at AMM

Rural and small-town government leaders pass resolutions, propose ideas for recycling carbon taxes at 2017 fall convention

By Lorraine Stevenson December 20, 2017

Municipal leaders in Manitoba bracing for future hydro rate increases want the province to use carbon tax revenues to offset the higher costs to their energy bills. It’s costing a small fortune now to heat spaces like public arenas and curling clubs, said Al Abraham, deputy mayor of the LGD of Pinawa. Read more: AMM

Crumbling river infrastructure is putting pressure on the ability of the U.S. to meet grain market demand.

Cereals, News, Oilseeds

Wooden dams and river jams: U.S. strains to ship record grains

In a story familiar to Prairie farmers, the U.S. grain-handling system is creaking under a heavy load

By Karl Plume, Tom Polansek December 20, 2017

America’s worst traffic jam this fall occurred on the Ohio River, where a line of about 50 miles of boats hauling grains and other products turned into a water-borne parking lot, as ship captains waited for the river to reopen. Such delays are worsening on the nation’s waterways, which are critical to commerce for the

Plants crave light and even grow towards it. Now researchers understand how they do that.

Did you know?, News

Shine a light on plant growth

Researchers have discovered how plants respond to changes in light  at the molecular level

By Manitoba Co-operator Staff December 20, 2017

Plants don’t have eyes, but it would seem they do “see” their surroundings using light. That’s made possible by proteins called photoreceptors that absorb light and convert it into a signal that turns genes on or off. Until now, scientists haven’t fully understood the molecular mechanism underlying that process, which allows plants to recognize when

Manitoba Pork swine health programs manager Jenelle Hamblin.

Hogs, Local news

Pork sector learns biosecurity lessons from PEDv

2017 was by far the worst PEDv year on record, but it also forced a hard look at biosecurity and those lessons may lay the groundwork against future pig diseases

By Alexis Stockford December 19, 2017

The summer’s PEDv outbreak has been a hard teacher on biosecurity issues, but the Manitoba Pork Council says those lessons will help fight future diseases like PRRS (porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome). The pork sector was rocked in the east this year, with 80 barns testing positive for PEDv, including the first cases west of

Dr. Egan Brockhoff, veterinary counsellor for the Canadian Pork Council,  gives Manitoba pork producers the basics on high-path PRRS during a November membership meeting.

Hogs, Local news

Pork industry watching PRRS in wake of PEDv

PEDv has been on every pork producer’s mind this summer, but the sector hasn’t forgotten about PRRS

By Alexis Stockford December 19, 2017

Manitoba’s worst PEDv year on record may be drawing to a close, but the pork sector already has a wary eye on what might be the next big disease threat. In 2016, veterinarians identified a new, aggressive strain of PRRS (porcine reproductive and respiratory syndrome) in Manitoba. A total 15 sites have been impacted so far,

Markets, Oilseeds, Opinion

U.S. soybean exports falter in October while Brazil’s shine

By Karen Braun December 19, 2017

The market is closely watching U.S. soybean exports to see whether the 2017-18 campaign will stumble amid record global supply, and October’s data raises a red flag. U.S. corn and wheat demand is also staring down a global supply glut and stiff international competition, and October export volumes were some of the smallest in recent

Municipal leaders support resolution asking the province to agree to a 40-40-12 cost-sharing formula as the new Investing in Canada infrastructure program rolls out. Cheryl Kingdon-Chartier, deputy mayor of Russell-Binscarth Municipality spoke to the matter during the convention in Brandon.

Local news, Other

AMM wants province to pony up

A stable funding formula would ensure local communities could access federal dollars

By Lorraine Stevenson December 18, 2017

Manitoba’s municipal leaders want to see the province commit to a 40 per cent contribution level under a proposed funding formula for major infrastructure projects. That formula is under discussion as the federal government rolls out its new Investing in Canada infrastructure program. Budget 2017 announced a second phase for federal infrastructure spending with the

Crops, Local news

VIDEO: Precision ag workshop comes to Southport

By Alexis Stockford December 18, 2017

Alexis Stockford, reporter for the Manitoba Co-operator, visited Southport on Dec. 12 for a precision agriculture workshop, an event attended by industry representatives, agricultural consultants and producers.

Daily Network News

JBS reaches deal with U.S. meatpacking workers who went on strike

Public consultation open on national beef code of practice

Pulse weekly: Indian forecasters predict below-normal monsoon

News & Opinion