News & Opinion & Farming Articles - Manitoba Co-operator

Open Farm Day participants shear a sheep during a visit to Hunter Family Farm near Rapid City Sept. 17, 2017.

Opening eyes with Open Farm Day

Manitoba’s agriculture industry opened to the public Sept. 17 for the 14th annual Open Farm Day

By Alexis Stockford October 4, 2017

Farm work doesn’t stop when it rains, and neither did the province’s Open Farm Day Sept. 17. The 14th annual event, run by the Manitoba Association of Agricultural Societies, opened 46 venues on schedule this year despite a rainy, cold forecast in several regions. “We’ve had excellent feedback from the host sites that were involved,”

Local news, Other

Q & A: Brian Pallister on the feds’ proposed tax changes

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister took his concerns over the proposed federal tax changes to Ottawa on Oct. 3

By Allan Dawson October 3, 2017

Manitoba Premier Brian Pallister, who ran a financial planning company specializing in farm succession planning, shared his views with Manitoba Co-operator reporter Allan Dawson on Sept. 28. The following Q & A was edited for length and clarity. Q: What’s your reaction to the federal government’s proposed changes to taxing private corporations? Brian Pallister: This

Opportunities for education and developing supportive networks are vital for women’s good mental health, says speakers who will attend the Manitoba Rural Women’s Day events being held in October.

Country Crossroads, Local news, Other

Rural Women’s Day to focus on mental health and wellness

The Manitoba Women’s Institute is hosting two separate events bringing together a broad range of speakers on the theme ‘A Healthy Mind is a Treasure to Find’

By Lorraine Stevenson October 3, 2017

Rural and farm women face the same day-to-day pressures and stress as those who live in urban areas, but they also face unique challenges when it comes to staying well mentally. For one, there are fewer services and supports available to those who juggle not just dual but triple roles of family, work and a

"The main factor in residual nitrogen is always crop uptake, so when we have high yields of cereals and canola, as many have, the soil’s N is generally depleted." – John Heard.

Crops, Local news

Getting a jump on fall fertilizer

Recent rain may alter farmers’ plans, just like a dry year to date has

By Don Norman October 3, 2017

Recent rains in Manitoba will be welcomed by agronomists taking soil samples and farmers looking to do fall tillage work and fertilizing, according to one provincial soil specialist. John Heard, of Manitoba Agriculture, says fall soil tests remain the gold standard, in determining fertilizer needs for the crop. Agronomists often like to get a jump

Former federal agriculture minister, Gerry Ritz, at an announcement in 2015.

Comment/Feedback, Opinion, Other

Ritz leaves lasting legacy

The colourful and often controversial agriculture minister undoubtedly left his mark

By Alex Binkley October 3, 2017

In time Gerry Ritz will receive his due for his accomplishments as federal agriculture minister, an eight-year stint that marked the agri-food sector’s emergence from obscurity to growing recognition as a powerhouse of the Canadian economy. Although Ritz handily held his riding in the 2015 election and switched to being international trade critic, being in

Quebec researchers say a new treatment can remove atrazine from  surface water.

Did you know?, News, Other

Cleaning up chemicals

Atrazine is the most common weed killer found in Quebec surface water, which prompted the research

By Manitoba Co-operator Staff October 3, 2017

A group of Quebec researchers, at that province’s Institut National De La Recherche Scientifique, say they’ve identified an effective way to remove the pesticide atrazine from surface water. Atrazine, widely used as a weed killer, is known to have harmful effects on aquatic wildlife and presents a risk to human health by altering the action

Local news, Other

VIDEO: Food Matters Manitoba cooks up delicious AGM

By Shannon VanRaes October 2, 2017

Youth from the Seven Oaks School Division’s Wayfinders program helped Food Matters Manitoba showcase its food programming at the organization’s recent annual general meeting at the Kitchen Sync in downtown Winnipeg. “They did a vegetarian gyoza and a duck gyoza, they did a pork and elk meatball, as well as a lentil meatball, they did a baguette with a

Opinion, Other

Opinion: Proposed tax changes for corporations poorly structured

The current proposals will stifle business and create unfairness

By Terry Fehr October 2, 2017

In July the prime minister of Canada and the federal finance minister introduced proposals that, if enacted, will fundamentally change how small business in Canada operates. Since that unveiling of proposals, debate on the merits of each point has been impassioned. Debate has since polarized along ideological dogma. Canadian society must decide where they wish

Editorial, Opinion

Editorial: Sweating the details

By Gord Gilmour October 2, 2017

As the Canada-Europe Trade Agreement was negotiated over the last few years, it’s been touted as a game-changing deal that opens up a potentially massive market. That may well be, but it would appear for most agricultural commodities, that’s going to be an ‘easier-said-than-done’ scenario, at least for the foreseeable future. Ottawa has made much

Otterburne-area dairy farmer Hans Gorter now has a new 175-kilowatt, solar photovoltaic (PV) system installed on the farm to provide all the farm’s electrical energy needs.

Dairy cattle, Local news, Other

Otterburne dairy is Manitoba’s largest solar-powered farm

The off-grid option has upfront costs but locks in energy costs for the foreseeable future 

By Lorraine Stevenson October 2, 2017

A southern Manitoba dairy is just days away from flipping the switch on the largest solar-powered farm in Manitoba. Optimist Holsteins Ltd. near Otterburne is in final stages of setting up a newly installed 175-kilowatt, solar photovoltaic (PV) system. When operational it will begin producing enough power to meet all the farm’s electrical needs while

Daily Network News

The Canadian GMO mustard wars: Dijon vs canola

Australian farmers shift to less fertilizer-intensive crops as Iran war costs surge

India, Japan canola crops to be steady in 2026/27 – USDA

News & Opinion