News & Opinion & Farming Articles - Manitoba Co-operator

A group of Hutterite women returns from the fields at sunset.

A long and interesting history for Hutterites in Manitoba

Few realize the challenges faced by early Anabaptist groups like Hutterites  and Mennonites which brought them to North America

By Dora Maendel August 10, 2016

The late Selma Maendel was recently the first Hutterite inducted into the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame for her many long-standing contributions to agriculture in the province. Among other things she was a popular columnist for this publication, developed the Field History Manager software to computerize field record-keeping and worked with the medical industry to

Local news

Agricultural Hall of Fame: Gordon McPhee

Four Manitobans were inducted into the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame at a ceremony in Portage la Prairie July 14. Over the next few weeks, we’re featuring each one with their citations

By Manitoba Co-operator Staff August 10, 2016

For most of his career, Gordon McPhee has played a major role in preserving one of our most precious resources, the soil and working with the agricultural industry towards sustainable development. Together with his wife Mary, Gordon has always been able to look at what was happening on farms and then be quick to acknowledge

News

Three Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame inductees named

Horticulture, beef and farm events earn new members positions 

By Manitoba Co-operator Staff August 10, 2016

The Canadian Agricultural Hall of Fame (CAHF) will soon have three new names in its membership rolls. On November 6, at the Royal Agricultural Winter Fair in Toronto, they’ll be inducting the late James Bartlett, Robert Switzer and John Willmott, all noted industry leaders who pushed the sector forward, says Herb McLane, CAHF president. “This year’s

The world’s first clone of an adult animal, Dolly the sheep, bleats during a photocall at the Roslin Institute in Edinburgh, Scotland January 4, 2002.

International news, Livestock

Dolly sheep clones reach ripe old age

The study results are reassuring after Dolly’s early death

By Ben Hirschler August 10, 2016

The heirs of Dolly the sheep are enjoying a healthy old age, proving cloned animals can live normal lives and offering reassurance to scientists hoping to use cloned cells in medicine. Dolly, cloning’s poster child, was born in Scotland in 1996. She died prematurely in 2003, aged six, after developing osteoarthritis and a lung infection,

Patrick Walther speaks to a group of farmers during the Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers annual SMART day in Carman.

Crops, Local news

There’s an economic case for strip till

The technique can save time and organic matter when it comes to soybean production

By Shannon VanRaes August 9, 2016

While strip till has long been shown to have ecological benefits, a recent field day at the Ian N. Morrison Research Farm suggests there are also economic ones for producers to consider. “We have basically made a case study where we compare one pass, versus two passes,” said Patrick Walther, speaking to a group of

Dairy farmer Markus Legge is coping with the European “dairy crisis” by lowering costs and increasing his margins through organic milk production.

Crops, International news

German agriculture under the microscope

International Agriculture: Farmers are pursuing sustainability against a backdrop  of increasing public scrutiny

By Laura Rance-Unger August 9, 2016

Rommerskirchen, Germany – Here are our ‘plant protection’ products,” Willi Kremer Schilling told a delegation of foreign journalists as they entered the fortress-like warehouse at the Buir-Bilesheimer Agricultural Co-operative. “I never say ‘pesticides,” he said. “These are ‘medicines’ for plants.” Willi is one of the 1,150-member co-op’s farmer-directors and he proudly hosts tours of its new

Humans have been farming rice far longer than originally thought.

Did you know?, News

New origins for farmed rice discovered

The new finding helps shed light on when and why humans first became farmers

By Manitoba Co-operator Staff August 9, 2016

Rice farming is a far older practice than we knew. In fact, the oldest evidence of domesticated rice has just been found in China, and it’s about 9,000 years old, about 4,000 years before the earliest previous estimates. The discovery, made by a team of archeologists that includes University of Toronto Professor Gary Crawford, sheds

Crop Report, Crops, Local news, Weather

Manitoba Crop Report and Crop Weather report: No. 15

Conditions as of August 8, 2016

By Manitoba Agriculture August 9, 2016

Strong weather systems passed through several areas of Manitoba throughout the week. Heavy rains and strong winds halted harvest operations and resulted in lodging of crops.However, harvest did resume where field and weather conditions allowed. Winter wheat yields are ranging from 50 to 95 bushels per acre, with good quality reported to date. Swathing or

Jeffery Fitzpatrick-Stilwell, senior manager  of sustainability for McDonald’s Canada.

Livestock, Local news

McDonald’s backs Manitoba research project

Newly established beef and forage research farm recently  opened its doors to showcase value to sector 

By Jennifer Paige August 8, 2016

McDonald’s Canada sees itself as a longtime partner of the Manitoba beef industry. It contributed $25,000 in February to the Manitoba Beef and Forage Industry for a collaborative project of science-based research to enhance ecosystems, producer profitability and build awareness of the beef and forage industry. One McDonald’s executive says the now-completed pilot is just

Crops, Local news

Time to scout for lygus bugs in canola and sunflower crops

Manitoba Insect and Disease summary for August 3

By Manitoba Agriculture August 5, 2016

Summary Insects: Insects of highest importance to scout for currently are Lygus bugs in canola and sunflowers, and banded sunflower moths in sunflowers. Only trace levels of soybean aphids have been found so far. Although a couple of traps monitoring adults of bertha armyworm had moderate counts in the Northwest, and a few traps had counts in the uncertain risk

Daily Network News

ICE weekly: War news driving canola markets

War is increasing food prices, insecurity say IMF, World Bank and UN food agency

B.C. agrochemical startup gets $1.2M in federal funding

News & Opinion