News & Opinion & Farming Articles - Manitoba Co-operator

Social media — use it, but have a plan

Communication specialist provides advice on how to create a social media presence

By Jennifer Paige March 2, 2016

Being a part of the online community is no longer a choice if you want to be relevant in today’s business world, says Karen Burton, marketing and communication co-ordinator with the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba. “It is not a matter of if you should be on social media, you have to be on social media.

The Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers Association is investing a lot of money in research, including a study on the impact of hail on soybeans.

Crops, Local news

Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers approve bylaw changes at AGM

Directors can no longer be nominated from the floor and resolutions need to be submitted by Dec. 1 to be debated at the annual meeting

By Allan Dawson March 1, 2016

Nominations for director can no longer be made from the floor of the Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers Association’s annual meeting. And resolutions to the annual meeting must be made by Dec. 1 — more than two months before the association’s annual meeting held during Crop Connect in February. The changes were included in a

Crops, Local news

Reducing agriculture’s carbon footprint by focusing on soil

Storing water where it falls is another area where agriculture should do a better job

By Jennifer Paige March 1, 2016

“Has shown great improvement, but needs to do better.” That’s David Rourke’s report card on progress to improve soil health on the Prairies. “We will need to look at minimizing soil disturbance, more plant diversity and keeping something growing on our land from snow to snow,” the Minto-area producer told the Manitoba Sustainable Energy Association

News

Agriculture Canada launches emergency management consultation

Agriculture faces evolving and increasingly complex risks in a more volatile climate

By Alex Binkley March 1, 2016

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada is looking for industry input into the question of how to respond to the special changes faced by agriculture in natural disasters or emergency disease outbreaks. In partnership with the provinces, a draft Strategic Emergency Management Framework for Agriculture in Canada has been prepared on ways the existing system could be

Cereals, News

Prairie wheat growers wanted to assist in gluten strength study

Farmers can get some valuable data about their wheat, and potentially help boost returns for the whole class

By Allan Dawson February 26, 2016

Scientists investigating the effect weather, agronomics and genotype have on milling wheat quality are appealing to farmers across the Prairies to participate in their study. The goal is to improve the quantity, quality and consistency of Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS) wheat and in so doing increase returns to farmers. In return participating farmers will

Livestock, News

Pregnant mare urine sector to expand

Industry officials caution it is a small increase

By Ron Friesen February 26, 2016

An expected increase in contracted volumes of pregnant mare urine over the next two years is a small bit of good news for Manitoba’s long-beleaguered PMU industry. Pfizer Canada says it will increase the amount of PMU collected from ranches in Manitoba and Saskatchewan during 2016 and 2017. Pfizer uses estrogen from PMU to manufacture

Opinion

Editorial: Commodity voice(s)

By Laura Rance-Unger February 25, 2016

It was encouraging to see the reports emerging from the recent Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association (MWBGA) annual meeting about the potential for collaboration among the key commodity groups in the province. The MWBGA, Manitoba Corn Growers Association, Manitoba Canola Growers Association, the Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Association and National Sunflower Growers Association have

News

Income support programs not working for farmers

But they are being helped by the low Canadian dollar

By Alex Binkley February 25, 2016

AgriStability and AgriInvest, two key government programs to support farmers during periods of low prices, don’t do the job and many producers have dropped out of them, say Ontario and Quebec farm leaders. “Canadian farmers are asking governments to revisit our risk management programs,” Markus Haerle, vice‑chair, Grain Farmers of Ontario, told the Senate agriculture

A federal forecast calls for Manitoba’s crop cash receipts to slip to $3.31 billion in 2016, down from $3.36 billion in 2015 but up 13 per cent from the five-year (2010-14) average.

Local news

Manitoba’s on-farm income seen slipping this year

The federal Agriculture Ministry’s outlook calls for declining cash receipts

By Manitoba Co-operator Staff February 25, 2016

Macroeconomic” factors such as low fuel costs and a depreciating loonie are expected to support Canada’s and Manitoba’s net farm incomes this year — but not at last year’s levels. In its Canadian Agricultural Outlook, published Feb. 19, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada says such factors have “insulated Canadian producers from weakness in global commodity markets,

A new system could allow glyphosate-resistant flax to be developed by ‘gene editing’ as opposed to genetic modification, but how will customers react?

Crops, News, Oilseeds

New flax variety sparks debate

It is not transgenic, but some fear glyphosate-resistant flax will produce a second Day of the Triffids

By Shannon VanRaes February 25, 2016

Some Manitoba flax growers are expressing concern after learning a glyphosate-resistant flax variety is only a few years away from being market ready. Eric Fridfinnson of the Manitoba Flax Growers Association said the move towards herbicide-tolerant flax began several years ago and stemmed from a desire to increase yields, which hover around 22 bushels per

Daily Network News

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

ICE Weekly: Trade waits for canola to break out

Advance Payments Program interest free limit set at $250,000 for 2026

News & Opinion