General manager of Brandon’s Keystone Centre, Neil Thomson, says the proposed addition is a matter of when, not if.

Keystone Centre proposes barn addition

General manager of Brandon’s Keystone Centre says the facility is looking to acquire 
funding for addition of a multi-purpose field house and barn

Brandon’s Keystone Centre is ready to begin construction on a 130,000-square-foot addition as soon as it lines up enough funds. “Manitoba Ag Days basically takes every square inch of the building that we have now and it also has a waiting list of exhibitors. We would like to be able to accommodate that,” said Keystone

Erin Gobeil (l) with her son, Kal-El and Nikki Dean (r) have volunteered to help run the Good Food Box pilot project.

Closing the gap between producer and consumer

Brandon’s Good Food Box project aims to be a venue for local residents to access locally grown produce

A group of Brandon residents has stepped up to close the gap between food producers and people who struggle with food insecurity. A food assessment conducted earlier this year for the city of Brandon addressed a number of issues within the city’s food system. Following the assessment, a number of local residents stepped forward to


These portable, solar-powered automatic gate release timers are allowing farmers to graze cattle faster through smaller paddocks, while decreasing labour demands.

Using sun power to open gates

Neil Dennis could see the advantages of intensively grazing small paddocks by moving his cattle often — but going to the fields every two hours to move the herd was time consuming. Now he gets the sun to open those gates for him with the help of a portable solar-powered automatic gate release timer sold

A group of Filipinos who arrived to work at the Springhill Farms hog-processing plant in Neepawa last January. Immigrants now make up almost a quarter of Neepawa’s population.

Prairie towns lack settlement services for immigrants

Rural Development Institute study surveyed 29 towns across Prairies and B.C.

Rural towns exist because of immigration, but they aren’t easy places for immigrants to move into nowadays. Lack of employment or foreign credentials going unrecognized are only part of the problem, according to a new report released by the Brandon-based Rural Development Insti­tute. Newcomers go wherever language training, affordable housing, child care, public transportation, and


Much of Manitoba’s reseeded canola is looking “impressive,” the Canola Council of Canada’s Angela Brackenreed said during the Westman webinar June 17.


Should crop insurance have a ‘do not seed before’ date?

This spring has prompted some to ask the question

There’s a crop insurance seeding deadline, so should there be restrictions on how early certain crops are planted? It’s a question some have put to the Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation (MASC), following what started off as an early spring, but saw crop emergence delayed by cool soil temperatures, a snowstorm on the Victoria Day long

Little piglet in piggery with innocent eye

Women’s Institute calls for action to protect antibiotics from overuse

The Manitoba Women’s Institute held its annual meeting earlier this month in Winnipeg

The Manitoba Women’s Institute has added its voice to the growing concerns expressed about overuse of antibiotics in both humans and animals. At its May convention members strongly supported a resolution calling for the federal government to take action before a health crisis develops. Newdale farmer and retired nurse, Enid Clark, spoke to the matter


horse trainer guiding a horse

Colt starting competition highlight of horse training challenge

Three of North America’s leading colt raisers compete against one another in timed training challenge

A highlight of Brandon’s Horse3 event demonstrated the unique connection that is made between horse and trainer in the initial stages of colt raising. The North American Equine Ranching Information Council (NAERIC) hosted the Trainer’s Challenge during the Horse3 event, which saw three clinicians take a young horse out of a supplied select group and

floodwaters along a riverbank

Waterlogged organization encourages water stewardship

Rain barrels have long provided cost savings and conservation opportunities 
but this time they are being offered with a community kickback

After two devastating floods, Brandon’s Riverbank Inc. has been barely left afloat and is now looking to raise funds to rebuild, all the while keeping water stewardship in mind. “We are excited for this initiative. It will allow us to offer the public a chance to purchase a quality rain barrel for their home or


red potatoes

Phosphorus acid a strong option for disease control in potatoes

Both foliar or post-harvest application are options, depending on circumstances

Phosphorus acid was a much-discussed topic at Manitoba Potato Production Days in Brandon this year, and for good reason. A variety of phosphorus acid treatments, registered in Canada under the labels Phostrol, Rampart and Confine, are useful additions to growers’ tool boxes for disease control. Susan Ainsworth, a potato specialist for Syngenta in Manitoba, offered

Michael McCain speaking to reporters

McCain CEO says Brandon pork facility needs more hogs, workers

Changes in the temporary foreign worker program will have an impact on Brandon’s hog-processing plant

Manitoba’s hog production is not in line with its production capacity. That was the message brought to the Manitoba Pork Council by Maple Leaf Foods president and CEO Michael McCain last week. Speaking to members of the pork industry at the council’s annual general meeting in Winnipeg, the business leader said now is the time