Manitobans visit farms for third annual Open Farm Day

A day with the public continues to reap hands-on learning, farm product sales, 
and positive feedback from visitors and participating farm owners

Cars lined driveways and filled up farmyards last Sunday as Manitobans ventured out for another Open Farm Day. This is the third year the province has hosted the day to encourage ordinary Manitobans to get out and visit participating working farms and agritourism ventures. Fifty-one locations were listed in the 2012 guide, including many playing


Iowa testing milk for aflatoxin

chicago / reuters / Iowa, the No. 1 corn producer in the United States, began requiring the state’s dairy processors to test all milk received in the state for aflatoxin Aug. 31, the toxic byproduct of a mould that tends to spread in drought-stressed corn. The Iowa Department of Agriculture said the required aflatoxin screening



USDA opens idle land for livestock feed

washington / reuters / U.S. farmers facing the worst drought since the 1950s can use environmentally fragile land for livestock feed, the U.S. Government said July 23, as it also asked crop insurers to give growers more time to pay premiums. Agriculture Secretary Tom Vilsack announced those steps during a teleconference from Iowa and called

Farm building plans available online

The Canada Plan Service is a co-operative provincial network of agricultural engineers, design draftspersons and livestock specialists. It is concerned with the planning, design and construction of modern farm buildings to serve the needs of Canadian agriculture. Each provincial Department of Agriculture has engineers and other extension specialists who work with farmers who request help


Dairy and poultry farmers slam critical report by prominent Liberal

But Liberal leadership prospect Martha Hall Findlay says poultry and 
dairy farmers have limited political clout and can safely be ignored

As soon as the announcement appeared that former Liberal MP Martha Hall Findlay would release a report critical of supply management, well-worn wheels were set in motion. The marketing boards prepared their defences while newspaper columnists and open-market supporters readied their supportive arguments. The news conference in the Chateau Laurier, a floor up from where

A stone’s throw away: International students come to the Interlake

Young agriculturalists travel across the ocean and half a 
continent to gain first-hand farm experience

Debra Gilson makes cookies on a kitchen counter in her busy home, while three smiling young adults gather around the table, one shouting “Grandma” when her mother-in-law Rlee Gilson walks into the house. If it wasn’t for the distinctly foreign accents, you’d be forgiven for thinking it was just one big farm family, but in


StatsCan report shows more canola, less wheat

Latest five-year agriculture census snapshot shows gross 
farm revenue up with expenses falling slightly

The numbers are out and they show canola is beating wheat, the cost of farming and farm incomes have improved marginally, and the provincial cattle herd is down by nearly a quarter. Canola area surpassed spring wheat area for the top spot among field crops, up 44.3 per cent to 3.3 million acres since the

The statistical portrait

So the federal government wants to get out of community pasture management and producing shelterbelt trees. Fair enough. There’s nothing saying those pastures can’t continue under local management or that trees can’t be produced by private nurseries. Manitoba already has two locally managed community pastures, which appear to be functioning well. And judging from the