Clanman cows munch on feed made of an 11-variety polycrop, including turnips and a few different types of clover.

Regenerate renegades

Faces of Ag: Bucking trends and seeking new ideas led Clanman Jerseys to regenerative agriculture

Not long ago, Sean Smith was in an Alberta lab learning to identify soil micro-organisms. He’s not a scientist. He’s a dairy farmer with a penchant for learning and experimentation — an inherited trait at Clanman Jerseys. “I think that’s probably one of the biggest things about our farm. We’re not afraid to do something

Kayci Cameron of Brandon gets acquainted with a curious goat at the 2018 Manitoba Summer Fair petting zoo.

COVID-19 claims two-thirds of Brandon’s major ag fairs

Manitoba Summer Fair hits the chopping block, but word is still out on Ag Ex

Brandon’s Keystone Centre should have been shoulder-to-shoulder crowds June 3-7 with the pop-up city of towering rides, food trucks and entertainers that is the Manitoba Summer Fair. This year, however, the lots were bare. The Manitoba Summer Fair is now the second of three major events put on by the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba to fall prey


This red and grey rug will long be a reminder of the coronavirus lockdown and the simple tasks that made it easier.

Work of our hearts

Trying times like these mean small comforts can take you a long ways towards greater inner peace

“When our eyes see our hands doing the work of our hearts, the circle of creation is completed inside us, the doors of our souls fly open and love steps forth to heal everything in sight.” — Michael Bridge With COVID-19 hanging over the entire world like a depressing grey cloud, I am quite content

Connie Spenst (right) and her team have made changes to keep their business open safely during the pandemic.

Faith, family give strength to go on

Faces of Ag: Connie Spenst and family began their butcher shop and pizza business when a crisis pushed their farm to the breaking point

While the show goes on for Spenst Brothers in Winkler, the day to day looks a bit different. Markers on the floor show customers where to stand. Staff are signing in each day to say they have no symptoms of COVID-19. People call in wondering if they need to stockpile meat — they don’t, said

Michelle Shram and Troy Stozek have seen increased sales of their grass-fed beef and lamb.

An uptick in online sales may help Manitoba farmers

E-commerce shift could spell opportunity for local producers

On May long weekend, St. Norbert opened its outdoor market to the least fanfare in recent memory. Market co-ordinators had prepared to limit shoppers, but that proved not to be necessary. According to a Facebook post, they never reached capacity as crowd-leery folks stayed away. While the physical market continues to operate, more and more


Are farmers ready to seize the day when it comes to smart ag?

Are farmers ready to seize the day when it comes to smart ag?

Investing in next-generation agriculture would pay big dividends, but investment dollars will be in short supply

The pandemic has revealed critical weaknesses in the country’s agriculture and food systems — and the need to invest in their future, say experts. “It’s continuing to show the importance of technology, and adopting technology, on the farm,” said Remi Schmaltz, CEO and co-founder of Decisive Farming, a digital ag and farm management company. “We

Each riding student has a support team of three volunteers.

Keeping in the saddle

Faces of Ag: When Graham Curnew first volunteered with Manitoba Riding for the Disabled Association, he didn’t know how to ride a horse

Graham Curnew didn’t intend to spend his life teaching kids with disabilities how to ride horses. He didn’t want to volunteer when his dad dragged him to an evening class with Manitoba Riding for the Disabled Association. He didn’t even ride horses. The most exposure he’d had to riding was as a kid on a

Members of the BMW growing project in 
Boissevain plan this year’s crop via Zoom meeting.

Foodgrains Bank bringing food aid to locked-down families

Manitoba growing projects preparing to plant as fundraising becomes crucial

Canadian Foodgrains Bank growing projects in Manitoba are preparing to plant as usual despite the complications of COVID-19. These fundraisers will be more crucial than ever, as a worldwide health crisis quickly is becoming a food crisis, the organization says. “The situation is very dire. Families can’t last more than a few more weeks like


Sylvia Mitchell has been a fixture in Manitoba’s 
agriculture industry since the late 1950s.

Sylvia Mitchell to receive honorary diploma from ACC

She moved to the farm in ’59 with no rural experience

Assiniboine Community College will be presenting Sylvia Mitchell with an honorary diploma in agribusiness at this year’s graduation ceremony in Brandon to be held in late October. Sylvia was born and raised in Brandon, living there for 27 years before marrying Donn Mitchell. Settling on Donn’s grandparents’ homesteaded farmland north of Douglas in 1959 was

Tim and Sue Anderson.

New Zealand family farm

Faces of Ag: The only thing steeper than the hills on this South Island farm is the cost of buying them

Tim Anderson’s description of his farm as a “hill-country farm with a wee bit of flat,” doesn’t do justice to the breathtaking views and roller-coaster thrills of driving through his paddocks. Anderson and his wife Sue raise sheep, cattle, honey and trees on their 922-ha spread located about two hours north of Christchurch on New