Ten Manitoba potato operations were named McCain Foods Top Growers last month in Carberry.

Swansfleet Alliance named top McCain grower

The annual designation acknowledged the top potato growers 
contracting with the company every year in Manitoba

McCain Foods has named Swansfleet Alliance, of Treherne and Bruxelles, its top Manitoba potato grower for the 2015 crop year. The announcement came at the annual Growers’ Banquet, held last month at the Carberry Community Hall with 190 attendees. Jim Waugh, who heads up McCain’s midwest manufacturing operations, was on hand for the annual event.

Syrup-titiously delicious

Syrup-titiously delicious

Maple syrup is good for our precarious planet’s forests too

Some grumble when the snow arrives, but not members of the Pumpkin Creek Ski Club at Roseisle. They rejoice, naturally. They also start leaving treats on members’ doorsteps — cans of pure maple syrup, sold as club fundraisers. Those cute little cans signal the start of ski season, and time to enjoy hearty breakfasts of


Try an unusual fruit, such as dragon fruit. It’s bright pink with green spines on the outside and white with tiny black seeds inside.

Try an unusual fruit this season

Don’t just stick with apples and oranges, be adventurous with the food you buy

What is that thing?” my husband asked, as he pointed at something in the produce aisle. “I have no idea,” I said as I walked slowly toward the bin of fruits. I reached out timidly to examine the bright-pink globular thing with green spines protruding from the sides and top. I was ready to pull

Squash is easy to store and prepare.

Try some squash this fall

Prairie Fare: This long-storing garden staple is an excellent source of vitamins A and C

Autumn makes me think about soup and other warm, comfort foods. I like to get cosy with a bowl of soup and some hearty bread. Add some fuzzy slippers to my feet and a fire in the fireplace, and I’m set for winter. I didn’t grow up eating squash soup (see recipe further down), but


Dried legumes and cereals on a white background

Pulse crops fight for consumer attention

Somehow these healthy options are overlooked even in a world 
suddenly concerned about healthy food

Pulses have an image problem. They’re healthy and hearty fare. At times they can even seem like a wonder food, contributing to lower cholesterol, overcoming dietary fibre shortages and perhaps even slowing the spread of some cancers. Despite this, however, they’re also seen as unglamorous and even at times something to be a bit embarrassed

Young man reading shopping list in produce aisle, side view, close-up

‘You’re wrong’ is the wrong message

Trying to dictate what products consumers should get or what 
food companies should supply them is surely a losing tactic


When most of us hear the words, “Have I got a great deal for you!” we grab our wallets because experience suggests any forthcoming deal won’t be great. Similarly, when someone says, “Here’s the straight talk,” our baloney meters redline because we know the coming talk will be about as straight as a hound’s hind


bison meat

Go wild for wild game

Wild game meat is a healthy alternative and part of an important hunting tradition

We might see men and women dressed in blaze-orange coats, vests, caps and overalls at this time of year. The bright clothing is for safety and not necessarily a fashion statement. Fall is hunting season after all. When I was a kid, I saw many people in orange clothing around my hometown in the fall.

Young soccer player enjoying halftime snack

Opinion: The disgrace of food shaming

A few days ago a friend told me snacks had been banned from their six-year-old’s soccer games. The team was forced to, because some parents had taken to social media to shame other families, because their snacks did not measure up to the shamers’ idea of social acceptability. Food shaming impacts almost all consumers. What


Prairie Fare: Drive and dine

Prairie Fare: Drive and dine

From Scratch — Unique Eateries of Rural Manitoba is your guide to great eating 


If you think time for touring Manitoba ends as the first flake falls, get your snow tires on. Beaches and campgrounds are shut down, of course, but places to eat great food stay open year round. A new guide From Scratch — Unique Eateries of Rural Manitoba will help you find them. This handy little

cattle on a pasture

BeefTalk: Lower prices need lower costs

The first step to lowering costs is knowing the costs

The daily CattleFax report just popped into my email and was not the positive news one would like. The Oct. 10 values were $98.87 for live cattle and $124.65 for feeder cattle (all figures U.S. funds). I had a simple thought: “What, two-digit live-cattle prices!” My second thought: “We have got to get costs down!”