rhubarb on a cutting board

Can rhubarb become toxic?

Prairie Fare: Rhubarb Cake

Do you remember the “telephone” game? You might have played it when you were a kid. In the game, one person whispers a message into the ear of the person next to him or her, then that person repeats the message to the person next to him or her and so on. By the end

Widespread frost across much of southern Manitoba May 30 destroyed many acres of already stressed canola prompting many farmers to start reseeding.

Canola crop succumbs to final blow with May 30 frost

A blizzard, a frost, flooding, crusting, flea beetle and another frost have prompted many Manitoba farmers to reseed their canola

Manitoba farmers this week were scrambling to find canola and flaxseed to replant fields destroyed by a widespread frost early May 30. “It’s as widespread as we’ve seen for frost for quite a while,” David Van Deynze, Manitoba Agricultural Services Corporation’s (MASC) claim services manager, said June 1. “We can’t keep up with the claims


processing fish for caviar

Amidst an oil boom, North Dakota produces premium caviar

There is only a limited number of paddlefish that can be caught per year

North Dakota is known globally not just for prolific oil production, but also, it turns out, for caviar. A distinctly American version of the salty delicacy prized for centuries by Russian czars gets its start each May in the cool waters where the Missouri and Yellowstone rivers converge, the same spot where explorers Lewis and

seeding at sunset

Manitoba Crop Report and Crop Weather report: Issue 5

Conditions as of May 31, 2015

Weekly Provincial Summary Provincially, seeding progress in Manitoba is estimated at 93 per cent complete. Many areas in Manitoba recorded below freezing temperatures on Saturday, May 30. Frost injury symptoms are evident. Crop growth and final plant stands are being assessed. The level of crop damage will depend on the stage of crop development, minimum


David Van Deynze

Faller, Prosper insured as ‘feed’ wheats by MASC

If the Canadian Grain Commission creates a new class for weaker-gluten wheats 
crop insurance will likely follow with a new category of its own

Faller and Prosper wheats are generally used for milling, but in Manitoba they’re still insured as feed wheats. That means in the case of a crop insurance payout, a hit of $1.77 a bushel — the difference in the 2015 insured value of Red Spring wheat at $6.26 a bushel versus $4.49 for feed wheat.

Manitobans invited to farm dinner with 3F theme – Farm, Fish & Forage

DIY Homesteader Festival includes contestant from Top Chef Canada

You can fight with the weeds in your garden or you can invite one of Canada’s top chefs to cook with them. That’s the perspective of DIY Homesteader Festival organizers who are capping this year’s festival on June 6 with a unique farm-to-table event featuring the best our farms, fishermen and foragers have to offer.


rhubarb plant

Frost-touched rhubarb can be poisonous

Wait for the plant to produce new stalks, says fruit specialist. Frost-touched 
rhubarb can have the toxic oxalic acid in its stalks as well as leaves

The dismal weather of the May long weekend is now a bad memory, but the two very cold days may have dealt your backyard rhubarb patch a lasting blow. Rhubarb stalks can become poisonous when Mother Nature decides to drop her temperatures below freezing after their leaves have emerged. Any stalks with wilted leaves after

seeding at sunset

Manitoba Crop Report and Crop Weather report: Issue 4

Conditions as of May 24, 2015

Weekly Provincial Summary Excellent drying conditions due to warmer, drier weather allowed seeding operations to resume in many areas of Manitoba. Provincially, seeding progress is estimated at 87 per cent complete. The previous week’s weather of rain, snow, wind and cool temperatures impacted some crops across the Province. Excess moisture impacted crop emergence and plant


banana bread

Banana and bran recipes with appeal

Prairie Fare: Banana Bran Muffins and Mix-and-Bake Banana Walnut Streusel

I noticed a very ripe banana on the dresser. I had not put a banana on my dresser, but I got the hint. “I could smell that banana from the hallway,” my husband said. I had been unpacking my suitcase after a trip out of state, and I had not unpacked the conference bag we

canola seedling

U.S. production prospects drag on canola values

U.S. wheat’s corrective bounce is unlikely to stick

ICE Futures Canada canola contracts bounced up and down within a relatively narrow range during the week ended May 14, but finished right around where they started as the uncertainty of this year’s North American crop kept some caution in the market. After waiting for a spring rally that never came, attention must now turn