Made In Manitoba Energy Bar Boosted By Lentil Ingredient

Theresa Le Sliworsky needed lots of energy to sustain her through busy days of raising a young family, working full time and training as an endurance triathlete. To keep her energy up, she’d eat sport performance bars, but she was often aghast by how much sugar, fat and preservatives were in them. Many didn’t taste

Ideas Sought For The “Great Manitoba Food Fight”

Manitobans with a great new food or beverage idea are invited to enter the “Great Manitoba Food Fight” scheduled in April as part of the 2011 Capturing Opportunities event. Competitors pitch their product ideas and provide a product sample to a panel of judges. First-, second-and third-place finalists receive product development awards valued at $15,000,


Food Fight Challengers Sought

The fifth annual Great Manitoba Food Fight is open for challengers, Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Minister Stan Struthers announced Nov. 24. Manitobans with a great new food or beverage idea are invited to enter the Great Manitoba Food Fight scheduled in April as part of the 2011 Capturing Opportunities event. “In the past four

Move Over Maple, Birch Syrup Gets A Plug

Rocky Lake Birchworks Ltd., a family business owned by Al and Johanna McLauchlan and their sons in The Pas has received $13,189 from the federal and provincial governments to assist with market development. The McLauchlan family taps approximately 700 birch trees near their home north of The Pas. They harvested about 700 litres of birch

Organic Farmers Look For Workable Solutions

It’s National Organic Week Oct. 11 to 16 in Canada, a week when the industry celebrates its continued growth as an industry. So where does Manitoba fit into the national picture? Organic farmers represent just two per cent of total farms in this province, or an estimated 300 certified farms covering about 100,000 acres. But


Dave Donaghy, Former Agriculture ADM, Passes

Dave Donaghy, a former Manitoba Agriculture assistant deputy minister, died May 22 at the Concordia Hospital in Winnipeg. He was 61. Born in Boissevain Dec. 5, 1948, Donaghy grew up on a family farm near Ninga. He received an honours agriculture degree from the University of Manitoba in 1970, winning the gold medal. He later

Manitoba Shares Food Technology With India

Amemorandum of understanding (MOU) signed May 12 between the Province of Manitoba and the State of Haryana, India, will launch plans to create a food development centre in that state and cultivate a working relationship between the new facility and the Food Development Centre in Portage la Prairie, Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives Minister Stan

Mead, Beer And Sausage Earn Top Prizes

Creators of mead, beer and sausages have taken home this year’s top prizes at the Great Manitoba Food Fight. Hobby winemaker Mitchell Omichinski, a Portage la Prairie resident and longtime beekeeper won first prize of $15,000 for his Maple Mead, produced from honey and maple syrup. Second place of $10,000 went to St. Claude farmer


Struthers Becomes New Agriculture Minister

“I’m very much acquainted with the needs of farmers through representing producers.” – STAN STRUTHERS By his own admission, Stan Struthers’ farming experience consists of picking up the odd stone by hand and once wrapping a harrow around a tractor. Struthers grew up in town and didn’t live on the half section grain farm west

Functional Food Business A Tough Sell

“I think we’ll all say that the commercialization piece has been the slowest to happen.” – LEE ANNE MURPHY, CO-ORDINATOR OF THE MANITOBA AGRI-HEALTH RESEARCH NETWORK (MAHRN) Scott Sigvaldason sold part of the family’s 106-year-old farm, rented out the rest and invested about $800,000 of his own money to develop a product that could provide