Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland holds a news conference before delivering the 2022-23 budget in Ottawa on April 7, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Blair Gable)

Supply chain improvement funds pledged in federal budget

Money also added for support of TFWs, P.E.I. potato sector

The federal government’s release last week of its Emissions Reduction Plan has turned out to be the spoiler for new ag funding in Thursday’s 2022 budget — although more money is also pledged to help strengthen cross-country supply chains generally. Finance Minister Chrystia Freeland on Thursday laid out a federal budget with about $452.3 billion

Among projects funded by the Conservation Trust, Ducks Unlimited Canada got $750,000 toward restoring grasslands.

The Conservation Trust pledges $2.86 million to conservation projects

The investments will make the landscape more resilient to the effects of climate change, says MHHC

A Ducks Unlimited project to restore native grasslands; support for cattle producers to conserve grasslands; and an initiative to protect land along Lake Winnipeg are among projects funded by the Conservation Trust this year. “These funds provide new opportunities to improve wildlife, water and soil conservation across the province,” said Stephen Carlyle, chief executive officer


Brian (left) and Andy Sterling say the native prairie restoration along the Jackson Creek was a longtime family dream.

Native prairie restoration becomes a family dream brought to life

Tilston-area farmers partner with watershed district to boost habitat and productivity

Elgar Sterling always wondered what a portion of his farm, along the Jackson Creek, must have looked like before it met the plow. The late Tilston-area farmer often wondered aloud about that prospect, son Brian Sterling recollects. “My dad would often say, “I wonder what this land looked like when it was raw prairie?” said

The 160-acre plot northeast of Virden has never been broken and for the most part, kept completely intact.

Rare native prairie to continue in perpetuity

Galawan land donation ensures that habitat will be protected for some species at risk

The New Oxford Dictionary defines ‘gem’ as a person or thing considered to be outstandingly good or special in some respect. By this definition, the quarter section of native prairie grassland formerly owned by mixed grain and cattle producer Peter Galawan of Lenore can undoubtedly be described as a gem. The 160-acre plot northeast of


Christian Artuso of Bird Studies Canada pitches the role of large grazers in grassland bird conservation during a recent SARPAL informational meeting in Hartney, Man.

Range management for the bird and herd

Manitoba Beef Producers seeks more producers for SARPAL program

The Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP) wants more of its members to get worried about birds. About 27 producers, and 17,000 acres, have signed on so far with MBP’s SARPAL pilot in its first year of implementation. SARPAL (Species at Risk Partnerships on Agricultural Lands), an initiative by Environment and Climate Change Canada to tie farmers

Manitoba still has some of the best tracts of grassland left in the world.

Imperilled grasslands need more attention, speakers say

They are the most endangered ecosystem in the world, but there is still time to create conservation programs to protect them

Efforts to save the grasslands in Canada lag even as the urgency to save what remains of them intensifies. That’s the message Canadian senior biologist Dan Kraus had for an audience at the Canadian Museum of Human Rights (CMHR) earlier this month. “We are witnessing in our lifetime the loss of an iconic Canadian landscape,”said


The rangeland and pasture health assessment tool aims to help land users and producers determine potential plant community composition, forage production, stocking rates and the impacts of management practices on ecological functions.

Creating a better process for assessing pasture

Stakeholders from across the industry are currently working together to develop 
a Manitoba-focused rangeland and pasture health assessment

Following in the footsteps of our Prairie neighbours, Manitoba is working towards developing a customized rangeland and pasture health assessment. “The project is born out of similar initiatives that started in the United States, Alberta and then Saskatchewan. They have developed these tools for assessing rangeland health, looking at various indicators like bare soil, litter

ARBI

ARBI drafting long-term work plan for Assiniboine basin

New Framework for Watershed Stewardship will help track progress

The Assiniboine River Basin Initiative (ARBI) has produced a draft plan that lays out what partner organizations hope to achieve for better basin-wide management — and how to go about it. ARBI presented the draft document at its third annual general meeting here last month, asking member organizations for feedback. Called the Framework for Watershed


Manitoba is developing a reputation for its grazing research efforts.

Showcasing the value of the forage industry

The Canadian Forage and Grassland Association will highlight Manitoba’s 
unique forage research initiatives at the organization’s national conference

If you want to talk about grasslands and forage, go to where the action is — and lately a lot of that action is in Manitoba. In the eyes of the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association (CFGA), Manitoba has been a standout in its efforts towards forage research and the ideal place to hold this

Cattle play role in bird habitat

Cattle play role in bird habitat

Bird populations have declined on the Canadian Prairies as grassland areas have shrunk rapidly

As a rancher, Kristine Tapley’s passions are split between the large ruminants she raises and the land that sustains them — sort of. “I probably shouldn’t say this, but I’m less interested in the cattle and more interested in using cattle as a tool to protect and maintain grasslands, because I think there are so