New varieties aim to push CDC Falcon from its perch

As of Aug. 1, 2014, CDC Falcon moves to the Canada Western General 
Purpose class from Canada Western Red Winter

Winter wheat growers in Manitoba have some new options to consider after their overwhelming favourite, CDC Falcon, moves to the Canada Western General Purpose (CWGP) class Aug. 1, 2014. That class is usually composed of feed and ethanol feedstock wheats, which don’t fetch the premiums paid for milling and baking wheats in the Canada Western

Curbing farm use of antibiotics heats up again

Ontario Medical Association says incidence of antibiotic-resistant bacteria is on the rise and must be stopped

The Ontario Medical Association is calling on government to impose sweeping restrictions on non-essential farm and other uses of medicines before bacterial resistance to life-saving antibiotics threatens human health. Growing resistance to antibiotics endangers “one of the most fundamental and life-saving tools in medicine,” the association warns in a report entitled ‘When Antibiotics Stop Working.’


Food safety for older adults

Health Canada is reminding Canadians of the importance of food safety for older adults. As we age, it becomes harder for our immune systems to fight off harmful bacteria. This means that older adults can come down with a serious illness if they eat contaminated food. For this reason, it is very important for older

People aren’t the only ones to get late-winter blues

Late winter and early spring mark an interesting conundrum on the equine calendar. Prolonged winter weather conditions, declining nutritional values in feed, and lack of movement within confining snow boundaries and winter paddocks challenge the health of even the hardiest of horses. So it is not uncommon that particular illnesses occur and are aggravated as



Antibiotic resistance could be ‘apocalyptic scenario’

Antibiotic resistance “has the potential to undermine modern health systems,” and an “apocalyptic scenario may be looming if we don’t act now,” say scientists writing in the British Medical Journal. Current estimates suggest that antibiotic resistance is a relatively cheap problem, they write, but such estimates do not take account of the fact that antimicrobial


A sausage a day is too many, says Swiss study

A study by the Institute of Social and Preventive Medicine at the University of Zurich says that more than 40 grams (1.4 ounces) of processed meat is hazardous to your health. “We estimate that three per cent of all premature deaths can be attributed to the high consumption of processed meat,” says Sabine Rohrmann in

Organic tomatoes are more nutritious

Tomatoes grown on organic farms accumulate higher concentrations of sugars, vitamin C and compounds associated with oxidative stress compared to those grown on conventional farms, according to research published Feb. 20 in the open-access journal PLOS ONE by Maria Raquel Alcantara Miranda and colleagues from the Federal University of Ceara, Brazil. In their study, the


A little more conversation: Taking action on farm safety

Farmers have a reputation for being “strong, silent types.” Growing up on a farm and getting my hands very much dirty alongside my father, I don’t disagree with some of this “salt of the earth” mystique, but I also think it’s time to move beyond the stereotypes. Farms nowadays can be complex, highly industrialized businesses

In all areas of life, education is the key to success. The same applies to the use of pesticides wherever the application takes place. In Manitoba, there is a lack of education to the general public on the use of urban lawn care products. This could lead to a draconian ban, limiting people’s options to