Attendees of the MOA, Young Agrarians vegetable cover cropping farm tour trudge through the mud at Wild Earth Farms near Oakbank.

Veggie production eyes cover crops

Eastern Manitoba experiment with cover cropping in vegetable production takes root

An on-farm test is underway to assess how cover cropping, pitched for alternative weed control and soil health, might work for larger-scale vegetable growers.






The Agriculture Enlightened conference, held Oct. 26 in Winnipeg and hosted by EMILI, is trying to help Canada become a leader in digital and precision agriculture. (John Deere photo)

Robots may help grain farmers diversify

Tech could support labour-intensive higher-value crops

Chuck Baresich, who owns an agricultural robotics business in Ontario, says controlling weeds with robots is probably best suited for high-value, horticultural crops in Canada. However, large-scale grain farmers could also use the technology if they think about it differently. “Let’s say my brother and me are growing 1,500 acres of corn,” said Baresich, who

ACC’s incoming mechatronics course will target labour needs of an increasingly technical agribusiness sector, the college says.

New ACC course to target advanced technical know-how

Two courses, mechatronics and horticulture (new to the college’s Parkland campus), have been slated for launch next year

A course set to open in Brandon’s Assiniboine Community College campus next fall will prepare workers to run, troubleshoot and fix equipment in increasingly automated agri-food processing facilities. “It’s the future. Everything’s going digital,” said Chris Budiwski, chair of the college’s agriculture and environment school. On Aug. 2, ACC announced that, as of September 2024, it will


Undated image of a participant at the fall ag fair at Rocklyn, Ont., about 40 km southeast of Owen Sound. (Ontario Visited video screengrab via YouTube)

Ontario trims minimum memberships for ag, hort societies

Eligibility thresholds for provincial operating grants lowered

Rules taking effect with the new year are expected to make it easier for Ontario agricultural and horticultural societies to qualify for provincial grants in the face of a membership crunch. The province on Friday confirmed amendments to regulation 16, attached to its Agricultural and Horticultural Organizations Act, kick in effective Sunday (Jan. 1, 2023).

(Bob_bosewell/iStock/Getty Images)

Farmers’ net cash income improves as crop prices soar

Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian farmers reaped record profits last year and are on track to do the same this year, the federal agriculture ministry said on Thursday, as prices for its top crops soared. Prices of canola hit all-time highs this month, rallying with oilseed rival soybeans, on brisk Chinese buying to produce feed


Michelle Schram, with her young son, on the farm she co-runs with husband Troy Stozek near Cartwright.

Women more likely to run non-conventional farms: report

EQUALITY | Access to land, social capital and difference in interests, skills may account for the trend

While women are less likely than men to farm in Manitoba, inequality appears to be lower for women in direct marketing or non-conventional farms, according to a recent report from the University of Manitoba. “There is a dynamic that women face that young men don’t face entering farming, but I also think that that’s changing

(LIVINUS/iStock/Getty Images)

Foreign worker isolation support extended

Federal program extended alongside federal restrictions

The federal program helping employers of temporary foreign workers (TFWs) cover the costs of isolating new workers for two weeks on their arrival in Canada has been extended through November. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau announced Monday that the Mandatory Isolation Support for Temporary Foreign Workers Program will now run to Nov. 30, as the government