Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives Archives

A Moonsyst Smart Rumen Bolus is inserted at MBFI’s Brookdale Farm north of Brandon.

Gut sensors may be one high-tech answer to reproductive efficiency in cattle

From sensors made to swallow to the cow version of Big Brother, MBFI is putting reproductive optimizing technologies to the test

By Don Norman March 28, 2024

A research project underway at Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives (MBFI) north of Brandon might help cattle operations across the Prairies take their replacement heifer game plan to the next level. MBFI is one of three western Canadian sites feeding data into a four-year study aimed at evaluating how various novel technologies might improve reproductive

A field tour participant examines the wider corn rows and multi-species intercrop for an extended grazing trial at MBFI’s in September 2021.

News

Manitoba Beef and Forages joins Smart Farm network

The partnership hones in on tech validation with an eye for what will actually work on farms

By Alexis Stockford February 14, 2023

A network of “Smart Farms” dedicated to jumpstarting on-farm technology has added a Manitoba name to their roster. The Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives (MBFI), an applied research and demonstration farm north of Brandon, has joined the Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network, it was announced Feb. 2. The network, spearheaded by Olds College of Agriculture and

Kevin Sedivec from NDSU speaks about integrating livestock into cropping systems at a recent event at the MBFI Learning Centre.

Farmit Manitoba

Post-pandemic rebound sees busy year at MBFI

Collaborative, producer-focused organization finds footing

By Don Norman September 6, 2022

The first summer after COVID restrictions were lifted has been busier than ever at Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives (MBFI). “We’ve really made a big push this summer,” Mary-Jane Orr, MBFI’s general manager, told the Co-operator. “This year, we have hosted more events than ever.” Those events included working with Manitoba Agriculture and Ducks Unlimited

Alfalfa patches poke from a sea of grass at a Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives site north of Brandon.

Forages, Livestock

A marginal pasture takeover

Three years of trials, one drought and two potential methods for inserting legumes in a faltering pasture

By Alexis Stockford August 22, 2022

Not every attempt to improve a sandy, weed-wracked pasture north of Brandon has been successful for the Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives (MBFI). But four years after an experiment on marginal land improvement ended, some plots are going strong. “The goal was really to look at the success of different methods of introducing alfalfa into an existing grass

Mary-Jane Orr has been named MBFI’s first full-time, on-site general manager.

Local news, News

Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives names first general manager

Mary-Jane Orr will be overseeing all three of MBFI’s sites around Brandon and Brookdale

By Alexis Stockford September 24, 2018

The Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives has its funding for the next five years. It has its new learning centre. Now, it has its first on-site general manager. Mary-Jane Orr stepped into her new position Sept. 4, taking over management at all three MBFI sites, two just in or outside the north edge of Brandon

MBFI researchers recommend giving paddocks at least 75 days of growth between grazings.

Livestock

Adapting the adaptive grazing program

Planned grazing must be flexible enough to fit real life, experts say

By Alexis Stockford August 20, 2018

The term may be “planned” grazing, but the plan may not survive contact with the field. That was the message that provincial livestock specialists Pam Iwanchysko and Jane Thornton recently made during a planned grazing workshop at the Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives site. “There’s no silver bullet in any grazing system,” Thornton said. “I

Minnedosa veterinarian Dr. Troy Gowan (left) speaks with Scott Atkins, Manitoba territory manager with Boehringer Ingelheim, (right) after an April 18 information workshop on the company’s extended-release parasiticide, LongRange.

Beef cattle, Livestock

New product promises better parasite control

Extended-release parasiticide LongRange promises longer control over internal parasites,  but some local farmers are still figuring out how it fits with their operation

By Alexis Stockford May 8, 2018

A new parasiticide is promising respite from mid-season worm troubles, but farmers are still weighing pros and cons. Scott Atkins, Manitoba territory manager with Boehringer Ingelheim, took to Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives near Brandon April 18 to pitch his company’s extended-release parasiticide, LongRange, marketed for cattle in the pasture. “The big difference in this

Kristell Harper, MBFI research co-ordinator, agriculture students Andrea Hamilton and Mikayla Rouire and MBFI chair Ramona Blyth at a recent event at the University of Manitoba showcasing student work with the organization.

Country Crossroads, Local news, Other

Getting schooled in agriculture

With more students coming from non-farm backgrounds the  University of Manitoba is pumping up its ‘experiential learning’ efforts

By Duncan Morrison April 24, 2018

Growing up in Winnipeg, Antonio Deluca didn’t have much exposure to the farm. These days however, he’s enrolled in the agriculture diploma program at the University of Manitoba, one of an increasing number of non-traditional students pulled into the program by the promise of interesting work and strong employment opportunities. He recently got a hands-on

Rob Tremblay, bovine and equine specialist with Boehringer Ingelheim (Canada) Ltd.,  lays out timing concerns when vaccinating cows to protect the unborn calf.

Livestock

Pay attention to timing to boost immunity

That vaccination is wasted if applied at the wrong time, one expert says

By Alexis Stockford March 12, 2018

Vaccination programs may look less like a road map and more like a maze to producers. There are questions on what illnesses they should target. Is a live or killed vaccine best? When should they be given? How long do they last? If it is a killed vaccine, how far apart should the doses be?

Cattle at Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives chow down on standing corn at the Brookdale research farm.

Beef cattle, Livestock

Making the most of corn grazing during a cold Manitoba winter

A late-December cold snap didn’t seem to set back corn-grazed cattle much

By Alexis Stockford January 23, 2018

Manitobans may feel like they’ve been living in a deep freeze, but some of the province’s cattle have weathered the cold among the cornstalks. That’s no small feat, as the last days of 2017 dropped to -35 C with wind chills approaching -50 C. Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives (MBFI) near Brookdale winters its animals

Daily Network News

Selling GMO tomato seeds to Canadian gardeners ‘reckless’ say advocates

U.S. grains: Wheat recovers on short covering, soy continues to fall

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures lower on falling beef prices, selling

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