Provincial party leaders go head-to-head during a pre-election debate hosted by the Association of Manitoba Municipalities in April.

AMM puts heat on infrastructure as next week’s election looms

Municipal funding should be higher on the priority list, association says

Municipal leaders say all parties appear ready to provide steady funding for municipalities, but aren’t giving infrastructure enough airtime as the provincial election draws near. “We need to see more,” said Brandon Mayor Jeff Fawcett in a Sept. 20 news release. “Building and maintaining core infrastructure – from water and wastewater to broadband – is a

A concept of the promised Prairie Innovation Centre for Sustainable Agriculture.

College’s sustainable ag centre draws campaign commitments

ACC's planned ag programming hub a topic at pre-election debate

Assiniboine Community College’s new hub for agricultural programming has been years in the making but, in a rare show of political common ground, all three of Manitoba’s major parties now say they’d like to help see the project done. The college’s promised Prairie Innovation Centre for Sustainable Agriculture came up Tuesday during a leaders’ debate


File photo of autumn colours around Lake Diefenbaker in Saskatchewan Landing Provincial Park. (Nancy Anderson/iStock/Getty Images)

Prairie Forecast: Summer tries to hang on

Issued Sept. 27, covering Sept. 27 to Oct. 4

For being this far into fall, the weather models have been surprisingly accurate. Heck, I didn’t even need to send an update for the last issue! Not sure if I can be as optimistic for this forecast period, as we are moving deeper into fall and starting to see the first hints of winter trying

(Photo courtesy Canada Beef Inc.)

Klassen: Lower beef production forecasts support feeder complex

Major feedlots seen aggressive on quality calves

Compared to last week, western Canadian yearling markets traded $2-$4 on either side of unchanged. Calf markets were steady to $5 higher on average, with stronger buying interest on preconditioned weaned steer calves. Light calves weighing under 500 lbs. appeared to jump $10-$20 in certain regions. This past week, focus of finishing feedlots switched from


(File photo by Dave Bedard)

Market uncertainty, election weigh on Manitoba pork sector

Volatility remains a feature, Manitoba Pork GM says

MarketsFarm — Cam Dahl, general manager of Manitoba Pork, has felt the highs and lows of the province’s pork industry over the past few months. While he expects Manitoba’s feed grain harvest to provide some relief to feed prices for pork producers, Dahl also mentioned Russia’s invasion of Ukraine, the African swine fever situation in

(Thinkstock photo)

Prairie cash wheat: Harvest pressure, falling U.S. futures weigh on bids

Canadian dollar up on the week

MarketsFarm — Spring wheat bids in Western Canada moved lower during the week ended Thursday, as seasonal harvest pressure and losses in U.S. futures weighed on values. Average Canada Western Red Spring (CWRS, 13.5 per cent protein) wheat prices were down $5.30-$8 per tonne across the Prairies, according to price quotes from a cross-section of


An initial swath in a canola crop north of St. Adolphe, Man. on Sept. 17, 2023. (Dave Bedard photo)

Prairie Forecast: Warm fall weather to continue

Issued Sept. 20, covering Sept. 20-27

Even with some uncertainty in the last forecast, the weather models did a surprisingly good job. At one point it looked like I was going to have to send out an update as the models started trending toward a cooler pattern, but they quickly reversed back to a warm pattern. This brought the expected heat

(Thinkstock photo)

Prairie cash wheat: Spring wheat bids mixed, durum lower

StatCan raises projections for spring wheat harvest

MarketsFarm — Bids for Western Canadian spring wheat were on both sides of unchanged while those for durum were lower for the week ended Thursday. Statistics Canada (StatCan) released its model-based principal field crop production estimates on Thursday, presenting a tightening wheat crop compared to that from 2022-23. All-wheat production was projected at 29.8 million


Photo: File

Feed weekly outlook: More demand for barley in Alberta

U.S. corn imports still expected to cap barley values

MarketsFarm — As Alberta’s harvest continued, yields and crop conditions have varied across the province, according to Erin Harakal, trade manager for Agfinity Inc. at Stony Plain, Alta. “There has been such a wide range across the map, it really depends on location,” she said. “We’ve seen some areas that are just below average of

Beef sector faces weather, insurance challenges

Beef sector faces weather, insurance challenges

Prices have been a boon, but other problems remain

The provincial election was called on Sept. 5, and Manitoba Beef Producers general manager Carson Callum wants the Progressive Conservative, New Democratic and Liberal parties to consider the needs of the Manitoba beef industry. Among them are measures to mitigate the effects of drought and flood, as well as the need for good roads and