Half-step for Product of Canada labels

Agriculture Canada is stepping up its promotion of a Canada Brand program to help identify Canadian food products for consumers at home and abroad. The government is supporting pilot projects in a select group of stores across the country with Canadian products marked with a special red maple leaf label. But the program only works



What’s Up – for Mar. 17, 2011

Please forward your agricultural events to [email protected] or call 204-944-5762. March 17:Agassiz Lamb Co-op membership recruitment meeting, 7-9 p.m., Carman GO Office, 63-3rd Ave. NE. For more info call Randy Eros at 204-422-8723. March 17:Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council annual general meeting, Canad Inns, 2401 Saskatchewan Ave. W., Portage la Prairie. For more info visit www.mrac.ca

Facing Up To Climate Change

Avery Simundsson of Arborg was first runner-up in the senior division of the Canadian Young Speakers for Agriculture held at the recent Royal Agricultural Winter Fair. Simundsson, 21, is an engineering student at the University of Manitoba. The following is an excerpt from her speech on the topic of “What is the biggest challenge in


Move Over Maple, Birch Syrup Gets A Plug

Rocky Lake Birchworks Ltd., a family business owned by Al and Johanna McLauchlan and their sons in The Pas has received $13,189 from the federal and provincial governments to assist with market development. The McLauchlan family taps approximately 700 birch trees near their home north of The Pas. They harvested about 700 litres of birch

Boreal Booster Juice

Birch sap is a natural product of the boreal forest; Birch sap was originally consumed as a refreshing, healthy drink by Aboriginal people; Boiling the sap reduces the product to the consistency of thickened syrup. It takes approximately 100 to 150 gallons of sap to produce one gallon of syrup; Birch sap/syrup can be used


Sugaring Season Begins

The biggest April Fool is anyone who thinks it’s still winter in Manitoba. Ignore the forecasters and naysayers. The sweetest season is upon us. This is tree-tapping time, when backyard hobbyists and small commercial maple syrup makers alike sally forth to collect the sap that begins sluicing through the limbs and trunks of Manitoba maple.

Quebec’s Maple Industry Makes A Comeback

After four difficult springs, the 2009 season will go down as a historic season, with Quebec maple syrup production hitting 109.4 million pounds. Producers have been thrilled with the news, especially after they produced only half of this volume the previous year. Even though it is impossible right now to predict production for the 2010


Healthful Hormone Found In Maple Syrup

Thanks to modern science, the closely guarded secrets of one of our nation’s most distinctive emblems, maple syrup, are now being revealed. It has recently been reported that maple syrup contains polyphenols and shows ORAC values which compare to commonly eaten fruits and vegetables such as broccoli. Now, further research on maple syrup and its

In Brief… – for Jan. 14, 2010

New year’s DWIs drop RCMP in Manitoba report 16 impaired-driving violations in the final week (Dec. 28 to Jan. 4) of their Christmas Checkstop program, down from 50 in the year-earlier period. The average blood-alcohol reading of those charged during the week was 0.183; the highest, 0.23. Such “consistently high” averages remain a concern, RCMP