COMMUNITY PASTURES: Business as usual this summer

The province is still mulling options as 
federal government plans to phase out its role in community pasture management

It will be business as usual this summer, despite the recent announcement by the federal government that it is getting out of the community pasture business. “Hopefully, by this fall, as people are taking their cattle out of pastures, it’ll be clear what to expect for next year,” said Robert Fleming, director of policy and

Federal budget hurts more than cut employees

With the recently announced 2012 budget or more specifically cuts, there are many more affected Canadians than the federal government implies. The PFRA branch is no longer a government agency and within a few short years will cease to exist. We are a rural family living the dream, or were up until April 11 when


Deal To Protect Langford Community Pasture Land Inked

Aconservation easement has been inked to protect a portion of the 21,195 acres of native prairie at Langford Community Pasture. That’s good news for the endangered Prairie Skink, Manitoba’s only native lizard; residents of Neepawa, who are in the process of tapping the local aquifer for their water supplies; and about two dozen local ranchers

New Programs Deliver More Dollars To Fewer Producers

We do have to realize that with a smaller amount of total program funding, larger funding percentages for projects, an increasing number of producers eligible, and focused priorities, the opportunity for funding has decreased. With the delivery of Growing Forward in 2009, producers saw major changes to Environmental Farm Plans (EFP) programming. Some of the


Multi-Purpose Flood Protection: A Rural-Urban Win-Win

We ignore the lessons of the 2009 Red River flood at our peril. It reveals another reason why urban taxpayers should take an interest in what happens on the rural landscape. Well-managed agriculture can help keep basements dry, tax bills lower and give us an edge in adapting to climate change. Agricultural water management has

weather map – for May. 14, 2009

Percent of Average Precipitation (Prairie Region) April 1, 2009 to May 7, 2009 Prepared by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s National Agroclimate Information Service (NAIS). Data provided through partnership with Environment Canada, Natural Resources Canada, and many Provincial agencies. < 40% 40 -60% 60 -85% 85 -115% 115 -150% 150 -200% 200% Extent of Agricultural Land


PFRA Name Retired After 74 Years

The PFRA, an agency with an acronym synonymous with soil conservation on the Prairies, has quietly been dissolved into a new branch of the federal government. The Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration is now part of the Agri-Environment Services Branch within Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, department officials confirmed last week. Jamshed Merchant, the assistant deputy minister

More Than A Name

Over much of Saskatchewan it was common for farmers en route to town to become trapped in soil drifts across the roads in summer as by snowdrifts in winter. – MEN AGAINST THE DESERT, JAMES H. GRAY 1967 Few of us can imagine much less remember the conditions that brought the Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration


Remote Monitoring A Keystroke Away

When Bruce Shewfelt was looking for examples of remote irrigation monitoring one Saturday afternoon, all he had to do was log on to the Internet from his Morden office. The Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration consultant was almost immediately downloading information on reservoir levels, downstream flows below the reservoir and current use rates – from an

New executive director for Soil Conservation Canada

Retired soil conservationist Glen Shaw has been hired as the new executive director of the Soil Conservation Council of Canada. He will be based at Indian Head, Sask. Shaw replaces Doug McKell, who steps down from the executive post after seven years. Shaw started his career with Saskatchewan’s Agriculture Department, then moved to Manitoba Agriculture