At Ag Days in January Agriculture Minister Ralph Eichler announced legislation to streamline KAP’s checkoff. The legislation went from second reading to Royal Assent in just four and a half days and will take effect Dec. 1.

Streamlined, improved KAP checkoff takes effect Dec. 1

Bill 35 went from second reading to Royal assent in just four and a half days

The Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) will have an improved membership checkoff in place Dec. 1, the start of its new fiscal year, thanks to legislation that was passed and given royal assent Nov. 9 and 10, respectively. Bill 35, the Agricultural Producers Organizations Funding Act, passed third reading unanimously in Manitoba legislature, following a marathon

Door opens to hog expansion

Door opens to hog expansion

Anaerobic digesters out, new barns in

New hog barns will be built Manitoba. After an all-night session at the Manitoba Legislature, Bill 24 has passed its final reading and received royal assent. Better known as the Red Tape Reduction and Government Efficiency Act, Bill 24 covers legislation ranging from consumer protection and labour relations, to residential tenancies and transportation of dangerous


KAP president Dan Mazier says the farm organization got much of what it wanted from the “Made-in-Manitoba Climate and Green Plan,” including a carbon tax exemption on “marked” farm fuel.

Mazier defends KAP’s approach on ‘made-in-Manitoba’ carbon tax

He says the position was developed democratically and KAP got much of what it wanted to reduce the negative impact on farmers

A year after the Keystone Agricultural Producers (KAP) opted to participate as the provincial government developed “A Made-in-Manitoba Climate and Green Plan,” some KAP members are asking why the farm organization doesn’t oppose a carbon tax. “I find this entire carbon tax thing to be a complete fiasco and I view our prime minister (Justin

Katherine Stanley (l) has been named as the Manitoba Organic Alliance’s first agronomist.

Manitoba Organic Alliance names agronomist

Katherine Stanley will take on the term position over the next year

Manitoba’s organic farmers now have an agronomist to call their own — even if it’s only for a year. The farmer organization the Manitoba Organic Alliance has teamed up with the University of Manitoba and the provincial Agriculture Department to create a one-year term position for an organic agronomist and Katherine Stanley has been named

Tom Noffsinger introduces the basics of low-stress cattle handling during a talk in Brandon Oct. 16.  

Workshops pitch less stress for cattle and farmer

Talks and workshops cover the basics of low-stress cattle handling

It’s time to start thinking like cattle when it comes to moving animals. That’s the message Tom Noffsinger had for cattle producers during a string of low-stress cattle-handling workshops and talks near Brandon through the end of October. Three events were put on through Merck Animal Health, including a public talk Oct. 16 and field


Standing corn may be a viable way for Manitoba producers to extend their grazing season, but there are a few things 
to watch for.

Standing corn an option for extended beef grazing

An extended grazing season may be cheaper with standing corn, but there are a few dos and don’ts to keep in mind

If a cow is grazing, you don’t have to feed it. It’s a deceptively simple statement, and the basis for many cattle producers looking at extended grazing to cut costs. Farmers have looked at bale grazing, forage stockpiling and swath grazing, among others; but another grazing system has caught the interest of some beef producers,

Beef producers are being asked to fill out a survey on cattle losses during this fall’s district meetings.

MBP seeks producer data on predation losses

Beef operators are urged to fill out a survey and help assess the extent of the problem

Manitoba Beef Producers needs members to put some numbers to what they say is the impact predators are having on the provincial beef herd. They repeatedly hear about losses and producers now make impassioned pleas to have something done about the pressure on herds, particularly from wolf attacks, general manager Brian Lemon told district meetings which

Cows herded in to holding pen

Rising Chicago futures support Manitoba values

Availability of trucks may soon become a market issue

Cattle prices rose at Manitoba auction marts during the week ended Oct. 27, as futures prices on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange helped push up sales. “Just about every day it’s been positive (on the Chicago Mercantile Exchange) and that’s what is holding the market probably together on the feeder cattle,” said Robin Hill with Heartland


Purple fuel is exempt from Manitoba’s $25-a-tonne carbon plan that starts next year, but the province hasn’t decided if the exemption will apply to barn heating or grain dryer fuels. Premier Brian Pallister rolled out his Made-in-Manitoba Climate and Green Plan at Oak Hammock Marsh Oct. 27.

Purple farm fuels exempted from Manitoba carbon tax

The government is emphasizing the newly released ‘Made-in-Manitoba Climate and Green Plan’ is much more than just a carbon tax and is seeking citizen feedback

Purple fuel won’t be subject to Manitoba’s proposed carbon tax, but that exemption may not be extended to heating for barns, greenhouses and grain dryers. The plan calls for Manitoba to bring in a flat $25-a-tonne carbon tax coming next year, rather than the federal government’s $10-a-tonne levy that would rise over time to $50

Agriculture major player in ‘Made-in-Manitoba Climate and Green Plan’

Agriculture major player in ‘Made-in-Manitoba Climate and Green Plan’

Increasing the biodiesel mandate could cut up to 431,000 tonnes of carbon by 2022, second only to reductions expected from the $25-a-tonne carbon tax

Agriculture’s role in reducing carbon emissions and protecting the environment looms large in the provincial government’s, Made-in-Manitoba Climate and Green Plan. The word “agriculture” appears 34 times in the 60-page document. “Manitoba’s farmers are at the front lines of climate change and need to be at the forefront of solutions,” the plan says. “The Manitoba