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

It was a tough growing season and potato harvest but in the end, growers saw good yields.

Good potato yields despite challenging year

A dry summer required a lot of irrigation 
and was followed by a dry fall that 
delayed digging

Many Manitoba potato growers faced nail-biting times this autumn as they struggled to get the crop off. In the end, however, yields are expected to be similar to last year. Dave Sawatzky, manager of Keystone Potato Producers Association, said he predicts yields will roughly be on par or slightly better than 2016’s harvest, when Manitoba


Students take part in one of the festival highlights, critter dipping, Sept. 20 during the 2017 Southwest Manitoba Water Festival near Elgin.

Students tap into water knowledge

Students tackled water health and conservation at the latest Southwest Manitoba Water Festival September 20 near Elgin, Man.

Summer is over, but about 180 fifth- and sixth-grade students from southwestern Manitoba still hit the lake Sept. 20. Six schools attended the 13th annual Southwest Manitoba Water Festival, hosted by the Turtle Mountain Conservation District and Assiniboine Hills Conservation District at Whitewater Park east of Elgin. The event draws from all schools in the

Dr. Alan Moulin takes tour attendees through the field.

Measuring tillage impact

There may be a middle path that gives the best results

Conventional wisdom says less tillage is better when it comes to soil structure, but the issue is more complex when comparing organic soil health to zero till, according to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researcher Dr. Alan Moulin. Moulin’s team looked at “soil aggregates,” or how soil particles bind together into larger groups, under high-input conventional


The University of Manitoba’s Martin Entz, an agriculture professor and cropping systems specialist, suspects reduced tillage and organic production may not be mutually exclusive.

Can organic no till work in the field?

Environmental benefit is part of organic market value, but organic weed management usually means tillage, commonly considered a black mark for soil health. Is there a middle ground?

Hairy vetch may be the key to reducing tillage in organic farming, at least in the short term. Martin Entz, a professor and agriculture systems expert from the University of Manitoba has been looking at mulches for organic weed suppression, rather than the tillage typically used. “We found that when we used the right mulch,

Soybeans damaged by dicamba. The Arkansas State Plant Board wants to ban in-crop dicamba use from April 15 to October 31 following almost 1,000 complaints about dicamba drift damaging nearby crops. The proposal needs approval from the Executive Subcommittee of the Arkansas Legislative Council.

Arkansas moving closer to in-crop dicamba restrictions

Its plant board wants an April 15 to Oct. 31 ban to prevent injury to crops from drift

Arkansas farmers might not be allowed to apply dicamba in annual crops during the 2018 growing season. A regulatory change prohibiting dicamba applications between April 15 and Oct. 31, was approved by the Arkansas State Plant Board, Arkansas’ Agriculture Department said in a news release Sept. 21. Read more: U.S. EPA gives dicamba ‘restricted use’ label


Manitoba farmers with crop still in the field have now experienced both ends of the moisture spectrum in a single season.

Formerly parched grain now fighting moisture after September rains

2017 will be remembered as a dry year, but the latest harvest is still fighting high moisture 
after a series of rains in September

Manitoba’s early harvest was dry, but now a rash of rains has left producers fighting moisture and wondering when to give up on drying in the field. Francois Labelle, general manager for the Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers, said most grain being harvested is several percentage points above safe storage since the dry spell broke.

Infrared inspections look to curb barn fires

Farmers now have access to infrared inspections through the Manitoba Farm Safety Program

The barn fire that killed over 3,500 pigs near New Bothwell in June has led to a new program to prevent similar blazes. The Manitoba Farm Safety Program introduced infrared barn inspections Sept. 12. Inspectors use infrared cameras to map temperature and tag hot spots that might ignite, such as faulty wiring inside walls. Electrical


New research may be paving the way to more efficiently converting biomass like cornstalks into biofuels.

Cutting the cost of ethanol

Researchers devise a way to reduce the amount of enzymes needed to convert biomass into biofuels

Biofuels like ethanol could get cheaper if new research from Rutgers and Michigan State universities holds up. Scientists there have demonstrated how to design and genetically engineer enzyme surfaces so they bind less to cornstalks and other cellulosic biomass, reducing enzyme costs in biofuels production, according to a study published in the journal ACS Sustainable

A cooked, mechanically tenderized roast should have an internal temperature of 63 C.

Safe cooking of tenderized meat

It’s all about internal temperatures and flipping

Did you know that about 20 per cent of Canadian meat is mechanically tenderized? Mechanical tenderization is performed by cutting through the muscle fibres and connective tissues with small blades or needles to improve meat tenderness. While this might bring pounded, Swiss or Salisbury steak to mind, modern tenderizing equipment can pierce meat so finely