Ag Awareness Day at the Manitoba legislature included showcasing local foods during lunch in the rotunda.

More than a decade of Ag Awareness

Canadian Prairie Garden Purées has been recognized for creating a pure product that 
makes excellent use of visually imperfect produce

It was a chance for Manitoba’s agricultural industry to step back and appreciate how far farming has come, before jumping into spring seeding. Producers, processors and politicians gathered at the Manitoba legislature last week to celebrate Agriculture Awareness Day — a non-partisan event launched in 2005. “Manitoba’s agriculture sector is soaring to new heights, which

people in a meeting room

Farmers pack first MWBGA annual meeting

Three new directors were elected, of whom two favour 
mail-in ballots for future elections

So many came to the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association’s (MWBGA) first annual meeting at the Victoria Inn in Winnipeg that hotel staff had to open an adjoining room to seat the crowd. An estimated 150 people attended, 121 members registered and 117 cast ballots, defeating one interim incumbent director and electing three new


Little piglet in piggery with other pigs

Hog barn moratorium remains, fine print may change

In certain areas of Manitoba new hog barns may again be constructed, provided they qualify for proposed pilot program

Manitoba’s minister of agriculture has indicated the province may be prepared to ease some restrictions around new hog barn construction in certain circumstances. Speaking to reporters at a Keystone Agricultural Producers meeting in Winnipeg last month, Ron Kostyshyn said that alternative technologies could replace the anaerobic digesters now required for new barns in some phosphorus-deficient

From left: Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn along with Canadian Cattlemen’s Association Ramona Byth, Manitoba Beef Producers president Heinz Reimer and Brandon-Souris MP Larry Maguire announced funding for a new research project geared toward sustainable beef production.

Governments invest in sustainable beef production research

Several organizations will partner to develop two demonstration sites near Brandon

The federal and provincial governments have announced $3.1 million in support over three years for applied research on sustainable beef production at two sites near Brandon. Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Minister Ron Kostyshyn and Brandon-Souris MP Larry Maguire were on hand at the Manitoba Beef Producers annual general meeting here last week to


Manitoba climatologist Danny Blair

Climate Atlas proposed as long-term planning tool

University of Winnipeg climatologist Danny Blair wants everyone to have accessible information through an easy-to-read mapping database called the Climate Atlas of Manitoba

A University of Winnipeg climatologist and a small team of researchers are working to develop high-quality maps they say will project what sort of climate agro-Manitoba is likely to have in the next half-century. The Climate Atlas of Manitoba will be a set of accessible, easy-to-understand data, based and calculated on past trends and future

Ron Kostyshyn

Task force has one year to finish review

As weather events continue to produce multi-year effects, stakeholders are being invited to help suggest ways to improve insurance programs

Early forecasts may indicate spring flooding is unlikely in Manitoba this year, but for producers, high water is still front and centre as they cope with consecutive wet years and limited risk management tools. In response, a task force has now been struck by the province to examine how climate-related risks like flooding can be


man at a speaking event

Farmer seeks clarity on Bipole III

It may be close to the 11th hour for farmers faced with Bipole III expropriations, 
but some still believe negotiation is an option

Farmers along the established route for the new Bipole III transmission line are asking Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Development Minister Ron Kostyshyn to advocate on their behalf. While the massive high-voltage transmission project wasn’t included in Kostyshyn’s prepared remarks at Ag Days last week, it was raised following a speech Jan. 21. “We’re just

Ron Kostyshyn

AgriInsurance rates drop

Rates are dropping by an average of 11 per cent

Farmers are accustomed to seeing commodity prices rise and fall, while operating costs rarely go anywhere but up. However, Manitoba farmers learned last week the cost of insuring their 2015 crops under AgriInsurance will drop by an average of 11 per cent — all because the effects of the 1988 drought have faded from memory


man speaking at microphone

Innovative food processors get funding kick-starts

Growing Forward 2 funding aims to help this province’s unique processors 
and agribusinesses grow, says provincial agriculture minister

A small on-farm processor hoping to start selling milk in old-fashioned recyclable glass bottles is one of seven companies to receive Growing Forward 2 funding supporting investments in made-in-Manitoba food products. Dairy farmers Jim and Angie Appleby, who farm with Jim’s family near Steinbach are developing an on-farm micro-creamery to pasteurize and bottle milk and

flowering buckwheat plant

Research supports new uses for Manitoba crops

Flax might be a help to people with high blood pressure

The federal and provincial governments have awarded $341,000 to Manitoba researchers developing foods as drug alternatives and better genetics from crops produced in the province. “These projects will explore the attributes of a wide range of crops from buckwheat to flaxseed and focus on the health benefits for consumers in a global market,” said Agriculture