Sparse farmyards dot the landscape looking down from the eastern edge of Riding Mountain National Park.

Can we escape rural decline?

Depopulation is so widespread that some fail to see the policies behind the trend, researcher says

Editor’s note: The final story in our series exploring the complex factors behind rural depopulation in Manitoba, why it matters, the solutions that have been tried and what keeps young people in small communities. Read parts one, two, three and four here. It’s a snowy day in rural Japan. Inside the classroom, many kids are

Students learn about growing food through an indoor gardening program facilitated by Agriculture in the Classroom.

Opportunity, skills, belonging: case studies in rural youth retention

Many programs to entice kids to stay in rural areas have been tried. What is working? This is the third in our series that examines Manitoba’s rural depopulation problem

Editor’s note: This is part 3 in our series exploring the complex factors behind rural depopulation in Manitoba, why it matters, the solutions that have been tried and what keeps young people in small communities. Read parts one and two, here. The Rural STEP program that employed Margie Brincheski as a teenager helped get her


W.G. Dickson’s combine setup, pictured with his sons, Murray and Archie, in 1943.

Combining alone: Farming for the future with fewer farmers

Technology led to exponential productivity growth in the 20th century, but bigger, fewer and more advanced farms also had a role in rural migration

It isn’t a setup you’d see any machinery company advise. The black-and-white photo, circa 1943, shows Murray and Archie Dickson atop their family’s Nichols & Shepherd Red River Special. The pull-type combine is hitched to a small, metal-wheeled tractor. There’s a long shaft with universal joints linking the tractor’s steering wheel to the one on