University of Manitoba soil scientist Mario Tenuta says a 4R nutrient management tour June 28 has a lot to offer to farmers, crop consultants and students. It starts at 9 a.m. and concludes with lunch.

New technology and techniques on 4R nutrient management tour June 28

In-field nutrient measurements are just one facet that will be explored

News ways to measure nitrogen in soils and use nitrogen fertilizer more efficiently will be highlighted during a 4R nutrient management tour June 28 in the Miami and Carman areas. “We will be looking at some very cool things,” University of Manitoba soil scientist and Canada Research Chair in Applied Soil Ecology Mario Tenuta said

Both urban and rural areas have been fighting against an invasion of caterpillars 
in recent weeks.

Prairie residents tired of tent caterpillars

St. Lazare, Man., has been taken over by forest tent caterpillars, to the dismay of locals. They’re not alone

Residents in St. Lazare are back shovelling their steps, but it’s caterpillars, not snow, they’re clearing away in buckets. Droves of forest tent caterpillars have moved through southern Manitoba and Saskatchewan this spring, stripping foliage off deciduous trees and shrubs and leaving behind masses of squashed larvae and fecal matter. Both the Municipality of Ellice-Archie


U of M receives connectivity boost

The Internet of things is set to make new inroads in agriculture

The University of Manitoba will receive $500,000 from the newly merged telecom giant Bell MTS to fund a program aimed at developing an “Internet of things” in the agriculture and agri-food sector. Bell Canada CEO George Cole made the announcement in Winnipeg last week, during a Chamber of Commerce luncheon, highlighting the company’s contribution to

Beekeeping is catching on in cities, and enrolment has jumped for a University of Manitoba course for hobby beekeepers.

Training critical for new beekeepers to avoid disease woes

Beekeepers stress the need for industry newcomers to be trained in disease and pest management

Manitoba’s honeybee population has recovered from 2013, when a harsh winter saw hives drop almost eight per cent, but commercial apiarists say that growth could have risks if it doesn’t come with disease management training for new beekeepers. “Education is very important in those regards and I think probably one of our largest concerns is


Finance Minister Bill Morneau was at the Richardson Centre for Functional Foods and Nutraceuticals at the University of Manitoba to speak about how Innovation Superclusters could impact agriculture.

Funding available to collaborative projects

Government aims to push agriculture to industry value of $75 billion by the year 2025

The federal government has announced it will spend $950 million on what it’s calling an “Innovation Superclusters Initiative” to advance sectors like infrastructure, advanced manufacturing and agriculture. While Innovation, Science and Economic Development Minister Navdeep Bains made the announcement near Ottawa last week, Finance Minister Bill Morneau was at the University of Manitoba to “highlight”

Competition appears to be spurring efficiencies in the grain pipeline, which are finding their way to farmers.

Western farmers benefit from grain-handling efficiency gains

Basis levels are closer to normal, indicating more competition and fewer system constraints, says U of M ag economist Derek Brewin

Western Canadian grain farmers saw the gap between the export price and their price narrow in 2015-16, reaping the benefits of an efficient and competitive grain-handling and transportation system (GHTS). Despite 2015’s near-record 64.7-million-tonne crop, there was no repeat of a grain shipping backlog that followed record production in 2013, Derek Brewin, a University of


Railway costing review risks, benefits

Railway costing review risks, benefits

A review was a Liberal election promise but the government hasn’t announced one despite proposed 
changes to the maximum revenue entitlement

A University of Manitoba agriculture economist warns regulations cutting how much the railways are allowed to earn hauling grain could discourage them from investing to be more efficient. “I don’t know if you want to mess with the system too much,” Derek Brewin said in an interview May 23. “They’ve (western farmers) got a competitive

Predators, such as (A) an Orius nymph, (B) Asian lady beetle, (C) aphid midge larva, and (D) parasitic wasps typically suppress early-season infestations of soybean aphid.

U.S. study questions neonics for soybean aphid control

The effectiveness of the insecticide has diminished by the time the plants 
are at the stage when the insects arrive

A multi-university study says that neonicotinoid insecticide seed treatments have little effect on soybean aphid populations, as the pesticide has disappeared in plant tissue by the time the aphids arrive. The two-year study was a joint effort of Purdue University, Iowa State University, Kansas State University, North Dakota State University, the University of Minnesota, South


The Glenboro Health Centre is one of many in rural Manitoba to have reduced staff. A local volunteer group is hoping to mitigate that problem.

RMs looking for a few good medical recruits as doctor offices sit empty

Faced with perpetually rotating medical staff, RMs in southwest Manitoba 
have started taking recruitment in their own hands

The medical centre’s doors are open, but the doctor is not in at Baldur in the RM of Argyle. According to Bob Conibear, chair of the Baldur Health Care Committee, the community lost its single physician last year to health problems. The void was then filled by a part-time nurse practitioner and a decision will

Disc tillage not the only answer to corn residue

Disc tillage not the only answer to corn residue

Recent research on the effect of corn on subsequent soybean crops suggests there may be other alternatives

Producers may want to look beyond disc tillage to deal with corn residue, according to research co-funded by the Manitoba Corn Growers Association. In a two-year comparison of four residue treatments and their effect on soybeans, Patrick Walther and Yvonne Lawley of the University of Manitoba found that low-tillage treatments yielded the same soybean crop