University of Manitoba Archives - Page 25 of 84

Cattle play role in bird habitat

Bird populations have declined on the Canadian Prairies as grassland areas have shrunk rapidly

By Shannon VanRaes June 24, 2016

As a rancher, Kristine Tapley’s passions are split between the large ruminants she raises and the land that sustains them — sort of. “I probably shouldn’t say this, but I’m less interested in the cattle and more interested in using cattle as a tool to protect and maintain grasslands, because I think there are so

Dairy cattle, Livestock, Poultry

Manitoba agriculture economists earn national award

Paper examining impact of supply management on consumer welfare in poorer households was controversial but widely read

By Manitoba Co-operator Staff June 22, 2016

A controversial paper on the welfare effects of supply management in poorer households by two University of Manitoba economists has earned a national award. Agricultural economists Ryan Cardwell and Chad Lawley earned the John Vanderkamp Prize from the Canadian Economics Association earlier this month, awarded for the best paper in the journal Canadian Public Policy.

Local news

Beekeepers on front line of tick invasion

Both rural and urban Manitobans should keep a wary eye out for the blacklegged tick as its territory expands 

By Shannon VanRaes June 10, 2016

If Kateryn Rochon is a little bit weary by mid-afternoon, it’s no wonder. It’s field season for the University of Manitoba entomologist, who has embarked on a joint mission with the Manitoba Beekeepers Association to better understand tick-borne diseases. That means getting up at the crack of dawn to check traps set the night before,

Two drone pupae of the Western honey bee with varroa mites.

Crops, Local news

Mites could play role in variable bee losses

Honeybee losses are all over the map in Manitoba this year, as experts eye the impact of the varroa mite

By Shannon VanRaes June 7, 2016

While the numbers are still preliminary it appears one word will likely characterize winter loss for Manitoba beekeepers this spring — variability. “The one thing I can probably say without having any hard numbers, just from preliminary reporting, is that we’re going to have a lot of variability in winter loss this year,” said Rheal

Crops, Weather

Canola under pressure from cutworms, flea beetles

Manitoba Insect & Disease Update summary for June 1

By Manitoba Agriculture Food and Rural Development June 3, 2016

Insects Cutworms and flea beetles on canola continue to be the insects of greatest concern. The cool, damp weather from the last few days would have slowed cutworm feeding, and the soil moisture, where not excessive, may help the plants compensate for feeding. Cutworm levels are quite variable, hard to find in some fields, more

Crops

Cover crops breaking out of livestock niche

Benefits of cover crops shown to accrue to grain portion of mixed operations, causing some without livestock to consider them

By Julienne Isaacs April 20, 2016

Cover crops could be a game changer for Manitoba, and not just for mixed crop and livestock operations. Typically those farms have been the earliest adopters of this new technique, said Michael Thiele, who works with the province’s grazing clubs through a Ducks Unlimited program. “These guys growing cover crops are finding that using and

The state of Minnesota has made buffer zones mandatory as a way of protecting streams from nutrient run-off. But a Manitoba researcher says they may not be as effective as first believed.

Crops

New research raises red flag over buffer strips

A University of Manitoba researcher says riparian buffer  strips may not be the answer to preventing nutrient run-off

By Julienne Isaacs April 5, 2016

New research from the University of Manitoba raises questions over the effectiveness of buffer strips often used around cropland to filter out nutrients before they reach waterways in run-off. David Lobb, senior research chair for the Watershed Systems Research Program and a University of Manitoba soil science professor, says riparian buffer strips are “highly inefficient”

PIN chair Dustin Williams says winding up the organization was a difficult choice, but the right one.

Local news

Pulling the pin on the Prairie Improvement Network

The organization will create a scholarship endowment with remaining funds

By Lorraine Stevenson March 24, 2016

After spending nearly two years struggling to reinvent the organization, the board of the former Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council (MRAC) is winding up the group. The Prairie Improvement Network (PIN) as it is now known, will cease to exist as of Mar. 31. Directors agreed last week, during a final annual general meeting held by

Phosphorus-laden solids separated from hog manure in a storage shed on Lauren Wiebe’s farm near St. Malo.

Hogs, Livestock

Manure separation could be key to P accumulation issue

Removing phosphorus-rich solids from nitrogen-rich liquid allows both  local use and economical transportation to other farms

By Ron Friesen March 22, 2016

A unique method of separating nutrients in hog manure, based on European technology, may give livestock producers another way to deal with excess soil phosphorus in southeastern Manitoba’s livestock alley. The method involves separating out the solids in manure from the liquid, using an automated conveyor belt system. Solids in hog manure are high in

Solitary nesting bees, like this native leafcutter bee, will get better houses that will augment their numbers through a University of Manitoba open competition.

Did you know?, Local news

Building a better beehive

The University of Manitoba has opened an international competition aimed at giving bees better housing

By Manitoba Co-operator Staff March 21, 2016

Wild bees need homes too. That’s the simple idea behind an international design competition opened by the University of Manitoba on Mar. 1. The competition hopes better housing for the beleaguered insects will help address a pressing biological issue — their declining numbers. Bee houses were chosen as the focus of the competition because they

Daily Network News

U.S. grains: Chicago grain prices fall amid profit-taking and dollar rebound

U.S. livestock: Cattle fall back as inventory hits 75-year low

Farm family income gains driven by off-farm earnings: StatCan

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