Be careful applying micronutrients, says soil scientist Don Flaten

Some Manitoba soils need micronutrients but “they are very rare,” says Don Flaten, a soil scientist at the University of Manitoba. “We tend to have some of the most fertile soils in North America here (in Western Canada) partly because they’re young,” he said in an interview. “They’re recently glaciated and mixed up and they

MAFRI offered assistance

An Austin-area hog producer turned down assistance from Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives (MAFRI) in the lead up to the eventual euthanization of 1,300 young hogs. “We had discussed options with this producer about other steps he could have taken,” said Dr. Wayne Lees, Manitoba’s chief veterinarian. “We offered assistance.” But that offer of


New food products head to school

New food products head to school NuEats brand part of Manitoba Agri-Health Research Network’s effort to promote functional foods made from Manitoba-grown ingredients Barley waffles and tortilla chips, a yogurt-granola bar, and sundaes topped with saskatoons and oatmeal are some of the made-in-Manitoba foods headed to university this month — for a taste test. If

Harper’s involvement makes pardons partisan, critics charge

It played well with open-market supporters and Conservatives, 
but several academics see it as an abuse of power


Pardons might be justified for some farmers who ran the border to protest the Canadian Wheat Board’s former monopoly, but several university professors say it’s wrong for the prime minister to be conferring them. “The fact that it was done by the prime minister makes it look like a party political stunt and that leaves


Fossil fuel decline could change the outlook for perennial grains

Conservation and agriculture need not be at loggerheads in the fight to preserve and restore the tattered remains of North America’s Prairie grasslands. “We can have conservation as a result of (agricultural) production,” Wes Jackson, founder of The Land Institute, told participants at the North American Prairie Conference via Skype. A proponent and developer of

Agriculture Hall of Fame

Five Manitobans were honoured for their contribution to agriculture and their community at an induction ceremony for the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame July 12. The Co-operator is featuring each in consecutive weekly editions

Ed Tyrchniewicz was born on January 20, 1941, and grew up on a farm at Prairie Grove, just outside of Winnipeg. He attended a one-room, one-teacher school up to Grade 8. Following high school at Provencher Collegiate in St. Boniface, Ed attended the University of Manitoba from which he obtained a degree in agricultural economics


The value of natural capital

It’s hard to imagine that just one year ago, many areas of the province still had too much moisture. True, some farmers, such as those along the Assiniboine River downstream of the Shellmouth Dam are still suffering from too much water. But the story for the rest of the province this year is all about

Agriculture Hall of Fame

Five Manitobans were honoured for their contribution to agriculture and their community at an induction ceremony for the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame July 12. The Co-operator is featuring each in consecutive weekly editions

Hayden grew up on the family farm near Otterburne West in Manitoba, with his parents, Roy and Elizabeth, and three older brothers, Clayton, Garnet and Wallace. He graduated from the University of Manitoba with a BSA in 1949. His “aggie” classmates nicknamed him “Doc Tolton,” as he always had thoughtful and concise answers to questions


Proponent of Brandon med school pans new report

Hopes for a medical school for Brandon were quashed last week with the release of a long-awaited study recommending undergraduate studies remain in Winnipeg with more medical residencies created in Brandon and other rural hospitals. The Brandon Medical Education Study in 2011 began studying options for training more doctors for rural and northern practice. The

Agriculture Hall of Fame

Five Manitobans were honoured for their contribution to agriculture and their community at an induction ceremony for the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame July 12. The Co-operator is featuring each in consecutive weekly editions.

Herb Lapp was born and raised on a farm at Alameda, Saskatchewan. He served in the Royal Canadian Air Force as a pilot during the Second World War. In 1949, he graduated in agricultural engineering from the University of Saskatchewan. In 1962, he obtained an MS in agricultural engineering from the University of Minnesota. Herb