Climate Change A Mixed Bag For Farming On The Prairies

In an 1860 report to the British government, Captain John Palliser recommended against settling the southern Canadian Prairies because he considered the area too arid and poorly suited for farming. Now, a century and a half later, his words may be prescient. The Palliser Triangle, a 200,000-square-km area named after the 19th century explorer and

Harvest Cattails To Divert Phosphorus, Says IISD

Phosphorus in run-off water is turning Lake Winnipeg into the “most eutrophic” of all the large lakes on Earth. But on the other hand, phosphorus is a valuable nutrient that is arguably more strategically important to modern economies than crude oil. But what if the cattails in Netley Marsh were harvested and pelletized into solid


What’s Up – for Apr. 7, 2011

Please forward your agricultural events to [email protected] or call 204-944-5762. April 7:“A threat to family farms, public health care and public services,” a National Farmers Union Region 5 public meeting on the Canada/European Union economic and trade agreement, 7 p.m., Room 2C, Union Centre, 206-275 Broadway, Winnipeg. For more info visit www.nfu.ca. April 9:Manitoba Organic

Food Projects Receive Funding

Aproject to develop food production and leadership skills among northern Manitoba youth is among the projects supported through a recent $1-million federal research grant for alternative food research. In February 2010 the federal government allocated a $1-million Community University Research Alliance (CURA) grant to help set up and run action-oriented research projects in Manitoba that


New Chair, Directors For Manitoba Rural Adaptation Council

The Mani toba Rural Adaptation Council is looking to expand its mandate and find new ways to serve rural Manitoba, says the council’s new chair. “I think we can take the talent that’s around the table, and do an awful lot more for Manitoba,” said Shelley Curé, a dairy producer from St. Pierre- Jolys, who

Buying Clubs

Once a month a delivery truck pulls up in front of Anna Weier’s Winnipeg home on Langside containing pre-ordered packages of meat, jars of honey, bags of grain and other farm-grown produce. Over the next hour people pull up to Anna’s house, to collect and pay for their purchases. They chat with each other and


Pencils And Green Thumbs: Learning Horticulture On The Prairies

The horticulture industry in Canada is thriving. In 2008 it represented $5.78 billion in agricultural cash receipts – 14 per cent of the total – and $3.85 billion in exports, according to Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada. On the Prairies, horticulturalists work in greenhouses and nurseries, help to improve fruit and vegetable production, and tackle landscaping

Calling All Wannabe Wheat Breeders

If you’ve ever had a hankering to develop your own wheat variety, the University of Manitoba and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada have a deal for you. Researchers have created a participatory wheat-breeding program that allows farmers to take early crosses and then make the genetic selections on their farms, based on their management practices and


What’s Up – for Mar. 31, 2011

Please forward your agricultural events to [email protected] or call 204-944-5762. March 31:Making Manitoba Maple Syrup seminar, 7-8 p.m., Red River Complex, Winkler. For more info email [email protected] or call 204-325- 9672. April 7:“A threat to family farms, public health care and public services,” a National Farmers Union Region 5 public meeting on the Canada/ European

Flaten And Froese Honoured

Several awards were presented at the University of Manitoba’s Aggie (Degree) Grads Farewell banquet held March 19. Don Flaten of the department of soil science was selected as Teacher of the Year by the students. The Certificate of Merit to a degree grad was presented to Harold Froese (BSA/74), an egg and poultry producer and