The last of the major Prairie crop conferences — the CropConnect Conference — was held at Winnipeg, Man., this week, with a sold-out crowd braving some quintessential Manitoba farm show season weather to hear from several dozen speakers, and discuss opportunities and plans for 2020. Here are some of the takeaways from the two-day event:… Read More
Category: Cropconnect
Five Manitoba farm groups have voted in favour of amalgamating into one entity known as the Manitoba Crop Alliance. Farmer members of the Manitoba Corn Growers Association (MCGA), Manitoba Flax Growers Association (MFGA), National Sunflower Association of Canada (NSAC), Winter Cereals Manitoba, Inc. (WCMI), and the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association (MWBGA) passed a… Read More
Protesters standing in solidarity with Wet’suwet’en First Nation’s protest of the Coastal GasLink pipeline project have set up blockades in three provinces — Ontario, B.C., and now Manitoba — significantly impacting rail movement and precipitating CN Rail to cancel hundreds of train movements. Many in the agriculture industry are nervous about what this means for… Read More
The federal agriculture minister isn’t ruling out the introduction of additional measures aimed at softening the financial impact of the federal carbon tax on farmers across the country. Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau has repeatedly said she’s looking for more data outlining how the carbon tax is affecting farm profitability. Depending on those numbers, she told reporters… Read More
Two projects aimed at reducing risk for exporters and improving the sustainability claim of Canadian grain are moving forward with announced federal funding of $1.2 million. The projects are headed up by the Canada Grains Council. More than $430,000 will be used to develop a pilot insurance product for grain exporters to address the risks… Read More
After several years of discussions around a possible farm group merger, it’s time for Manitoba farmers to make a major decision regarding the future of provincial commodity organizations. The five groups that administer check-offs for funding research and market development on spring wheat and barley, corn, sunflowers, flax, and winter cereals will each vote on… Read More
Herbicide resistance will sneak up on you if you don’t change up your management practices from time to time. Steve Shirtliffe works to help farmers develop strategies to keep resistance issues at bay. He is a professor at the University of Saskatchewan, and I caught up to him at the recent CropConnect conference at Winnipeg,… Read More
Corn is moving into new territory — mainly west and north — but the agronomic information farmers in these new areas rely on is still largely based on data from places such as Illinois and Iowa. This has provided a basis for new corn farmers to get started, but there are a lot of differences… Read More
If you live in the west, chances are you’ve either tried or thought about adding soybeans into your rotation. With seeding just around the corner, Kristen MacMillan, research agronomist with the University of Manitoba, spoke to farmers at this year’s Crop Connect conference held at Winnipeg, Man. Included in her talk were two main topics: one, … Read More
Besides being the most beautiful crop the Prairies grow, Michelle Beaith, agronomist with Saskatchewan Flax, is encouraging farmers to think about growing the oil and fibre crop this season and in the future. “It’s a good alternative,” she says. “It has a lot of unique diseases. You can break that disease cycle, whether it be… Read More