Daniel Winters

Farm dogs have it rough. They stay awake all night to keep four-legged varmints out of the henhouse and the two-legged variety away from the bulk fuel tanks. All winter they sleep outdoors on guard duty, and then when spring comes and they finally get a chance to bask in the sun, the wood ticks […] Read more

Water has been a problem for farmers and landowners in south-central Manitoba since the 1880s, when the first settlers began draining sprawling marshes to grow crops in the rich soil. The drainage projects created a new set of flooding problems and set upstream farmers against those downstream. There were no sustainable solutions until farmers, municipalities […] Read more

The Deerwood and South Tobacco Creek management groups in southern Manitoba are good examples of how landowners might be able to work together in the future to confront the challenges they might face from climate change. Cynthia Neudoerffer, a doctoral student in the University of Guelph’s School of Environmental Design and Rural Development, is writing […] Read more

Dale Steppler, whose farm is in Manitoba’s most studied watershed, is sold on the benefits of the project despite the extra work of collecting data. About 415 acres of Steppler’s 1,200 acre farm near Miami is host to the Steppler sub-watershed, which occupies a small portion of the overall Tobacco Creek project. Like other farmers […] Read more

Watershed studies can challenge and refine generally accepted best management practices, such as keeping cattle out of riparian areas, said Bill Turner, field manager for the Deerwood Soil and Water Management Association. A watershed study upstream from New York City found that paying millions of dollars to farmers to keep cattle out of riparian areas […] Read more

The source of Lake Winnipeg’s water quality problems is likely more complex and natural than most popular theories lead people to believe. The finger of blame for phosphorus pollution is often pointed at the practices of hog producers, cattle feedlots and grain farmers who spread fertilizer on their fields. But the truth may be far […] Read more

A series of small dams and a commitment to working with nature instead of engineering it, has marked a successful breakthrough in managing southern Manitoba’s water problems. Reporter Daniel Winters describes how the South Tobacco Creek watershed project and the Deerwood Soil and Water Management Association are solving flood and erosion problems, challenging notions about […] Read more

Taller cultivars, doubled seeding rates and a crop rotation that includes peas pays off handsomely in wild oat suppression and reduced input costs. Led by weed scientist Neil Harker of Agriculture Canada’s research centre in Lacombe, Alta., federal researchers at Lacombe, Brandon and Beaverlodge, Alta., have found that Test 42, a rotation of direct seeded […] Read more

Common keys may make it easier for thieves to drive away with farm and construction equipment worth tens of thousands of dollars, especially when obtaining the keys is little more than a few mouse clicks away. Last week, searching the words “heavy equipment keys” on the popular internet auction website EBay turned up more than […] Read more