Federal, provincial and territorial ministers of agriculture will meet Nov. 20 and Nov. 27 to discuss improving business risk management programs. Federal agriculture minister Marie Claude Bibeau said she is confident counterparts from Quebec, Ontario and British Columbia will be willing to contribute their share to make significant improvements to AgriStability, the program most criticized […] Read more
News
More calls made for heat tolerant canola varieties
Breeders continue to argue for varieties better suited to specific regions, including those that have hotter temperatures
It was a rough summer for canola crops in eastern Manitoba. The weather was too hot and too dry for too long, which is hard on a cool season crop like canola. “Many canola crops abruptly stopped flowering in the third week of July as overnight temperatures remained warm and soils continued to dry,” said […] Read more
Clubroot research takes to the air in Alberta
Municipalities study the role wind may play in spreading the disease as clubroot resistance breaks down in the province
Six Alberta municipalities have taken to the air as they continue to monitor clubroot movement and pathotype presence in the soil. Using a research grant from the Canadian Agricultural Partnership, members of the Plant Health Surveillance program are focusing on wind, which many people are concerned is another conduit for the pathogen. The six municipalities […] Read more
Poppy production plan awaits gov’t approval
A Lethbridge company needs a regulatory exemption from Ottawa to grow the crop and produce medicinal ingredients
An Alberta company that wants to grow poppies on a commercial level and process them into ingredients for medications is awaiting federal government approval for its plans. API Labs, based in Lethbridge, submitted an application to Health Canada in September seeking a regulatory exemption that would allow it to cultivate a patented variety of poppy […] Read more
Re-elected Sask. gov’t tackles tax credit promise
The make-up of Saskatchewan’s legislature looks different in some respects after the Oct. 26 election but in other ways it is much the same. The Saskatchewan Party, with Scott Moe in his first campaign as premier, won its fourth consecutive mandate, taking 48 seats to the New Democratic Party’s 13. That left the parties with […] Read more
New model hopes to improve lentil selection
Researchers are trying to understand what causes a lentil plant to flower at the time it does in a given environment
Researchers have developed a model to determine which lentil varieties will thrive in new production environments. It comes at a time when the global appetite for pulses is rising as the effects of global warming and climate change slowly build. Increasing production of lentil-based protein will have to come by improving yields in traditional growing […] Read more
Rural hunters support Man. moose hunt ban
Conservation effort has become controversial as Metis association insists on its members’ right to continue with the hunt
Karen Moore could have shot a moose this fall in Manitoba. She decided not to for several reasons, but mostly because preserving the moose population is more important to her than the right to hunt. “When all the resources are gone and all the moose are gone from this area, it won’t matter who has […] Read more
Prairie cidery focuses on Manitoba apples
Some of the varieties used by the business were developed years ago at Agriculture Canada’s research station in Morden
Manitoba’s climate isn’t as apple-friendly as Canada’s main apple growing areas, but a surprising number of varieties manage to thrive here. “The main varieties are Goodland, Norland, Winter Cheeks, Red Sparkle, Fall Red and Norkent,” Marcus Wiebe, owner of Dead Horse Cider Co., said. He added that some of these varieties were developed years ago […] Read more
Desire to not ‘go fast anymore’ drives passion for mules
Owners say animals’ surefootedness makes them excellent candidates for trail riding, packing, and working with cattle
If you are experienced with horses and have more than enough patience, you might be ready to own a mule. These horse/donkey hybrids are tough, intuitive, and loyal members of the equine family. Laureen Kress, and husband, Joe, who live on an acreage near Waldeck, Sask., are mule enthusiasts and have been so for almost […] Read more
Dinosaur bones found on NCC land in Alberta
A 12-year-old boy found the bones while hiking with his father this summer on the property, which is open to the public
When 12-year-old Nathan Hrushkin went on a hike with his father, Dion, this summer, he found a dinosaur. It had been dead for 69 million years but it was a dinosaur, nevertheless. Earlier this month Hrushkin was on the site on Nature Conservancy Canada property in Horseshoe Canyon near Drumheller, Alta., when paleontologists from the […] Read more
