MarketsFarm — Manitoba’s Hydrologic Forecast Centre (HFC) released an initial spring flood outlook report Friday citing the risk of moderate to major flooding in most the province’s southern basins. Transportation and Infrastructure Minister Doyle Piwniuk said the amount of flooding will depend on weather conditions from now until spring melt. The HFC advised that, while […] Read more

Flooding in Manitoba hinges on coming spring melt

Gasoline, diesel prices set to continue rising
MarketsFarm — The steady rise in crude oil prices is based on three factors, according to Tom Kloza, global head of energy analysis for Oil Price Information Service at Lakewood, N.J. One of those factors is the amount of crude oil produced by members of the Organization of Petroleum Exporting Countries (OPEC), along with some […] Read more

Expect Prairie temperatures below normal until month’s end
MarketsFarm — The Prairie weather outlook for the rest of February is likely to remain below normal, according to Scott Kehler, chief scientist for Weatherlogics in Winnipeg. “[But] not as cold as it has been for most of the winter,” he added. Much of January and February have been highlighted by temperatures well below normal. […] Read more

Click your way to grasslands and wildlife protection
New guide from Birds Canada assembles a host of resources and makes them easily accessible
Reading Time: 2 minutes A new guide from Birds Canada offers an online version of a one-stop shop for resources for protecting and enhancing grasslands, preventing biodiversity loss, and finding grants for such efforts. “Across North America, birds that depend on grasslands are in steeper decline than most other groups of birds,” the organization said in a release. “Nearly 60 […] Read more

More government action likely as border blockades hit trade
Manitoba's main crossing now also blocked
Reuters — The shutdown of a vital U.S.-Canada trade route is knocking out automakers’ operations as the business impact from the two-week-old protests against Canada’s pandemic measures ramp up pressure on authorities to quell the demonstrations. The protests started as a “Freedom Convoy” occupying downtown Ottawa, opposing a vaccinate-or-quarantine mandate for cross-border truckers mirrored by […] Read more

Canada, U.S. fear economic damage from border crossing protest
Headway in one area, another protest elsewhere, minister says
Windsor/Ottawa/Washington | Reuters — Truckers blocking U.S-Canada border crossings risk hurting the auto industry and agriculture, the White House said on Wednesday as Ottawa urged an end to the 13-day demonstration against coronavirus mandates. After nearly two years of pandemic measures in many countries, opposition has sprung up in different ways with copycat protests in […] Read more

Drought conditions ease slightly across Prairies
MarketsFarm — Mixed precipitation throughout January helped drought conditions improve across much of the Canadian Prairies during the month, according to the latest Drought Monitor report from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC), released Tuesday. Conditions have deteriorated in some areas, however, and the majority of Western Canada was still in some kind of drought state. […] Read more

Sharpen your grazing game plan in 2022
Reading Time: < 1 minute Do you have a ‘grazing game plan’ for the coming year? Three experts are offering their tips and suggestions in a Feb. 9 webinar hosted by the Beef Cattle Research Council. “An important first step in developing a plan includes defining goals and objectives for the entire grazing operation. This webinar will cover the basics […] Read more

Greek farmers stage tractor protest against soaring energy costs
Larissa | Reuters — Farmers in central Greece on Friday protested with hundreds of tractors against soaring energy costs, dismissing government support measures as inadequate and demanding more help to cope with rising prices. The farmers parked tractors on a national highway near the town of Larissa in central Greece, where they faced off with […] Read more

Canada rules out use of troops against truck blockade
More protests planned
Ottawa | Reuters — The Canadian government will not use troops against protestors whose nearly week-long demonstration against coronavirus vaccine mandates has brought traffic in central Ottawa to a halt, Prime Minister Justin Trudeau said Thursday. More than 200 trucks and other vehicles have been blockading downtown roads in the nation’s capital since last Friday […] Read more