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Manitoba organization joins Smart Farm Network

Feb 02, 2023

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Manitoba Beef & Forage Initiatives Inc. is the network’s newest member

By Diego Flammini
Staff Writer
Farms.com

Manitoba now has representation on a network of smart farms in western Canada.

Manitoba Beef & Forage Initiatives Inc. (MBFI) is the newest member of the Pan-Canadian Smart Farm Network.

The network launched in June 2021.

Led by Olds College in Alberta, “is a network of Smart Farms committed to sharing data and expertise that will help farmers, industry and developers better understand, use and develop smart agricultural technologies.”

Dr. Mary-Jane Orr, MBFI’s general manager, announced the organization’s entry into the network at the Manitoba Beef Producers annual general meeting on Feb. 2.

MBFI focuses on advancing the province’s beef cattle and forage industry through innovation, education and the adoption of agricultural technology and practices.

Some of the assets MBFI brings to the network includes the Brookdale Farm Learning Centre, the Precision Ranching Data Centre, soil & forage sampling equipment and a mobile laboratory trailer.

Joining the Smart Farm Network allows for further discussions to support the beef industry.

“This network of smart farms creates opportunities for broader discussions on technologies, risk management and knowledge sharing,” Orr said in a statement. We look forward to what we can achieve as the network continues to grow with more infrastructure, technology, laboratories, facilities and pastures.”

The other members of the Pan-Canadian Smart Farm are the Lakeland College Student-Managed Farm at its Vermilion campus in Alberta, the University of Saskatchewan’s Livestock and Forage Centre of Excellence near Saskatoon, Sask., and the Glacier FarmMedia Discovery Farm at Langham, Sask.

Video: Spring 2026 weather outlook for Wisconsin; What an early-arriving El Niño could mean

Northeast Wisconsin is a small corner of the world, but our weather is still affected by what happens across the globe.

That includes in the equatorial Pacific, where changes between El Niño and La Niña play a role in the weather here -- and boy, have there been some abrupt changes as of late.

El Niño and La Niña are the two phases of what is collectively known as the El Niño Southern Oscillation, or ENSO for short. These are the swings back and forth from unusually warm to unusually cold sea surface temperatures in the Pacific Ocean along the equator.

Since this past September, we have been in a weak La Niña, which means water temperatures near the Eastern Pacific equator have been cooler than usual. That's where we're at right now.

Even last fall, the long-term outlook suggested a return to neutral conditions by spring and potentially El Niño conditions by summer.

But there are some signs this may be happening faster than usual, which could accelerate the onset of El Niño.

Over the last few weeks, unusually strong bursts of westerly winds farther west in the Pacific -- where sea surface temperatures are warmer than average -- have been observed. There is a chance that this could accelerate the warming of those eastern Pacific waters and potentially push us into El Niño sooner than usual.

If we do enter El Nino by spring -- which we'll define as the period of March, April and May -- there are some long-term correlations with our weather here in Northeast Wisconsin.

Looking at a map of anomalously warm weather, most of the upper Great Lakes doesn't show a strong correlation, but in general, the northern tiers of the United States do tend to lean to that direction.

The stronger correlation is with precipitation. El Niño conditions in spring have historically come with a higher risk of very dry weather over that time frame, so this will definitely be a transition we'll have to watch closely as we move out of winter.