MWBGA Continuing To Fund Priority Projects

Aug 19, 2019

The prairie wheat commissions contributed a total of $17.9 million to 81 wheat research projects during the 2018/2019 crop year.

Of that, the Manitoba Wheat and Barley Growers Association (MWBGA) dedicated $2.5 million to 42 projects.

"We're always funding very interesting research," said Lori-Ann Kaminski, research manager for MWBGA. "Of course from the Manitoba perspective, our board of directors has chosen some research priority areas that will be important for Manitoba."

On the list of ongoing projects is over-coming fusarium head blight in cereals.

"Those kinds of projects go all the way from building on genetics to best management practices and how is that disease acting in Manitoba now?," said Kaminski.

Additionally, the MWBGA continues to commit funding to nitrogen management research.

"We now have varieties in the marketplace that are challenging yield averages of the past and we're excited about that...but then the question comes of what is the best way to feed those crops?", explained Kaminski.

The MWBGA is also funding a multi-disciplinary approach to developing tools and techniques to manage extreme moisture conditions - both drought and excess moisture. Included in this work is the Manitoba Corn Growers, Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers and all three prairie wheat commissions with additional investments from the Province of Manitoba.

Click here to see more...

Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.