Doug Allison has been a Beef Sales consultant with Cargill Animal Nutrition for the last 23 years.  In this role, he works with livestock producers in the feedlot and cow/calf business, helping to balance their feeding programs looking at ration costs and identifying best cost scenarios.Doug has worked with many operations in Manitoba and Eastern Saskatchewan. He develops nutritional solutions with products designed with Cargill’s- Beef Max Ration Balancing Program and markets brand name products like the Right Now Mineral Program which is registered with Altosid IGR.Casey White was born and raised on a commercial cow-calf operation south of Marfa, Texas. After receiving a Bachelor of Science Degree in Animal Science from Angelo State University, he attended Texas A&M University where he was awarded a Master of Science Degree in Entomology, with a focus in Medical/Veterinary Entomology. Upon graduation, Casey managed the Veterinary Entomology Research Laboratory at New Mexico State University for two years. His work was focused around conducting industry sponsored efficacy evaluations of various insecticidal formulations against pest species of livestock. For the past 19 years, Casey has been employed with Central Life Sciences, and currently serves as the Sr. Director of Technical Services & Innovation. In this role, he manages a group of entomologists responsible for supporting customers, end users and sales and marketing groups, as well as conducting field trials, product evaluations, demonstrations, and education of the existing products in their portfolio.In this episode, we are discussing the new product for horn fly control that has been registered in Canada, Altosid IGR.We start off with some general information on what horn flies and other external parasites are, their negative impact on livestock and the time of the year when their impact is most significant.We talk in detail about the trialing of the Altosid IGR mineral at MBFI, including how it works to prevent the completion of the horn fly life cycle, how the trial and evaluation were approached, how mineral consumption was measured through the trial, and what the outcome was for the group of cattle who consumed the treated mineral product.   Over the trial period we did not observe an impact on cow weights or body condition scores, but did see an increase in the weaning weight as % of dam weight in the treated group.  Doug provides us some context on how this observation may be linked to lower horn fly pressure. We relate all of this back to an economic perspective, as well as that of herd health, and wrap up by discussing why this is an important topic for producers to be thinking about.For more information on the Altosid mineral product, please visit www.altosidigr.com or contact:Doug Allison by phone at: 204-724-2652 or via email at: [email protected]  Casey White by phone at: 1-972-888-8591 or via email at: [email protected] MBFI would like to acknowledge and send a big thank you to both Cargill and Central LIfe Sciences for their support, which made this project possible. The research programs and daily operations at MBFI would not be possible without the funding from the Province of Manitoba, Government of Canada, and Canadian Agricultural Partnership, as well as the partnership with Manitoba Agriculture, Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP), Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) and the Manitoba

Charlotte Crawley was raised on a mixed farming operation in Clanwilliam, MB.  She received her Bachelor of Science in Animal Systems from the University of Manitoba in 2003 and headed to Alberta where she worked as a meat inspector at the Cargill plant in High River, followed by a two year position at Ballo Feeders feedlot.Charlotte returned to the family farm in 2005 where she farmed full time for 8 years with her parents, farming 2500 acres, including forages, backgrounders, and cow/calf. Her parents retired from grain farming in 2014 and Charlotte continued to farm 3 quarters of pastureland and maintained a herd of 65 cow/calf pairs. Her family was awarded with the Heritage Farm award in 2022, recognizing that the farm has remained in the same family for 125 years – this is one of Charlotte’s greatest accomplishments.With her parent’s retirement in 2014, Charlotte sought off farm employment to help supplement her cattle addiction.  She was fortunate enough to land a position as the farm manager for the inaugural season at MBFI. In this position she happened to hear of an opening with Ducks Unlimited Canada where they were looking for someone to establish forage on all newly purchased lands and to work with farmers to establish forages on their own lands. Charlotte believes that sometimes the best things in life happen when you don’t expect them, and she jumped at the opportunity to join the DUC team. Today, Charlotte oversees the Ducks Unlimited Canada forage and marginal areas programs, manages all forage restoration field activities on purchased lands, and assists with grazing management on DUC’s existing properties.Cattle farmers are conservationists at their core, and Charlotte feels so fortunate that she can work for Ducks Unlimited Canada during the day and moonlight as a cattle farmer.  Charlotte and her cows recently moved to Rapid City, where she lives and works on her partner’s cattle operation, where they run a hay and straw business, backgrounder operation, grassed yearlings, and somewhere in the neighborhood of 650 head cow/calf operation.In today’s episode, we are focusing on some of the many programs Ducks Unlimited Canada offers in Manitoba.  Ducks Unlimited Canada is an organization that started in Manitoba with the mission of conserving wetlands for the benefit of waterfowl.  Since its origin, Ducks Unlimited Canada has grown and evolved to include the restoration and conservation of all lands, with a focus on the whole ecosystem.  The Guardians of the Grasslands film highlights the positive role of beef cattle production in habitat conservation. In Charlotte’s daily work, she works with farmers to purchase, restore and resell grasslands that are vital to both ducks and cattle in Manitoba.  Through this program, DUC purchases land, restores it back to grasslands and re-sells the land to beef cattle producers.  Grasslands are an important part of the habitat needed for nesting waterfowl, and are necessary for the production of beef on the prairies. Charlotte also shares information about the Ducks Unlimited Forage and Marginal Areas Program, and what is new for this program for the 2023 field year.  In this episode, we discuss the payments available to producers for these programs, and share that there has been a proposed increase per acre.  This episode was recorded in December 2022, and 2023 program details were not yet confirmed.  At the airing date of this episode, more information and an announcement is anticipated to be available to producers. We also discuss what the Winter Wheat Incentive Program is and the benefits growing winter wheat has in regards to migrating and nesting waterfowl.  This program often fills up quickly, so producers are encouraged to reach out early if they are interested in participating.  Through this annual

In this episode, we meet producer and Advanced Grazing Systems Mentor, Ron Moss.  Ron grew up in Kelvington, Saskatchewan. When he was young they lived on a farm with crops and livestock such as cows, pigs and chickens. His parents also had a store and post office in our home. Along with these enterprises they also had a mail run, sold cream from milk cows, logged and sawed lumber.In the early 1960’s Ron’s dad became the Kelvington Prairie Farm Rehabilitation Administration (PFRA) pasture manager and eventually their family moved on to the pasture. Horses and cattle were a big part of Ron’s life. During his teen years, Ron rode on one provincial community pasture and four PFRA pastures while he was going to high school and university. A lot of weekends were spent competing in horse sports at the small fairs and rodeos.In 1978, Ron graduated from the University of Saskatchewan in Saskatoon with a degree in Agriculture with a major in animal science and a minor in economics. He also married Yvonne Murrison that year and went on to have three children Alison, Ryan and Andrea. All three of their children also enjoy working with horses. Ron and Yvonne have eight grandchildren, who are now the most important thing in their lives.Direct out of university, Ron started with PFRA construction based in Regina. He checked contracts on the pastures such as building, fences, breaking and seeding and spent six weeks with an aerial spray crew. August of 1978, Ron came to Dauphin as a land manager which was called pasture supervisor back then and held this position for 25 years supervising the 12 pastures in the north half of Manitoba. In March of 2004, Ron took the Technology Transfer Coordinator position and was in this position until he retired in March 2012. One of the goals of the position was to communicate with producers on activities that had worked and some that had not worked. Community pastures were involved with activities or applied research to not only help with their operations but also to benefit the agricultural community. Ron and Yvonne bought their first cow in the early 1980’s and built up a small herd using rented pastures and yard sites. In 1989 they bought a quarter section just north of Dauphin and still live there. Influenced by Jim Gerrish’s Management Intensive Grazing and a 2006 Holistic Course with Don and Bev Campbell, the pasture for the cows has 23 permanent rectangular paddocks and they are usually moved twice a day in each paddock with temporary fencing. At the present they are a small cow-yearling operation content to have 30 cows. They have a low management herd on the pasture year round using bale grazing to accomplish this. Calving is in May-June, calves are kept over and grazed at their daughter Alison’s place the following year. The yearlings are sold at the end of September from 13-15 months of age.Ron strives to produce a healthy landscape, make a few dollars and have fun doing it.If you would like to contact Ron to find out more about his grazing methods or the Advanced Grazing Mentorship program, please email him at [email protected] or phone 204-647-9271.Resources mentioned in this episode include:Hydrate the Earth: The forgotten role of water in the climate crisisBy Ananda Fitzsimmons Management-Intensive Grazing: The Grassroots of Grass FarmingBy Jim GerrishAdvanced Grazing Systems program online resources: www.farmlearninghub.ca/bundles/grazing-course-bundle-mbThe research programs and daily operations at MBFI would not be possible without the funding from the Province of Manitoba, Government of Canada, and Canadian Agricultural Partnership, as well as the...

Kim Wolfe is a Research and Development Specialist - Ag Resources, with Manitoba Agriculture based in Portage la Prairie. She provides technical support for the Research and Innovation Program in the Department, which involves facilitating proposal reviews and helping researchers connect with industry. She has also spent the last five years working on riparian health and pollinator habitat establishment projects at the Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives. Kim sits on the MBFI Research Advisory Committee and the Manitoba Pollinator Working Group.Based in Indiana, Stephanie Frischie works with the Xerces Society to provide pollinator and beneficial insect habitat expertise in Canada, the U.S. and Latin America for a range of land use types - farms, energy infrastructure, natural areas, and urban green spaces. She also works with the native seed industry and researchers to plan and develop seed supply of important plant species for creating and restoring habitat. Stephanie volunteers as a rare plant monitor with Plants of Concern and is a founding board member of the International Network for Seed-based Restoration.In this episode, we are exploring two projects that were undertaken at MBFI revolving around increasing pollinator habitats; The Cows and Bees Project and Operation Pollinators.  Kim and Stephanie share a wealth of information on why we are seeing a decline in pollinating insects in the Prairie Region and why pollinators are so important, not only in agriculture, but in ecosystems as a whole.  They also discuss each of the projects in detail, along with the project findings. During our conversation, we discuss how this is relevant to farmers and what implications increasing pollinator habitats could have for the land and crops they farm.  We wrap up this conversation by discussing some ways to use pollinator plots or strips, the timing to plant them and the maintenance they require.For more information, you can contact Kim or Stephanie at their email addresses below:Kim Wolfe: [email protected]  Stephanie Frischie: [email protected] this episode, Stephanie also mentions a great resource for you to read.  If you would like to learn more, you can view, “Rangeland Management and Pollinators: A Guide for Producers in the Great Plains” (U.S. focused, but applicable to Manitoba) at the link below: https://xerces.org/sites/default/files/publications/20-001.pdfEach of these projects link to snap shots and a full report on the project and its outcomes, which is located on the MBFI Website or can be accessed by following the direct project links for the final reports below:Operation Pollinator Project: www.mbfi.ca/pollinator-habitatCows & Bees Project: www.mbfi.ca/cows-beesA very important thank you goes to Mae Elsinger (Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada) for her advisory role in the Cows & Bees Project. MBFI would also like to thank project funders and supporters for these projects; Syngenta Seeds and Xerces Society. The research programs and daily operations at MBFI would not be possible without the funding from the Province of Manitoba, Government of Canada, and Canadian Agricultural Partnership, as well as the partnership with Manitoba Agriculture, Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP), Ducks Unlimited Canada...

Brenna Mahoney is currently the General Manager of Keystone Agricultural Producers. Brenna is focused on building a strong primary agriculture advocacy capacity in Manitoba, by ensuring communications and outreach are at the foundation of all organizational efforts. She has contributed to and built national coalitions and partnerships focused on advancing the Canadian brand, farm practices and market access, public trust, grain nutrition and health, and sustainability. Brenna holds a Bachelor’s degree in Human Ecology, with a major in Clothing and Textiles/Textile Sciences, from the University of Manitoba. After working in her field, she pursued her certification in Human Resource Management from Red River College. She has significant experience working in project management, communications, and consensus building.Brenna has a passion for agriculture and working with members of the entire value chain to ensure positive collaboration from all aspects of the Canadian agricultural industry.Morag Marjerison grew up in England and emigrated to Manitoba in 2004.  She is a qualified workplace safety and health professional and has specialized in agricultural safety for over 25 years.  Morag has also owned her own farms for much of her adult life, so understands the challenges of matching the practical day to day running of agricultural operations with implementing expected health and safety standards.  She currently works for Keystone Agricultural Producers as the Farm Safety Consultant for FarmSafe Manitoba.In today’s Bonus episode, we are talking with Brenna Mahoney and Morag Marjerison of Keystone Ag Producers.  Annually, during the third week of March, Canadian Agricultural Safety Week occurs as a public campaign to raise the awareness of ag safety.  This year, that week is March 12-18th. Keystone Ag Producers is involved in Farm Safety through offering resources and information, and Free Farm Safety Consultations through their program, Farm Safe Manitoba.  To view the Farm Safe Manitoba website, please visit: https://farmsafemanitoba.caBrenna discusses the 4 Building Blocks of Farm Sare Manitoba, which have been created in order to give “bite sized” pieces of information to farmers who are interested in learning more.  The Building Blocks are; Be Farm Safety Aware, Follow the Law, Prepare to be Farm Safe and Sustain Safety on Your Farm.  Brenna and Morag both discuss farm safety as a carousell, which means you can get on board with farm safety at any time, and there is no specific start or end to being safe in your operation. Currently, Keystone Ag Producers is working on a wide variety of resources that will be available on their website soon through the Farm Safe Manitoba Program!  Producers are also able to email, call or contact Morag through the website to ask questions, book a consultation or to request information on safety related topics.  Morag is a wealth of information and is one of KAP’s greatest safety resources. Morag shares information on steps to better farm safety and the importance of having both farm meetings to discuss safety and “near misses,” as well as on-the-job training for all employees on the farm. While the amount of legislation is too large to discuss in the short time frame of the podcast, Morag does mention some very important pieces of legislation all farmers, farm workers and farm owners should be aware of.  These include the Workplace Health & Safety Act, which has aspects that are applicable to all farms, regardless of their size or number of employees and Young Workers Readiness through Safe Work Manitoba.  Through the Farm Safe Manitoba Program, producers can access free, confidential farm safety consultations.  These consultations can...

Quinn Robins graduated from Assiniboine Community College in 2017 after completing his Agribusiness Diploma.  After this, he worked at Richardson Pioneer in Shoal Lake Manitoba from May 2017 to May 2022 as a Location Assist working on the grain operation as well as the crop input operations.  Quinn is currently Working at Ducks Unlimited Canada and has a passion to help create a diverse environment with thriving forages and wetlands going forward in the ag industry.Quinn was a 4-H member for 14 years and held a number of  club positions(e.g. club reporter, secretary, vice president, and president). He had the honour to be awarded travel opportunities through 4-H and traveled to the 4-H Citizenship Seminar in Charlottetown, PEI, 4-H Canada Members Forum in Toronto, ON, and the 4-H National US Conference in Washington, DC.Quinn grew up on the family farm and has been  working with livestock since a young age. Quinn started buying into the farm and sharing more of the percentage in 2016 and at present day they are getting close to 50-50 split between them. He and his dad work together to run a commercial beef production farm at the moment but growing up they had sheep in their grazing system as well. Clayton Robins operates a mixed family farm in Rivers, Manitoba with a primary focus on beef production.  At the present time the operation includes; cow/calf, back-grounding, and custom grazing. The operation included sheep production for about 30 years, until 2009.Clayton graduated from the University of Manitoba in 1989 with a Bachelor of Science in Agriculture and then spent over 20 years with Agriculture and Agri Food Canada Research Branch in Brandon studying beef and forage production: including extending the grazing season, forage-based finishing, greenhouse gas mitigation, modeling, cultivar development, and energetic efficiencies. Through this has co-authored a number of scientific papers. Clayton also served as the Executive Director of Manitoba 4-H Council for 7 years. Clayton is currently employed with Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives, working to support research and extension projects.Clayton spent several years working on Ag industry development as a member of numerous Boards and committees. Through coaching sport, volunteer time and Board positions with Ag in the Classroom, Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba and other such youth education programs, youth development has been and continues to be an important part of his private life. In 2013, Clayton was awarded one of the Nuffield Canada Scholarships, touring the world to study the potential for energy-dense forages in the Canadian beef production model and has since delivered presentations on the concept in 8 countries.In this episode, Clayton and Quinn share information about their current practices in grazing and cover crop use. Clayton discusses some overall trends he has observed in approaches to improving grazing and beef cattle production, as well as how work on their farm has inspired practices in MBFI’s farm operations and project ideas. This has included the use of small diameter bales, dropped where harvested, in the field for later season grazing of bales and intercrop regrowth to MBFI.Quinn shares some of the biggest changes he has noticed on their farm because of the practices he and Clayton have been using.  He also discusses some of their plans for the future to continue these practices.Clayton also talks about his experience with Nuffield Canada and the opportunity to be awarded a Nuffield Canada Scholarship in 2013.  During this journey, Clayton started out by considering the role of “energy-dense” forbs on beef cattle nutrition and he shares how their practices have changed and stayed the same since completing his studies.If you would like to contact Clayton or Quinn about their practices, or to talk to Calayton...

MBFI is excited to be collaborating with Katlin Lang Co-Founder of FarmSimple Solutions to demonstrate their Internet of Things (IoT) technologies on our Johnson and Brookdale Farms. The opportunity was made possible through connection with the Conexus Cultivator Innovation Hub.  Katlin Lang is the Co-Founder of FarmSimple Solutions from Vibank, SK.  He was born and raised on a cattle farm near Francis, SK with his 3 brothers.  Katlin was involved in raising purebred Charolais and Red Angus since he could walk. Katlin is now a Professional Engineer.  He studied Electronic Systems Engineering at the University of Regina, then worked in Construction Management and Electrical Consulting fields until he decided to get back to his farming roots and try his hand at a tech startup for the livestock industry.  Katlin feels that technology development has ignored the livestock sector and as such the industry is lacking the technology diversity that could be used to improve the lives and economic efficiency for producers who operate on razor thin margins.In this episode, Katlin walks us through the beginning of FarmSimple Solutions, a company that has created and manufactured technology that alerts farmers to low water or low water temperatures which could result in freezing, depending on the product model.  These products started out as a prototype for a friend of Katlin’s and has since evolved into a business that is helping producers to reduce time and money spent to check water bowls at all times of the year.Currently, FarmSimple has two products on the market, the “Herd Hand” which monitors water levels, and the “Herd Hand DT” which monitors water temperatures and alerts when temperatures drop and before freezing occurs.  More information on both of these products can be found at their website, by following the link below.Katlin also shares information on what technologies are on the horizon for FarmSimple solutions to better meet the needs of producers, especially those with pastures in remote locations, which may not have cell service. At MBFI in the winter of 2023, we will demonstrate the Herd Hand Dual Temperature to monitor for frozen waterers. In the summer we’ll be trialing the Herd Hand low water sensor in our Brookdale Farm summer water system. Stay tuned for upcoming field days to see the systems first hand!  If you have questions for Katlin, you can contact him by phone at 1-306-994-5641 or via email at: [email protected] For more information about FarmSimple, or their products, please visit: https://farmsimple.caTo try out the cost calculator to see what your trips to check water cost you, please visit: https://farmsimple.ca/calculator/FarmSimple is also on Facebook by searching: FarmSimple Solutions Ltd. and on Twitter: @FarmSimple_The research programs and daily operations at MBFI would not be possible without the funding from the Province of Manitoba, Government of Canada, and Canadian Agricultural Partnership, as well as the partnership with Manitoba Agriculture, Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP), Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) and the Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association (MFGA). We encourage you to follow MBFI on social media, or check out the website for more information on project findings and results, upcoming events and more!Instagram:...

Owen Taylor runs a 200-head commercial Angus cow/calf operation with his parents, Mark and Brenda, and his wife and daughters. Owen and his wife, Teauna, were married in 2006 and have since welcomed 4 daughters; Kinley, Macey, Scarlett and Arewn. Their family moved to the farm in October 2007. Owen’s days are filled with activities including volleyball, golf, curling, hockey and figure skating. Both he and his wife love watching their girls grow on the farm.They start calving in mid-April on stockpiled grass and rotationally graze their cattle herd throughout the grazing season. For the last few years, Owen has been selling the steer calves in mid-November and keeping the heifer calves to breed the following summer.Owen’s dad, Mark, started experimenting with seed blends more than a decade ago. Mostly oats and peas for the purpose of livestock feed. They started trying more complex blends with limited results. They were using 6-8 species but only ever saw 2-3 species in any amount. Now, they use Covers &amp; Co. blends for silage bales, dry bales, mob grazing, early spring grazing, fall grazing and swath grazing. They have used no synthetic fertilizer on their farm for 4 years.In this episode, Owen introduces us to Covers &amp; Co. A seed supply business built in the small community of Crystal City, MB by founders who believe wholeheartedly in the power of regenerative agriculture, the importance of sharing knowledge and in supporting small communities.&nbsp;Owen shares information about why intercropping, growing cover crops, and growing diverse crops is so important, as well as how the use of cover crops and plant diversity can reduce input costs, extend the grazing season and improve soil health.We discuss many elements of the Covers &amp; Co. website, which hosts a variety of resources, including the Intercrop Library Resources, information on past and current on farm trials. The Small Community Fund, Farm Panel Discussion Webinars and the Soil Health Blog. The link for their website can be found below.We also discuss where a farmer should start when thinking about trying intercropping or cover cropping for the first time and seed blends currently available at Covers &amp; Co. and what is coming up for them in the future.&nbsp;For more information, please visit their website: https://www.coversandco.caOr follow them on:Facebook at: facebook.com/covercropcompanyInstagram at: @covercropcompanyTwitter at: @covers_coYoutube at: youtube.com/c/covers_coEmail them at: [email protected] field has its own unique growing conditions and MBFI encourages all producers to seek feedback on their crop rotations and fertilizer recommendations from a Professional Agrologist certified in agronomy.&nbsp;The research programs and daily operations at MBFI would not be possible without the funding from the Province of Manitoba, Government of Canada, and Canadian Agricultural Partnership, as well as the partnership with Manitoba Agriculture,&nbsp;Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP),&nbsp;Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC)&nbsp;and the Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association (MFGA).&nbsp;We encourage you to follow MBFI on social media, or check out the website for more information on project findings and results, upcoming events and more!Instagram: @MBBeefandForageFacebook: @MBBeefandForageTwitter: @MBBeefandForageWebsite: <a href="http://www.mbfi.ca/" rel="noopener noreferrer"...

Manitoba Association of Watersheds - Living Labs On-Farm Research &amp; PWCP Producer BMP Funding with Lynda Nicol &amp; Dan Cox&nbsp;Lynda Nicol is the Executive Director for the Manitoba Association of Watersheds (MAW).&nbsp; She has worked in not-for-profit organizations for over 15 years specializing in strategic planning, operations and communications. Lynda has a Bachelor of Arts in political studies and is committed to ongoing personal and professional development to support her work. In her role as MAW’s Executive Director, Lynda oversees all aspects of the association including member services, program development, industry engagement and stakeholder relations.Dan Cox is the Project Manager with Manitoba Association of Watersheds. He brings 14+ years of project management experience in the renewable energy sector to the MAW project team. Dan’s educational background includes a Bachelor of Science from the University of Winnipeg and an advanced diploma in GIS from Red River College. His role within the organization is to oversee all projects which MAW administers on behalf of the Watershed Districts in Manitoba.In this episode, we are focusing on two of the provincial projects that Manitoba Association of Watersheds is currently working on; The Living Labs Eastern Prairies and Prairie Watersheds Climate Program (PWCP).&nbsp;&nbsp;We start today’s conversation with a brief introduction to the Manitoba Association of Watersheds, including recent changes to the watershed districts, some information about the differences between districts and a general overview of information that is important for producers to know about MAW.Dan shares information about the Living Lab - Eastern Prairies project, including the main goals of this work, and the activities that take place there.&nbsp; He outlines some of the main takeaways from the project so far, and gives a bit of a timeline as to when additional findings will be published for producers to review.&nbsp; He emphasizes this work’s importance to producers, as trial and error could be reduced on private operations based on the outcomes of the work they are doing at the Living Labs.&nbsp; Following along with the project outcomes could save producers the investments of time and money.&nbsp; Dan also shares some information on upcoming Living Labs projects and how interested producers can get involved.If producers want to learn more, you can contact your local watershed district or find information at the link below:https://agriculture.canada.ca/en/agricultural-science-and-innovation/living-laboratories-initiative/living-lab-eastern-prairies&nbsp;The Manitoba Association of Watersheds is leading the delivery of the Agricultural Climate Solutions&nbsp; On-Farm Climate Action Fund in Manitoba and Saskatchewan - known as the Prairie Watersheds Climate Program (PWCP).&nbsp; Lynda shares some information on the primary goals of PWCP and what this program means for Manitoba producers.There is a lot of information to share on the 3 Streams of funding available; rotational grazing, nitrogen management and cover crops; and we only very briefly touch on these in the episode.&nbsp; For more information on what is eligible and not eligible for this funding, you can view the fact sheets on each stream, which are available at this link:&nbsp;&nbsp;https://manitobawatersheds.org/prairie-watershed-climate-programLynda stresses the importance of contacting your local watershed district and talking with them about eligible projects, as they will be able to assist you with your project application, determining what is...

In this episode, we are talking with David Rourke, author of, “A Road to Fossil Fuel Free Farming: An Example and A Challenge." David shares his journey to building the family farm operation, taking on the pursuit of completing a PhD, and his recent book publication.&nbsp; We discuss some of his farming practices, goals, and the trials he has coming up on the farm in the future.David and Diane have farmed at Minto Manitoba since 1980, when a chance to rent 300 acres became available. Armed with $4000 and an MSc in Plant Science, and a lot of determination, they raised a family of 4 and are blessed with 9 grandkids. They also grew the farm to 6000 acres and built a contract ag research business. AgQuest grew to have 26 research crews at 5 locations across Western Canada. The Rourke’s have tried many enterprises along the road, including feeding 15,000 pigs/year with an on-farm feed mill and complimentary ethanol plant. They have milked 500 goats and grown high-generation potato seed from tissue-cultured plantlets. They also tried their hand at breeding wheat, corn and soybeans as well as a short stint at organic farming.&nbsp;David has a deep interest in finding a solution to eliminating fossil fuel use in the agricultural sector, which is rooted in his care and concern for the earth we are leaving for our future generations. David shares some very powerful thoughts from his book that dives into the question of whether the life we are living is sustainable, and what will be left for our children and grandchildren, if it is not.We discuss the practices David has identified as unsustainable in the ag industry and his opinion on what it would look like for farms to be truly sustainable, as well as why this is important, both from the global perspective of extreme weather events and the financial perspective, which hits a bit closer to home.David shares some of his ideas and solutions to becoming fossil fuel free and steps he is taking on his farm to reduce and eliminate emissions and fossil fuel use.&nbsp; He challenges other producers to think about ways to reduce or eliminate fossil fuel use on their own operations, understanding that this will look different for everyone, but encouraging farmers to start thinking about the topic and being mindful of the effects current practices and fossil fuel use are having on the environment.If you are interested in purchasing a copy of David’s book, you can visit www.fossilfuelfreefarming.com or www.rourkefarms.com, or David welcomes listeners to contact him by phone if that works better and he will get you a copy.&nbsp; His phone number is 1-204-534-7531.&nbsp; David’s book is also available in an audio version.We encourage you to follow MBFI on social media, or check out the website for more information on project findings and results, upcoming events and more!Instagram: @MBBeefandForageFacebook: @MBBeefandForageTwitter: @MBBeefandForageWebsite: www.mbfi.ca&nbsp;Email address: [email protected]&nbsp;Mary-Jane’s Phone Number: 431-255-0011The research programs and daily operations at MBFI would not be possible without the funding from the Province of Manitoba, Government of Canada, and Canadian Agricultural Partnership, as well as the partnership with Manitoba Agriculture,&nbsp;Manitoba Beef Producers (MBP),&nbsp;Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC)&nbsp;and the <a href="http://mfga.net/" rel="noopener