Parasitoids of potential pest insects
Insects that parasitize and kill other insects are called parasitoids. In their immature stages these parasitoids live in or on the body of another insect (the host), but they are free-living as adults. Many of the parasitoids of insects in Manitoba are either wasps or flies. Parasitic wasps do have what looks like a stinger, but they use this to lay eggs in the insects that they are parasitizing, and will not sting people.

PHOTOS: A guide to beneficial insects

Reading Time: < 1 minute There are thousands of insect species in the fields across Canada. But how can you tell which are the beneficial insects and which bugs are trouble? Here’s a quick guide to help you identify and protect the good bugs that prey on the bad ones. This guide is also available on the Manitoba Agriculture website at www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture […] Read more

(Dave Bedard photo)

Canadian canola stocks seen dwindling to four-year low

Reading Time: 2 minutes Winnipeg | Reuters — Canadian stockpiles of canola dwindled to a four-year low ahead of planting season after brisk demand from crushers and exporters, but wheat supplies swelled, according to a Reuters survey of 12 traders and analysts. On Friday, Statistics Canada will estimate crop supplies as of March 31, 2017, from commercial and farm […] Read more


Photo: Thinkstock

Canadian producers to plant record canola crop, boost soybean acres

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada – Canadian oilseed acreage is set to boom according to the latest acreage estimates from Statistics Canada. Today, the agency released its Principal Fields Crops Acreage Summary for 2017/18 on April 21. It pegged canola acreage at a record 22.387 million acres, a jump of 2.02 million acres over last year. “It’s no surprise […] Read more

(Weetabix.ca)

Post tucks into British breakfast cereal Weetabix

Reading Time: 3 minutes London/Shanghai/New York | Reuters — Post Holdings is buying leading British breakfast cereal brand Weetabix from China’s Bright Food Group for 1.4 billion pounds (C$2.4 billion), giving the U.S.-focused company a European base on which to build. The combination will help Post’s existing brands, which include Honey Bunches of Oats and Grape-Nuts, to expand overseas, […] Read more


(Dave Bedard photo)

Trade sees record Canadian canola acres as possibility

Reading Time: 2 minutes CNS Canada — Canadian farmers could be set to seed record-large canola acres in 2017, while wheat area is generally expected to be down on the year when Statistics Canada releases its first survey-based acreage estimates of the year on Friday. From a purely economic standpoint, “canola is historically the commodity that pays the bills,” […] Read more

Alberta Agriculture Minister Oneil Carlier speaks with Alberta Beef Producers’ Tom Lynch-Staunton, Roland Cailliau and Bob Lowe (l-r). (Government of Alberta photo)

Alberta to restore non-refundable checkoff option

Reading Time: 2 minutes Alberta’s farmed-commodity commissions may soon be able to make their checkoffs non-refundable again if their producer members are willing. The provincial government on Tuesday tabled amendments to the Marketing of Agricultural Products Act (MAPA) which would grant each of the province’s 13 agricultural commissions the ability to determine whether their checkoffs should be refundable or […] Read more


Agronomics and economics: A few graphs of interest

Agronomics and economics: A few graphs of interest

Reading Time: 2 minutes At the Manitoba Agronomists Conference in December, Roy Arnott and Anastasia Kubinec of Manitoba Agriculture gave a joint presentation titled Agronomics & economics — crop management decisions need both! The full presentation is available on the Manitoba Agriculture website, but here are a few snapshots. Crop rotation can pay The above charts by Anastasia Kubinec […] Read more

A strawberry rhubarb mini cake at Panera Bread. (PaneraBread.com)

Krispy Kreme owner to buy bakery chain Panera Bread

Reading Time: 2 minutes Reuters — JAB Holdings, the owner of Caribou Coffee and Krispy Kreme Doughnuts, said Wednesday it would buy bakery chain Panera Bread for US$7.2 billion, as it expands its coffee and breakfast empire through the biggest-ever U.S. restaurant deal. JAB, the investment vehicle of Germany’s billionaire Reimann family, has built up an empire of coffee […] Read more


Crown rust is considered one of the worst crop diseases since its strains can mutate to acquire new virulence and resistance.

Crown rust comes after oats

Part of the management challenge comes from its sources and its choice as a cover crop

Reading Time: 5 minutes In a production agriculture world where corn and soybeans have dominated the scene for much of the last 25 years, oats are supposedly one of the forgotten crops. There have been attempts to revive the grain’s standing, including the formation of the Oat and Barley Council of Ontario back in the early 2000s, as well […] Read more

(Doug Wilson photo courtesy ARS/USDA)

Yorkton, Sask. oat plant moves on major expansion

Reading Time: < 1 minute U.S. processing firm Grain Millers Inc. is pressing ahead on the second phase of a previously announced expansion at its Yorkton, Sask. oat processing plant. The company on Friday announced the “initiation” of the second phase of the expansion, which overall is expected to cost $100 million and boost the plant’s annual output by 80,000 […] Read more