Betty Sawatzky

Every single plant, whether that be an economically important one or not, they're all host to a variety of different microorganisms that live in them and use them for their home and for nutrients. While some of these microorganisms have no impact on the plant health, some are detrimental to the plant.

Local Foodgrains Bank committee members and volunteers got to meet their new Manitoba rep over the past few weeks.  Former Foodgrains rep for Manitoba, Gordon Janzen, travelled with the newest addition to the Manitoba team, Dale Friesen, throughout the province visiting the many communities where they hold their annual fundraisers and grow projects.

Friesen has been in the role as the Foodgrains rep for Manitoba and northwestern Ontario for about a month, upon Janzen's recent retirement.

Local Foodgrains Bank committee members and volunteers got to meet their new Manitoba rep over the past few weeks.  Former Foodgrains rep for Manitoba, Gordon Janzen, travelled with the newest addition to the Manitoba team, Dale Friesen, throughout the province visiting the many communities where they hold their annual fundraisers and grow projects.

Friesen has been in the role as the Foodgrains rep for Manitoba and northwestern Ontario for about a month, upon Janzen's recent retirement.

The Healthy Lake Committee did it again!  Another successful ice fishing derby took place on the first Saturday in March. And even though the wind was brisk, the fishing was pretty good!

The Grand Prize winner of the quad was Mervin Waldner with his 101.5 cm northern pike.

In total 487 people were registered for the March 1st fishing derby, with a total of 104 fish registered through the Fish Donkey App.

The Canadian Foodgrains Bank is welcoming a new face to their Manitoba team!

The recent announcement of Manitoba and Northwest Ontario rep, Gordon Janzen's retirement, opens the door for the newest member of the Foodgrains Bank to advocate for the hungry around the world.

Dale Friesen grew up on a mixed farming operation just west of Altona.  However, the call to ministry prompted Friesen into the seminary, and now after 17 years as pastor he has stepped into this new role as CFB rep for Manitoba and NW Ontario.

Last week members of Manitoba Beef Producers voted in favor of implementing mandatory livestock inspection with a strong majority vote at their Annual General Meeting in Winnipeg.

Manitoba's neighbors to the west have had mandatory livestock inspection for quite a number of years, but our cattle producers were skeptical about receiving value for the investment.  However, with healthy markets and the increase of cattle theft and fraud over the past few years, having this legislation in place makes sense.

The Manitoba Band Association has played host to close to thousands of students from across the province for last week's launch of their Family of Festivals.

"This is our 50th Anniversary for our Family of Festivals," shares Executive Director, Brent Johnson, "and we kicked things off with the Concert Festival, which is the largest of our festivals.  We're here at the RBC Convention Centre in Winnipeg with music happening from about 9:30 in the morning all the way through till around 9 or 10 o'clock each night!"

The Manitoba Band Association has played host to close to thousands of students from across the province for last week's launch of their Family of Festivals.

"This is our 50th Anniversary for our Family of Festivals," shares Executive Director, Brent Johnson, "and we kicked things off with the Concert Festival, which is the largest of our festivals.  We're here at the RBC Convention Centre in Winnipeg with music happening from about 9:30 in the morning all the way through till around 9 or 10 o'clock each night!"

If you're a woman in Manitoba who wants to learn more about the outdoors, you might want to consider the 'Becoming an Outdoors Woman' weekend at the end of May.

Becoming an Outdoorswoman (BOW) is a program hosted by the Manitoba Wildlife Federation (MWF).  It's designed for women of all ages to learn outdoor skills that will benefit them in all manners of outdoor interests, from fishing to hunting, to outdoor food preparation and so much more.

The struggle between Canada and the U.S. has affected the relations between the International Peace Garden and some of their supporters, prompting an influx of emails sent to the Peace Garden over the past few weeks.  CEO Tim Chapman responded to those emails last week.  He also shared his own personal message to their supporters on both sides of the border.