Betty Sawatzky

The organizing committee of the Royal Manitoba Winter Fair is putting the finishing touches on their annual event taking place all of next week at the Keystone Centre in Brandon, Monday to Saturday, March 31-April 5th!

The annual fair is hosted by the Provincial Exhibition of Manitoba this being their 55th year since their 'Royal' designation from Queen Elizabeth back in 1970.  It features competition and entertainment from one end of the Keystone Centre to the other!

In 2024 Squeal on Pigs Manitoba had a successful year in trapping wild pigs with pig removal numbers being significantly higher totaling over 200 animals.

Doctor Wayne Lees, Coordinator for Squeal on Pigs Manitoba, says this is quite a jump from the year before, and with that they've been able to capture more field data and better understand the characteristics and habits of these wild pigs.

Manitoba Transportation and Infrastructure’s Hydrologic Forecast Centre has released its February Flood Outlook Report, which indicates a low-to-moderate risk of significant spring flooding in most Manitoba basins.

Spring flood risk is largely dependent on weather conditions from now until the spring melt and throughout the spring.

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.

When a serious car accident takes place anywhere in Canada, we call 911 and that call gets dispatched to police and EMS paramedics, fire and rescue to the scene.

But once the victim(s) are transported to the hospital, we don't often think about what takes place after that unless it is a loved one who is involved.

Looking at this year's grow season, Manitoba Agriculture Applied Research Specialist with WADO, Scott Chalmers says something to certainly be watching out for is the herbicide resistant weeds that are starting to really take hold, like Kochia here in the southwest corner of the province.

Chalmers says Kochia has become resistant to a variety of herbicides and if it starts cross-pollinating it could turn into a super weed.  In the eastern region of Manitoba water hemp is a problem and we're not wanting that weed to come this way.

"We had record prices in 2024,” says Manitoba Livestock Marketing Association Executive Administrator, Rick Wright. "For the cow/calf breeders in Manitoba, across Western Canada, it's the best year we've ever had."

It's been about a dozen years since Manitoba 4-H sent a team to the Canadian Western Agribition in Regina last month to participate in the judging competition with fellow 4-H teams from across the country. Portage area's own Karen Olafson was involved.

The Manitoba Wildfire Service (MWS) continues to respond to 58 active wildfires across the province, with a total of 175 wildfires to date. Lightning caused fires continue to persist and crews are facing some challenging fire behaviour.

Monitoring and Sampling Update

As of June 10, 2024, 26 water samples taken from high-priority areas in Clear Lake have tested negative for zebra mussel environmental DNA (eDNA). Currently, areas of focus are near Boat Cove and the area around the pier and the Clear Lake Marina. Water samples continue to be analyzed in Winnipeg by Fisheries and Oceans Canada on a priority basis. The likelihood of detecting zebra mussels increases as the water temperature warms.