By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Roundup for Friday April 14, 2023

Apr 14, 2023 | 10:27 AM

A local state of emergency has been declared for the Manitoba municipality of Boissevain-Morten due to overland flooding and washed-out roads.

Judy Swanson, who is the head of council for the area, said the state of emergency went into effect this week after leadership learned of rapid flash flooding south of town.

She said there are several creeks in the area, and when there is a quick melt, they swell and can washout roads.

Swanson added they are past the crisis stage of the state of emergency but noted they plan to have it in place for the next month as a precautionary measure.

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Court proceedings

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Farmers in Alberta use roughly 2,000 tonnes of grain bags and 2,200 tonnes of plastic baler twine each year.

While these plastic tools are essential in farming operations, managing these plastics after use has been challenging for many farmers.

A pilot program called ‘Alberta Ag Plastic. Recycle It!’ has been developed for Alberta farmers.

It offers a solution to manage the materials environmentally, giving farmers options to operate their farms sustainably.

Beef producer and Chair of the Alberta Agricultural Plastics Recycling Group (APRG) Assar Grinde said this time of year his cows are bale grazing.

“Most of the twine I take off my bales is clean and easy to recycle. Putting it in a recycling bag rather than a garbage bag was an easy habit to form, and I am glad there is a better place for it to go, rather than into a landfill,” Grinde said.

From the start of the pilot in October 2019 and continuing through December 2022, farmers have brought close to 2,270 tonnes of grain bag plastic and over 336 tonnes of used plastic baler twine to designated collection locations for recycling.

For grain bags, that’s equal to 126 semi-trailers full of rolled up grain bags, lined up end to end for two kilometres. The twine collected for recycling equals the amount that would be used to wrap 922,000 large square hay bales.

Funds for the pilot were provided by the Alberta Government and administered by Alberta Beef Producers.

The long-term goal is to expand the pilot into a permanent program.

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Farm Management Canada’s Agricultural Excellence (AgEx) Conference heads to Guelph, Ont.

AgEx, taking place this year from Nov. 21 to 23, is the only conference in Canada dedicated to bringing together farm management specialists.

Conference manager Denise Robertson said the focus is building the business acumen of Canada’s farmers.

“We welcome anyone and everyone from farmers to advisors, academia, organizations, private industry, and government from across Canada and around the world,” Robertson said. “Attendees will have the chance to exchange expertise and discover new ideas from leading experts, to help position Canada’s farmers for success through farm management excellence!”

This year’s Conference theme, Embrace the Opportunity, will explore the social, economic, and environmental pressures facing farmers and how to turn risk into opportunity.

AgEx will include a variety of presentations, concurrent workshops, and panel discussions.

The full conference agenda is available here.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW