BY: Melvin Rattai, Chair, MPSG
It has been a beautiful start to our fall in October 2024. At the time of writing, it’s Thanksgiving weekend and we’re done with harvest. It’s been a long time since we have been 100 per cent complete by this time of the year. Now, all that’s left to do is field work and spreading fertilizer.
The marketing of the new crops in the bin will be a very big change. With the new low prices, we must decide to hold our crops until spring or move them throughout the winter. The crop around Beausejour, Man. came off really dry, for the most part, so there’s no problem storing them this year, but how long can we store them before we need to sell some is a bigger question!
It has been an interesting year for Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers (MPSG). MPSG’s 40th anniversary was held in Dauphin, Man. at a local farmer’s residence. During this event, MPSG had the opportunity to spend some quality time with the new Manitoba Agriculture Minister Ron Kostyshyn.
One of the big achievements for MPSG this past year, was bringing the Soy Quality Testing program to the Canadian Grain Commission in Winnipeg, Man. for the 2024 season. A special thanks goes to Soy Canada’s board for the approval of a four-year commitment to jointly fund the program, combined with financial support from Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, the Canadian Grain Commission, Producteurs de grains du Québec, Grain Farmers of Ontario and MPSG. This Program means more jobs for the Winnipeg area as farmers from across Canada now can send their food grade variety samples to Winnipeg. This testing program provides functional analysis for products such as tofu, soy milk etc.
We are happy to see a large number of farmers continuing to use our On-farm Network research and programs. This shows us continual interest among our farmers. We’re excited to have the on-going support from local farmers for testing purposes. Thanks everyone!
Enjoy the holidays and take care of yourselves!
Stay focused on the things that matter the most to you in your life.