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Agriculture

CARILLON ARCHIVES Don Janzen and Roger and Curt Loewen have a roof over their heads as the final rafters are being lifted into place by a crane at the first of two Tritek hog barns is nearing completion in the La Broquerie area.

COLUMN: The Carillon Flashback July 27, 1994 – Huge Tritek barns reflect a bright future for hogs

Wes Keating 7 minute read 10:05 AM CDT

Only modesty prevents La Broquerie’s Vielfaure brothers and the boss of Boss Hogs Farms from agreeing they are on their way to becoming Manitoba’s largest hog producers.

A pair of huge barns under construction southwest of La Broquerie will house 2,500 sows in a farrow-to-weanling operation. Once the facility, a joint venture known as Tritek Farms, is in full production, Don Janzen and Paul, Denis and Claude Vielfaure will be supplying 150,000 weanlings to the feeder market annually.

Janzen, who started in the poultry business with his father and expanded into hogs in 1986, says the challenges of a non-supply-management commodity are different. Not being controlled like dairy or poultry, both production numbers and efficiency have to be there to succeed in a wide open market, he emphasized.

Janzen bought his father’s farm in 1980 and currently has 2,500 sows on three separate locations; one near Randolph, one near New Bothwell and a third 10 miles south of Steinbach.

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Federal canola tariff bailout misses mark: Manitoba growers

Matthew Frank 5 minute read Preview

Federal canola tariff bailout misses mark: Manitoba growers

Matthew Frank 5 minute read Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

Manitoba canola producers and advocates say federal tariff support measures, while welcomed, still fall short for helping the industry weather the instability caused by Chinese levies.

On Sept. 5, Prime Minister Mark Carney announced more than $370 million worth of tariff support measures for Canadian canola producers and new biofuel production incentives. The federal government will amend the Clean Fuel Regulations for a two year period so the biofuel industry can grow and become competitive, a press release said. The new measures also include increasing the loan limit for domestic canola producers to $500,000 and spending $75 million over five years to expand the federal AgriMarketing Program, which helps producers explore new countries and markets for their products.

Warren Ellis, chair of the Manitoba Canola Growers Association, sees domestic biofuel production as a means for providing stability to the canola market and developing environmentally clean fuel.

“We’re really hoping to get this biofuel marketing going because we really see is it as something with huge potential,” he said.

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Sunday, Sep. 21, 2025

MATTHEW FRANK THE CARILLON

Mike Reimer, a farmer north of Steinbach, stands with a combine before he checks his canola fields on Monay. He labeled the federal tariff support for farmers as “Band-Aid” solutions.

MATTHEW FRANK THE CARILLON Mike Reimer, a farmer north of Steinbach, stands with a combine before he checks his canola fields on Monay. He labeled the federal tariff support for farmers as “Band-Aid” solutions.

Titan Environmental on way to being a giant of industry

Wes Keating 5 minute read Preview

Titan Environmental on way to being a giant of industry

Wes Keating 5 minute read Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025

Titan Environmental at Ile des Chenes is no longer the tiny company of four men and a truck it was when it was started in a Grande Pointe garage, nearly 20 years ago.

Today, the company, which has just moved its corporate headquarters to a new location in Ile des Chenes, has grown to seven locations in Canada, and one in the United States.

Titan President Juice Lambert says while they started in agriculture, providing geomembrane linings for hog lagoons, today their company’s expertise and high quality geosynthetics solutions are strongly focused on the mining industry.

Those lagoon lining projects, although smaller in scale than the company would soon become known for, presented certain challenges that shaped this growing company. Titan helped hog producing clients to reduce the risk of contaminating ground water, while protecting the environment as cost effectively as possible.

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Wednesday, Aug. 13, 2025

WES KEATING THE CARILLON

Titan Environmental president Juice Lambert at the company’s new headquarters in Ile des Chenes.

WES KEATING THE CARILLON Titan Environmental president Juice Lambert at the company’s new headquarters in Ile des Chenes.

COLUMN: Carillon Flashback September 19, 2002 – ‘City of pigs’ triggers natural grazing pastures

Wes Keating 5 minute read Preview

COLUMN: Carillon Flashback September 19, 2002 – ‘City of pigs’ triggers natural grazing pastures

Wes Keating 5 minute read Monday, Aug. 11, 2025

Almost 5,000 yearling beef cattle graze on 6,000 acres of natural grassland fertilized with manure generated by 100,000 pigs housed in 43 nearby barns. Four years ago, Robert and Jodi Krentz, who own Evergreen Farms near Pansy, sold parcels of land to hog producers.

They held back grazing rights and made an agreement with the producers that manure generated by the hog operations would be available for their pastures.

Robert Krentz says he triggered the barns because he wanted the manure. They now have a “city of pigs” in their neighborhood, supplying Evergreen Farms with all the good fertilizer they need.

This unique partnership, along with their success in improving their pastures through an innovative rotational grazing system, was recognized by the Seine-Rat River Conservation District naming Robert and Jodi Krentz the District’s 2002 Farm Family.

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Monday, Aug. 11, 2025

CARILLON ARCHIVES

The newly formed Seine-Rat River Conservation District has named Jodi and Robert Krentz its 2002 “Farm Family-of-the-Year”.

CARILLON ARCHIVES The newly formed Seine-Rat River Conservation District has named Jodi and Robert Krentz its 2002 “Farm Family-of-the-Year”.

Tapping into the power of the past with steam

Matthew Frank 8 minute read Preview

Tapping into the power of the past with steam

Matthew Frank 8 minute read Monday, Aug. 11, 2025

For Dylan Peters, operating a steam engine is more than driving a machine – it’s a whole-body experience.

When the engine is in full swing, it can be felt in your bones, he said.

“You can smell the heat coming off of it. You can smell the steam, the oil. It just smells powerful,” Peters said.

Peters is part of a group of steam enthusiasts who put on a full demonstration of the Mennonite Heritage Village’s steam engine on Saturday, as part of Pioneer Days.

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Monday, Aug. 11, 2025

MATTHEW FRANK THE CARILLON
MATTHEW FRANK THE CARILLON

COLUMN: Carillon Flashback April 25, 2013 – Holtmann brothers recycle manure at Rosser Holsteins

Wes Keating 6 minute read Preview

COLUMN: Carillon Flashback April 25, 2013 – Holtmann brothers recycle manure at Rosser Holsteins

Wes Keating 6 minute read Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025

Henry and Tony Holtmann have never been prone to letting others try out new technology in the dairy industry and waiting a few years to make sure it works before taking the plunge themselves.

Since 1997, when the brothers built their first ultra modern dairy barn near Rosser, until eight weeks ago, when they flicked on the switch for their brand new bedding recovery unit, Rosser Holsteins has been leading the way for dairy farmers.

Mixing the latest technology and equipment for the recycling of manure to replace straw bedding with farm practises that stress the importance of staff in all aspects of their dairy, allows the Holtmanns to achieve a perfect balance between man and machine.

In March, 100 invited guests were given a tour of the facility, including a calf barn which incorporates a coated steel-grid flooring material, which eliminates the need for bedding and keeps the calves clean enough to be paraded in any 4-H competition at a moment’s notice.

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Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025

CARILLON ARCHIVES

Interested guests at the tour of the manure recycling facility at Rosser Holsteins were Lely representative Rich Peters, hog producer Will Peters and Fred Winkler of the Farm Credit Corporation.

CARILLON ARCHIVES Interested guests at the tour of the manure recycling facility at Rosser Holsteins were Lely representative Rich Peters, hog producer Will Peters and Fred Winkler of the Farm Credit Corporation.

Southeast projects highlight annual Watersheds tour

Wes Keating 8 minute read Preview

Southeast projects highlight annual Watersheds tour

Wes Keating 8 minute read Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025

Two busloads of Manitoba Association of Watersheds employees, board members from across the province and project funding partners got a close-up look at a number of projects in the Southeast as Seine Rat Roseau Watershed District hosted the annual Manitoba Watersheds Association tour in July.

The two-day tour was kicked off at the Mennonite Heritage Village Museum in Steinbach where the pond, part of the Manning Canal provincial waterway, has undergone extensive bank restoration .

Tour participants were told that for years the banks of the pond were eroded during spring runoff to the creek, creating a steep drop off.

Both the east and west banks of the pond were restored by placing coconut coir logs three to four feet from the banks to hold back the fill that was added behind them.

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Sunday, Aug. 10, 2025

WES KEATING THE CARILLON

Mennonite Heritage Village manager Robert Goertzen is up to his waist in bulrushes and high grasses growing along the banks of the pond on the museum grounds.

WES KEATING THE CARILLON Mennonite Heritage Village manager Robert Goertzen is up to his waist in bulrushes and high grasses growing along the banks of the pond on the museum grounds.

True Cost of Wool examines economic, environmental impacts of wool industry

Svjetlana Mlinarevic 5 minute read Preview

True Cost of Wool examines economic, environmental impacts of wool industry

Svjetlana Mlinarevic 5 minute read Tuesday, Jun. 24, 2025

A Ste Genevieve shepherdess and author has just released her second book on wool with an eye on the industry in Canada.

Anna Hunter’s newly released book The True Cost of Wool: A Vision for Revitalizing the Canadian Industry examines the environmental, economic, and social impacts of the Canadian wool industry.

A first-generation sheep farmer, Hunter established her 140-acre farm 10 years ago after moving to Ste Genevieve from Vancouver where she owned a community based yarn shop named Baad Anna’s. After a year-and-a-half of faming, Hunter and her husband realized that there was no place locally to process their wool so in 2018 they opened a wool mill, which was at the time the only known wool mill in Manitoba.

“Through this experience I just realized how challenging it was for sheep farmers that wanted to focus on wool production and what was happening in our Canadian wool industry, that’s where the education and advocacy work came into play, which is why I ended up writing this book,” she said.

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Tuesday, Jun. 24, 2025

SVJETLANA MLINAREVIC THE CARILLON

Shepardess and author Anna Hunter holds wool from her farm Long Way Homestead, a wool and fiber farm in Ste Genevieve. Hunter just released her second book The True Cost of Wool, which examines the wool industry in Canada.

SVJETLANA MLINAREVIC THE CARILLON Shepardess and author Anna Hunter holds wool from her farm Long Way Homestead, a wool and fiber farm in Ste Genevieve. Hunter just released her second book The True Cost of Wool, which examines the wool industry in Canada.

Ag in the Classroom volunteer enjoys lively session at Sprague

Wes Keating 6 minute read Preview

Ag in the Classroom volunteer enjoys lively session at Sprague

Wes Keating 6 minute read Monday, Jun. 23, 2025

When Agriculture in the Classroom volunteer Alex Wolf asked the Grade 3-4 class at Ross L. Gray School at Sprague what they had learned during her Canadian Agriculture Literacy Month presentation, the two quickest answers were that crickets were eaten like potato chips by some people and that bison are taller than cows.

But during the 30-minute power point presentation, it was mostly the class asking questions as the Seine Rat Roseau Watershed technician covered both familiar and unfamiliar ground for these rural Manitoba students.

Wolf told the students about crops grown in Manitoba and the different types of animals raised for meat and fibre.

Unlike some of their city cousins, all these students know that milk and eggs come from cows and chickens, not the supermarket. They were, however, somewhat puzzled when the subject of fertilized and unfertilized eggs came up, wondering why there were no roosters in egg-laying barns.

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Monday, Jun. 23, 2025

WES KEATING THE CARILLON

Cards with pictures ranging from watermelon and apple juice, to pizza and grilled chicken, provided a challenge for students in the “What’s in your Lunch?” guessing game.

WES KEATING THE CARILLON Cards with pictures ranging from watermelon and apple juice, to pizza and grilled chicken, provided a challenge for students in the “What’s in your Lunch?” guessing game.

Vassar producer happy to supply local market

Wes Keating 7 minute read Preview

Vassar producer happy to supply local market

Wes Keating 7 minute read Sunday, Jun. 22, 2025

When Trevor and Melissa Goulet moved on to 10 acres east of Steinbach in the Rural Municipality of La Broquerie it was their dream to provide a spacious home for their horses. That was back in 2011, but that dream was dashed two years later, when the municipality refused to give them a permit to build a barn on their property for the two thoroughbred race horses they purchased in 2012.

So the Goulets packed up and moved. Their new farm was a quarter section of bush and pasture eight miles north of Vassar, where they added raising sheep to their breeding of purebred thoroughbred race horses.

But raising sheep for meat proved not to be the most lucrative of enterprises and the Goulets shifted their attention to beef. Today, meat-lovers who do their shopping at Sprague, Woodridge and Buffalo Point are serving up ground beef, roasts and steaks from purebred Simmental cattle from Goulet Farms.

Goulet is happy to have found a local market for his beef and operators of stores like Carl and Kay’s Fine Foods in Sprague are equally pleased to have a ready supply of quality beef for their customers, without the added cost of freight.

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Sunday, Jun. 22, 2025

WES KEATING THE CARILLON

With ears perked forward, Trevor Goulet’s 11-year-old stallion, Hay Listen Up, lives up to his name.

WES KEATING THE CARILLON With ears perked forward, Trevor Goulet’s 11-year-old stallion, Hay Listen Up, lives up to his name.

From field to foam: Brewing beer from Manitoba’s bounty

Lori Penner 9 minute read Preview

From field to foam: Brewing beer from Manitoba’s bounty

Lori Penner 9 minute read Sunday, Jun. 22, 2025

In the heart of Manitoba, a brewing revolution is quietly taking place—one that’s rooted in the province’s rich agricultural traditions. Craft breweries like Trans Canada Brewing (TCB) are drawing inspiration from local ingredients to create beer that tells a unique story. For beer enthusiasts and agriculture fans alike, learning how beer is made—starting with the soil—is a truly fascinating experience.

In early March, a beer-tasting event hosted by the Neubergthal Heritage Foundation provided an ideal platform for locals to connect with the agriculture behind Manitoba’s craft beer scene. Held at the Neubergthal Commons Barn, the event featured Scott Sawatzky, head brewer at Trans Canada Brewing, as well as sales team member and certified beer server Dustin McCaughan.

Sawatzky, who has been with the brewery for seven years, took the guests on a detailed journey through the brewing process, emphasizing the importance of high-quality ingredients. The evening’s focus wasn’t just on tasting the beer, but understanding the care and precision involved in creating each brew, from the fields to the glass.

While craft beer has become a growing trend across Canada, the brewing process itself remains steeped in tradition. For Sawatzky, it’s all about balancing the age-old techniques with modern innovations—and above all, paying attention to every detail. He shares, “We are a proudly independent company. If we expect people to choose our product over multinational brands, it’s important they understand how we produce our beer and why we take so much care in crafting each recipe.”

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Sunday, Jun. 22, 2025

LORI PENNER THE CARILLON

Dustin McCaughan and Scott Sawatzky of Trans Canada Brewery during their beer tasting even in the Village of Neubergthal.

LORI PENNER THE CARILLON Dustin McCaughan and Scott Sawatzky of Trans Canada Brewery during their beer tasting even in the Village of Neubergthal.

Old Kleefeld landfill site now an outdoor classroom

Wes Keating 5 minute read Preview

Old Kleefeld landfill site now an outdoor classroom

Wes Keating 5 minute read Friday, Jun. 20, 2025

The RM of Hanover took recycling to another level when the municipality permanently closed the Kleefeld landfill site on Highway 52 and had it transformed into the Tourond Creek Discovery Centre, which has been described as a mini version of Oak Hammock Marsh.

The Discovery Centre hosted the regional envirothon competition for high school students there in April.

The envirothon, in its 28th year, is sponsored by the Manitoba Watershed Association, and teaches students about the environment and sees students from across the province compete regionally, then provincially, and moving on to a national competition in July.

This was the first time the Seine Rat Roseau River Watershed District hosted the East Regionals Manitoba Envirothon and the first time it was held in the Southeast.

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Friday, Jun. 20, 2025

SRRWD

The lookout tower on the far bank of this pond provides a perfect spot for students to do a little birdwatching, or perhaps to get a birds’ eye view of a variety of water plants, during a tour of the Discovery Centre.

SRRWD The lookout tower on the far bank of this pond provides a perfect spot for students to do a little birdwatching, or perhaps to get a birds’ eye view of a variety of water plants, during a tour of the Discovery Centre.

MB Hydro cautions farmers after recent incidents

Greg Vandermeulen 2 minute read Preview

MB Hydro cautions farmers after recent incidents

Greg Vandermeulen 2 minute read Tuesday, May. 20, 2025

Damage to Manitoba Hydro towers and poles have prompted the crown corporation to issue a seasonal reminder asking producers to be careful.

In a May 9 press release, Hydro stated that incidents in the previous weeks included one which resulted in the loss of a transmission tower on Manitoba Hydro’s Bipole 1 High Voltage Direct Current (HVDC) transmission line near Gross Isle.

Other incidents involving distribution poles have occurred in the Russell and Oakville areas.

“While there were no impacts to electrical services due to the HVDC contact, damage to overhead power lines, poles and towers can result in outages affecting service to hospitals, police and fire stations that can impact public safety as well as other customers,” the press release said. “Contact with overhead powerlines also presents a significant electrocution risk to agricultural producers.”

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Tuesday, May. 20, 2025

MANITOBA HYDRO

Manitoba Hydro crews put up a new transmission tower in the Gross Isle area, replacing a tower that was knocked down by a piece of farm machinery.

MANITOBA HYDRO Manitoba Hydro crews put up a new transmission tower in the Gross Isle area, replacing a tower that was knocked down by a piece of farm machinery.

Quick crop establishment lowers flea beetle risk

KEITH GABERT, CANOLA COUNCIL OF CANADA 3 minute read Preview

Quick crop establishment lowers flea beetle risk

KEITH GABERT, CANOLA COUNCIL OF CANADA 3 minute read Wednesday, Apr. 30, 2025

Flea beetles remain the top ranked canola pest, according to the latest grower survey. The Canola Council of Canada 2024 grower survey asked respondents to name the diseases, weeds and insects of greatest economic risk to canola. Flea beetles were the most common answer in 2024, as they were in the 2022 and 2020 surveys.

While flea beetles seem to be unavoidable, growers can reduce the risk. John Gavloski, entomologist with Manitoba Agriculture, says canola crops that reach the four-leaf stage within three to four weeks of seeding are less likely to need protection from a foliar pesticide spray. Canola crops that require in-season foliar sprays are often slow-establishing and non-competitive.

Weather can be a major factor in rapid stand establishment. Canola sown in warm, moist soil will emerge quickly and uniformly. Warm conditions without moisture will often favour flea beetles over the crop. Whatever the weather, the following agronomy steps put the crop in the best possible scenario against flea beetles.

Target 5-8 plants per square foot

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Wednesday, Apr. 30, 2025

CANOLA COUNCIL OF CANADA

Flea beetles pictured on canola.

CANOLA COUNCIL OF CANADA Flea beetles pictured on canola.

“Grow with us” say garden centre owners

Wes Keating 7 minute read Preview

“Grow with us” say garden centre owners

Wes Keating 7 minute read Wednesday, Apr. 30, 2025

The owners of the Green Valley Garden Centre, just north of Grunthal, invite gardeners in the Southeast to keep growing with them.

And Sheldon and Carrie Enns know more than a little bit about growing. In the 16 years they have owned the garden centre, they have doubled the size of their greenhouse, and tripled the size of their family.

Carrie Enns, an elementary school teacher, says they are blessed to be able to enjoy a lifestyle that allows both husband and wife to have the entire summer off with their three children.

Carrie has been an early years teacher for two decades. She says this is her first year at Kleefeld and she previously taught at Grunthal, Mitchell and Steinbach. Before they bought the greenhouse, Sheldon worked for a company that created financial planning software.

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Wednesday, Apr. 30, 2025

WES KEATING THE CARILLON

Continuing the tradition of hand-seeding started by the previous owners of Green Valley Garden Centre, Carrie carefully gets another tray of annuals ready to be started in a heated seed bed.

WES KEATING THE CARILLON Continuing the tradition of hand-seeding started by the previous owners of Green Valley Garden Centre, Carrie carefully gets another tray of annuals ready to be started in a heated seed bed.

Oswalds are happy to be doing ‘most important job on earth’

Wes Keating 8 minute read Preview

Oswalds are happy to be doing ‘most important job on earth’

Wes Keating 8 minute read Monday, Apr. 28, 2025

When Brent Oswald is asked why he believes farming is the most important job on earth, the third generation owner of Cottonwood Farms in the Friedensfeld area has a ready answer.

“Everybody’s gotta eat.”

And the Oswald family has been putting food on Manitoba tables for nearly 100 years. Their farm on Ekron/Oswald Road, southeast of Steinbach, will be a Centennial Farm in another five years.

Brent Oswald, featured in Agriculture in the Classroom’s Follow the Farmer series in January, gave hundreds of Manitoba school children a video tour of his Friedensfeld farm and threw in a lesson on growing corn.

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Monday, Apr. 28, 2025

WES KEATING THE CARILLON

Brent and Kirsty with feed samples at the Oswald Farms feed mill which produces feed for their broilers and layers as well as 19 other farms.

WES KEATING THE CARILLON Brent and Kirsty with feed samples at the Oswald Farms feed mill which produces feed for their broilers and layers as well as 19 other farms.

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