Despite having lower numbers of grasshoppers last fall, they're certainly one of the three more notorius bugs to be watching for this summer.

Applied Research Crop Specialist, Scott Chalmers, says he had recently been watching a presentation by Manitoba Ag Entomologist, Dr. John Gavloski on what bugs to watch for.  

"The conditions were very good for them to lay eggs, so it was dry and very warm in September all the way up to I think the 3rd of October when we had a really solid frost to kind of shut things down," explains Chalmers. "And so, moving into this year, you know, with our dry season that we seem to be getting into here it's something to watch for, the little grasshoppers.  Keep an eye on them."

Chalmers encourages farmers to keep a keen eye on grasshoppers, " and in June when they start swarming and getting a little bigger and hungrier, that's when we should be kind of watching for those."

In addition to that, flea beetles are also one to keep your eye on. " Because if they get an early start, they'll be kind of waiting for canola, for example, if it's warm."

Chalmer adds cutworm are the third notorious crop destroyers to be on the watch for this summer.

(photo credit Manitoba Agriculture)

It's been a slow start to spring, and where there has been snow it has been a nice slow melt.  However, one of the challenges facing farmers in the southwest is the lack of moisture going into seeding. 

I think we're way behind on our normal precipitation over the winter," says Manitoba Agriculture Crop Specialist, Scott Chalmers. "I was just looking at the numbers here and in the Southwest area here we were anywhere from 28% to 53% of normal. So, we're way down. And one of our worst months was January, where we only had 1.5 mm of precipitation followed by February at 2.0 mm and then March 5.0 mm."

"So, it's been a winter drought here and I think our creeks and dugouts can tell us that there's not much water laying around," he adds.  "Some of the producers are concerned about the dugouts. It's something to keep an eye on.  We just didn't see the runoff that we were hoping for."

Last fall's temperatures were above normal; however rainfall was below normal as we headed into winter.  With nothing much to speak of for winter snow coverage and moisture it could be a tricky grow season if the rains aren't timely.

Chalmers says winter survivability on winter cereals is a concern going into spring.

"I noticed one field which kind of showed the snow layers quite well on a slope. And there were green patches and then there were dead patches, maybe where the snow didn't cover," says Chalmers.

"So, you know if you're concerned as a producer now is a good time to go out and dig up some of those dead-ish patches and bring them into the house, like a house plant," he continues, "and warm them up to see over some time, maybe here in a week or two that if there's any growth that maybe you can breathe a sigh of relief. But if there's not, start making plans on how to maybe reseed that piece if you expect there might be some death. So just something to keep an eye on out there."

Chalmers says they logged 16 winter-kill days this past winter, where the temperature of the soil dips below the -20C point and the plants struggle to cope with the cold.  He adds they're allowed about 33 days like that until the plant sees complete death.  Thirteen winter kills days is the threshold where the plants in the ground start to break down.

"You know, dependent on your snow cover and where our plots were here in the Melita area, we thought we had some decent stubble with the canola. But some of those really windy days in January where the wind blew the snow away, and then we only had two or three inches of snow on the field. That's where you're at risk and you don't have that insulation power with the snow."

Please listen to more with Scott Chalmers below as he shares more on the spring outlook. 

Premier Andrew Furey spent his last day in the legislature reflecting on his time in politics.

Yesterday was Furey’s last day in the House of Assembly before a new leader is chosen on May 3.

He looked back on his time in office by telling his former self not to be so serious.

A standing ovation for Furey in the House of Assembly (NL HOA)

Furey, who announced his intention to step down in February, plans on spending the years to come in the operating room and with his family.

“There’s always going to be some seller’s remorse, I guess, when you make a big life decision like this, but any remorse that may have been there was completely alleviated and evaporated when I saw the smiles on my children’s faces and a lightness to them that I have not seen in five years or more,” he said.

PC Leader Tony Wakeham (NL HOA)

PC Leader Tony Wakeham took time to say goodbye to the premier before saying the province is worse off since he got elected four-and-a-half years ago.

Wakeham started by saying he respects the premier’s commitment, but quickly later slammed the Liberals for issues in health care, affordability and crime.

He says he will “take those tasks on after the next election.”

“After 10 years of Liberal governments, I think it’s fair to say that our health care system is not in a better place. The cost of living is having a significant impact on Newfoundlanders and Labradorians,” he said.

“When we think about crime in our communities, as I said yesterday, once upon a time we watched crime on TV and went to see family doctors in our communities, and now we see crime in our communities and we go visit a family doctor by a virtual (appointment).”

Most of southern Manitoba can expect a mainly cloudy day on Thursday, however parts of western Manitoba could see a bit more sun. Light snow tapers off in northeastern Manitoba.

Coming July 1, Portage and Main will reopen to pedestrians after being close to foot traffic for 46 years, but some business owners who work underneath the city's most famous intersection are concerned about the long-term plan for the space.

A company that makes components for military aircraft in Winnipeg is being sued for more than $1.5 million by a supplier that claims it hasn't been paid for parts it supplied.

This article was first published by Labor Notes. It is reprinted with permission. During the 2019 General Motors strike, while my fellow workers and I...

The post Will Trump’s tariffs be good for auto workers? first appeared on Spring.

The last type of chemotherapy that David Easton tried in his five-year fight against prostate cancer left him living a life that was really no life at all.

The retired Ontario autoworker slept 20 hours a day. His little time awake was spent hunched on or over the toilet at his home in Ayton, a small community about two hours northwest of Toronto.

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A young Canadian Forces member stationed at Base Gagetown has denied a serious allegation of sexual assault, and his trial will be held in a year’s time.

Kody Decelles, 19, of Dufferin Court at Base Gagetown, faces an indictable charge of sexual assault, alleged to have occurred in Fredericton on Nov. 24.

The identity of the complainant is protected by a court-ordered publication ban, and Decelles is subject to a non-communication order barring him from contact with the complainant as well.

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Roads are bare and dry on the Avalon and in Central Newfoundland. On the west coast, roads are wet.

Roads across Labrador are mostly snow-covered with icy and slushy patches with fair visibility.

Ferries in the provincial network are operating on schedule.

At the St. John’s International Airport, WestJet flights 264 and 265 are delayed. Flights are on time in Gander and Deer Lake.

RCMP say a “cavalier” attitude toward cocaine use, combined with a stunning spike in purity, has made it the number one cause of overdose deaths in Newfoundland and Labrador.

The numbers are troubling and they don’t lie.

Of the 158 overdose deaths in the last two years, almost 90 per cent were accidental, and half of those were due to cocaine alone.

That’s not to say lethal contributors like fentanyl aren’t also killing people; deaths related to both, as well as other stimulants, have been on the rise since 2021.

But cocaine has emerged as the leading killer, with the average number of related deaths almost tripling over the past two years from 14 to almost 40.

That’s due in large part to the sudden flood of nearly pure product that appears to be catching even the most seasoned users off guard, sending them to emerg, or the morgue.

That’s not surprising when one considers the usual purity of 15 to 20 per cent is now pushing 95 per cent on the street.

Chief Medical Examiner Dr. Nash Denic says he’s seen victims as young as 14 succumb to a single snort, warning it’s just the luck of the draw for today’s weekend partier.

“Taking the drug is Russian roulette because you never know which line is going to kill you,” he said.

(Office of the Chief Medical Examiner)

Prince Edward Home in Charlottetown has declared an outbreak of influenza on its Blue Jay Way household. This is in addition to the outbreak declared this past weekend on the Lupin Valley household. 

 Residents of both households are being limited to one visitor at a time and all visitors are asked to wear a mask. 

P-E-I’s Green Party has tabled a bill to help protect farmland.

M-L-A Matt MacFarlane says the bill is an amendment to the Planning Act and will ensure the protection of agricultural land, recognizing its importance for food security.

He says the province is losing farmland at the “alarming rate” of as much as up to 39 acres every day.

The federal party leaders will remain in Montreal for another day for the English debate Thursday night. 

However, Thursday night they exchanged words in French with Liberal Leader Mark Carney and Conservative Leader Pierre Poilievre aligning on support for new oil and gas pipelines as a matter of national security. 

N-D-P Leader Jagmeet Singh says that Canada needs to prioritize what matters most and invest in sectors like agriculture, culture and the French-language. 

Bloc Québécois Leader Yves-François Blanchet says Canada needs to align itself with other countries that have been impacted by the U-S tariffs. 

The Green Party was removed from the debate earlier yesterday after fielding candidates in fewer than 70 per cent of ridings. 

Just after midnight, RNC patrol officers responded to a residence in the west end of St John’s to a report of an assault.

Officers spoke to the victim and observed injuries to his face.

As a result, officers arrested a 37-year-old male. He was charged with assault and was held to appear in court in the morning.

The leaders of Canada’s major political parties will debate again tonight as Canadians prepare to head to the polls in less than two weeks.

The four leaders took part in a French language debate in Montreal last evening, and will make their pitch to voters in English tonight.

The Green Party has been barred from participating in the debates after failing to secure candidates in the required number of ridings.

Tonight’s debate takes place at 8:30 p.m. NST.

A three-year-long saga that began with an abrupt council decision to close the Greenwich department has ended with a decision not to merge with the Wolfville department.

Saint John-based Moltex Energy Canada Inc. is hoping potential new owners for its overseas parent company will breathe new life into its development of small modular nuclear reactor technology in New Brunswick.

Experts in Nova Scotia have mixed reviews on the different federal parties' election housing promises. They say there's ambiguity around parties' definitions of affordability and challenges with having the construction work force needed to fulfil election promises.

Municipal staff have said removing the building and creating a park is the best option for an area with a burial ground that has never been properly acknowledged.

Here's a list of which Island businesses are open and closed. Some restaurants will be open, but it's a good idea to call ahead and check.

The City of Charlottetown and the province are doing some temporary patching of deep potholes in Island roads, but a more permanent solution is coming next month. CBC's Tony Davis has more.

With less than a month until Canadians head to the polls to vote in the federal election, candidates across P.E.I. are hitting the campaign trail in an effort to become — or remain — a member of Parliament.

Any feasible path to victory in the federal election for Pierre Poilievre’s Conservative Party runs through the Greater Toronto Area, a region dominated by the Liberals since 2015. 

The Bank of Canada is holding the line on interest rates after seven consecutive rate decreases, maintaining the 2.75 per cent rate set in March.

Bank of Canada Governor Tiff Macklem says continued uncertainty caused by tariff policies imposed by U.S. President Donald Trump has led them to hold the line until the economic path forward becomes clearer.

“The dramatic protectionist shift in U.S. trade policy and the chaotic delivery, have increased uncertainty, roiled financial markets, diminished global prospects and increased inflation expectations,” Macklem told reporters yesterday. “The path of U.S. trade policy remains highly unpredictable. There’s also considerable uncertainty about the impacts of a trade war on our economy.”

Due to the Good Friday holiday on Friday, April 18, most City offices and facilities will be closed.

In observance of the Good Friday holiday tomorrow, in St. John’s, garbage and recycling collection will not occur, it will be collected on Saturday. Robin Hood Bay will also be closed.

All City parking by-laws are still in effect, however paid parking will not be enforced as Friday is a Shops Closing Holiday.

Paul Reynolds Community Centre, Kenmount Terrace Community Centre and Southlands Community Centre will be open for the Federal Election advanced polls only. Recreational facilities will be open standard operating hours for regular programming on Saturday and Sunday.

Public washrooms will be open at Bannerman Park, Bowring Park, Kenny’s Pond and Quidi Vidi Lake.

The federal election is less than two weeks away, and candidates on the west coast of Newfoundland have a lot of ground to cover. With Liberal MP Gudie Hutchings not seeking re-election, it means the district will have a first-time member of parliament. The CBC’s Colleen Connors met up with the Liberal and NDP candidates, while the Conservative hopeful spoke with CBC Radio.

Newfoundland and Labrador's Medical Association cancelled a joint news conference with the Registered Nurses Union on Wednesday following a meeting with N.L. Health Services CEO Pat Parfrey to discuss the future of the Janeway Children's Hospital.

Some members of St. John’s city council are calling for police foot patrols in the downtown area in response to safety concerns from residents and businesses.