The Shur-Gro Future stars continue to have exciting experiences. The curling community is a positive atmosphere to encourage and inspire junior curlers.

The Tim Hortons Brier Shur-Gro Future Stars provides young champions of the future the opportunity to experience a taste of competitive curling at its very best and meet with the biggest names in the sport.

Selected applicants become honorary members of one of the teams and receive:

• A commemorative Shur-Gro Future Stars jacket
• Tickets to a draw when their team is playing, including 2 draw tickets for their parents/guardians
• An official photograph with the team
• Arena entrance and introduction with the team at a pre-game ceremony

They have the opportunity to meet the team, observe them practice from ice-level, and take part in the pre-game ceremony.

Written by Randy Lilley

Published: Saturday, 02 February 2019 06:00

Manitoba Minister for Agriculture, Ralph Eichler

The MNP Exhibition Building was the place to be Friday night when it came to Excellence in Agriculture.

The annual event hosted by the Portage la Prairie and District Chamber of Commerce featured several awards being handed out. It also featured a speech from the Manitoba Minister of Agriculture, Ralph Eichler.

“As we prepare for the next spring, we know there’s lots of planning that goes into that. We’ll talk a little about that tonight,” says Eichler. “We’ll talk a little bit about the protein strategy that I announced last week at Manitoba Ag Days. We have a lot to accomplish, and we’ve accomplished a lot, but we have a lot more to do.”

Eichler says he had to come to the event to help celebrate the successes of agriculture in the area.

“We’re very pleased with Simplot and of course, Roquette,” says Eichler. “Also, we have a lot to offer for our small and medium-sized businesses as well. There’s a ripple effect that takes place when you have success stories such as these.”

Award winners on the night
included:

Youth Advocate of the Year
Rachael Verwey

Outstanding Contribution to Agriculture
Taralea Simpson

Agri Business of the Year
Delta Ag Services (Award was accepted by Doug Pryor, co-owner)

Farm Family of the Year
Mayfair Farms

2019 is now here, farmers are planning what to grow, and looking for new crop bids. A good thing to look at is a crop budget to see if those new crop prices are profitable for your farm. Making up a budget and comparing two crop choices might even help you decide what to grow.

A good resource to help you put a crop budget together can
be found at https://www.gov.mb.ca/agriculture/farm-management/production-economics/pubs/cop-crop-production.pdf 

Sit down and pencil out what the cost of production is on each piece of land. Your agronomist who knows your fields will be able to help you figure out fertility and varieties that will work for each field, based on soil test information and field history.  This may also be good time to look back on the previous crop year to put a plan into place for addressing any problem areas in certain fields as well as reviewing possible herbicide residues and rotations.   Your Shur-Gro agronomist can look at past years scouting records to see which fields may need special attention or pick a field to really push the yield.  

Once your budget is together you can figure out cost per acre, break-even yield and price. From there, as new bids come out you can see what price will work for your farm.  At the end of the day you will be able to see your individual return on investment! 

Please contact your Shur-Gro Agronomist for assistance in developing a crop budget for 2019

Merry Christmas

From

Shur-Gro Farm Services and Southeast Seeds Inc.

We would like to thank all of our customers who made it out to the branch Christmas Parties.  A lot of fun and food was shared with families and friends.

As the year comes to an end, we reflect on all the things we are grateful for, including our relationship with you.  Our customers are an essential part of our business.

Thank you for letting us make your 2018 a successful year.

We look forward to our continued support of your farming operations for 2019.

Wishing you and yours a wonderful holiday season and a Happy New Year.

In 1952 Ken and Noreen Gardiner began farming along the west side of Lake Manitoba in the Lakeland area, starting what is now 2 generations later, Gardiner Farms Ltd. and 7L Ranch Ltd.  Ken and Noreen had a mixed farm with grain crops consisting of primarily wheat, oats, barley, flax, and rapeseed.  They also bought and finished Holstein calves and raised layer and broiler chickens.   Early on, Ken also worked part-time construction, Noreen was on the farm raising their two children Wayne and Bruce.

Before Vince Munro began selling fertilizer in 1958, the only place to buy fertilizer in the Westbourne area was Hanneson Hardware.  In 1958, the Gardiners were one of the first customers to come to Munro Farm Supplies Ltd. and pick up the 50-pound bags off the railway cars in town.  Wayne and Bruce both remember coming to pick up fertilizer with their Dad, as well as applying anhydrous ammonia with an open cab tractor.  The Gardiners were one of the first farms in the area to use anhydrous, which Munro’s supplied for them along with the applicator.  Wayne and Bruce were both invested in the farm at early ages.  Wayne bought his first quarter of land when he was 14 years old for $30/acre, and Bruce put in his first crop at the age of 17.

Today, the Wayne and Bruce farm separately, still in the Lakeland area, with their yards across the section from each other.  Bruce and his partner Heather run Gardiner Farms Ltd. where they grow mainly wheat canola and soybeans on roughly 3,000 acres.  Wayne and his wife Colleen, along with their daughter Dana and her partner Curtis operate 7L Ranch Ltd.  Together they spring calve 620 cows, as well as custom feed approximately 300 calves in addition to their own in the winter.  They also grow 300 acres of corn for silage and grazing, as well about 800 acres of tame hay.

For the 60 years that Munro Farm Supplies has been in business, the Gardiner families have been among the most loyal customers.  When asked why they choose to continue to now do business with Shur-Gro Farm Services, they said it comes down to the excellent service they receive and the laid-back family atmosphere in the office in Westbourne.  We are very lucky to have customers like the Gardiners and would like to thank them for all of their business over the years.

In 2018, Shur-Gro Farm Services celebrates its 50^th year in business, Munro Farm Supplies celebrates its 60^th year and South East Seeds celebrates its 10^th year in business.  We wish to thank our customers for helping us reach these milestone anniversaries and invite all to help us celebrate this year!  Through the years, Ron Helwer, our company President has inspired all of us to focus on the customer with our motto “servicing your growing needs”.  Your success is our success.  Agriculture is the industry that brings us together, and we are committed to working with you to help produce food for a hungry world.

Ron started Shur-Gro in Brandon when he moved here in 1968.  We re-located to our present office and plant on Douglas St in 1976-77.  Both our retail and corporate offices are situated here.  We are very grateful to our local customers for supporting us at our Douglas St location for over 40 years!

Attached are some photos of our Douglas St location through the years: