Federal Government Invests In MFGA Forecasting Tool

Jun 16, 2021

On Tuesday, the federal government announced an investment of over $1.1 million for the Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association (MFGA). The funding will be used to develop a new forecasting tool that will help farmers and stakeholders better understand and manage extreme weather events within the Assiniboine River Basin.

With this funding, the MFGA will create a web-based tool that will provide seven-day, forward-looking forecasts for soil moisture, groundwater and surface water flow. Producers can use this real-time information to adopt better risk management strategies and inform decisions about their operations in the face of extreme weather.

"As a producer-led non-profit organization, MFGA has full respect and understanding of the challenges farmers and producers face with their farm operations every day when it comes to planning around water and dealing with climatic events," said MFGA Chair Larry Wegner. "MFGA is very grateful to AAFC's AgriRisk Initiatives for the project funding and we are very pleased to be delivering this new interactive forecasting tool for farmers and land managers in the Assiniboine River Basin. Besides the forecasting ability, we are equally excited that the tool will also showcase how beneficial soil and landscape management practices could potentially influence soil moisture, groundwater, and surface water conditions over the seven-day interval."

The new interactive tool will also show how soil and landscape management strategies could influence moisture and water conditions over the seven-day interval, with the goal of encouraging adoption of beneficial management practices.

MFGA's new forecasting tool will be built by Aquanty, a water resources science and technology firm located in Waterloo, Ontario.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.