Fire wall credited with reducing loss in Manitoba chicken barn blaze

May 08, 2019

BLUMENORT, Man. - A barn fire in southern Manitoba has killed an estimated 27,000 chickens.

The blaze broke early Sunday morning on a property not far from Blumenort, about 60 kilometres southeast of Winnipeg.

Hanover Fire Chief Paul Wiebe says firefighters arrived to find the barn engulfed in flame, and crews and equipment from a number of surrounding communities were called in to help.

Wiebe says the barn contained about 50,000 laying hens and young chickens.

He says a fire wall allowed crews to save about half of the birds and approximately half the building.

No firefighters were hurt and a damage estimate was not immediately available. (CHSM)

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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.