History of the MWSA

A Summary of Weed Control Efforts and Extension in Manitoba
(Prepared by Kent Shewfelt for the Manitoba Weed Supervisors Association)

In the first session of the First Legislature of Manitoba, in 1871, legislation was enacted with the object of controlling weeds in the Province. In the reorganization Act of 1883, the duties of land owners and occupants to control noxious weeds was first established. In that Act, the duties of path-masters to control noxious weeds on highways and railway lands was also identified, along with responsibilities and penalties for the sale of noxious weed seeds. This Act also dealt with the appointment of district weed inspectors and enforcement of legislation. An amendment to this act in 1894 authorized the cutting down of crops, on order from authorized persons, that were found to be infested with noxious weeds in order to facilitate better regional weed control.

By 1898 the Province had appointed a Provincial Inspector, Mr. Charles Braithwaite, to over-see and co-ordinate weed control on a provincial basis. By this time, they also recognized the value of extension activities that would produce better, and more long term, results than enforcement alone. Mr. Braithwaite soon realized the value of this extension work, and suggested, in his 1899 report, that a provincial school of agriculture should be established, with demonstration plots for the education of producers. Mr. Braithwaite also continued department extension activities, giving weed control and identification advise at various fairs and local meetings. He worked with local weed inspectors in both extension and regulatory issues, and during his time in the position, local weed inspectors first became involved in assisting with grasshopper control when the problem was severe enough to require government assistance. In 1901, Mr. R.G. O’Malley took over the position of Provincial Inspector. Technology is always producing changes in weed control issues. By 1903, Mr. O’Malley reported that the shift to gasoline engines at elevators had created the need to deal with the problem of weed seeds in screenings that had previously been burned. While extension and regulatory work had been carried with very good results during this early period, it is interesting to note that, in 1905, Mr. O’Malley reported that weather conditions had resulted in poor weed control results that year.

Mr. O’Malley carried on extension and regulatory duties as Provincial Inspector until 1916 when an amended Noxious Weeds Act established a Provincial Weeds Commission with expanded weed control activities. By 1916, they reported that every organized municipality in the Province had appointed at least one weed inspector. By 1921, Manitoba co-operated with Saskatchewan and Alberta in a Noxious Weeds information campaign, making use of a three car special train supplied by CP Rail, to take the same message to all three provinces over a 6 week period. This 3 member commission carried out the administration of the Noxious Weeds Act until an amendment in 1921 designated the one man position of Weeds Administrator. Mr. S. A. Bedford, a member of the former Weeds Commission was the Weeds Administrator, and he was assisted by the Board of Weed Commissioners which was established in 1923-24. By 1925-26, the activities of this Board were conducted out of the office of one of its members, Geo. Batho of the Publications Branch.

This began the close association of the weed control arm of the Province with the Publications Branch, which continued until 1959. From 1925 to 1959, the Editor of the Publications Branch also served as administrator of the Weeds Commission. While this association probably began due to financial restraints in the post-war period of the 1920’s, the fit of publications with the extension services of the Weeds Commission proved very successful. Following Geo. Batho, the administrators were H.E. Wood and H.A. Craig. Both of these men first served as Secretary to the Commission, and when the Weeds Commission was transferred from the Publications Branch to the Soils and Crops Branch in March of 1960, J.O. Forbes, who had been secretary to Alex Craig, was named Chief of the Weeds Division.

The extension activities of the Weed Commission were carried on throughout this period. In the 1930’s, this entailed such things as school essay contests in individual inspection districts and weed control demonstration plots in various areas. Studies on various control techniques and timing, along with some of the earliest herbicide trials, were also carried out. In 1935 and 1936, many municipalities received assistance from the Province in the purchase and use of Altacide to treat patches of invasive weeds. In 1939, a meeting was held in Birtle to discuss persistent perennial weeds, particularly leafy spurge. As a result of this meeting, the Northern Judicial District Weed Control Unit was set up. It included 17 municipalities and nine towns. A plan of action, based on trials carried out at the Brandon Experimental Farm, was devised. With the financial aid of a number of farm mortgage and other companies, 2 spray-rigs were purchased that would visit all farms within the district to spray patches of leafy spurge.

Selective Herbicides Arrive

During the 1940’s & 50’s, the extension work of the Weed Section continued to grow. As a result of the activities in the Northern Judicial District Weed Unit and a general weed survey, the Ministry decided to give major emphasis to controlling persistent perennial weeds on a province-wide basis. Twelve Weed Control Units, comprising 48 municipalities, were set up by the Commission in the Fall of 1940. As many as 79 municipalities were involved in this program within the next decade. These unit weed control areas were operated by a Board made up of 2 representatives from each municipality and the local AgRep. Each unit purchased their own sprayer and hired operators. Herbicide was ordered in bulk and subsidized by the Province to a level of 25 to 50% of cost. During the same time period, P.J. Olsen (who was carrying on chemical weed control experiments at the Plant Science Dept. of the U. of M.) was made a member of the Commission. In 1946, the commission carried out trials with 2,4-D on 840 plots around the province (both on cereals and flax). As a result of these, and other, trials, and as a follow-up to the 1947 meeting of organizations and companies involved with the herbicide industry, the Commission began the practice of publishing bulletins annually that contained the latest information on weed control.

During the 1940-59 period, the Province again amended the Noxious Weeds Act to allow municipalities to assume control of “weed infested property” with the aim of bringing the weed problems under control prior to returning control to the owner of the property. This action, along with the co-operative effort to control persistent perennials, resulted in greater provincial/municipal co-operation during that period. Many advances were made in brush control, and work was undertaken to include herbicides in the control of aquatic plant problems in drainage ditches, etc. The Manitoba Power Commission was among the first utility corporations to make use of this strategy, and it was soon adopted by the Manitoba Telephone System and other utilities. The Soils and Crops branch also explored the benefits of using these brush control methods in an effort to improve native pastures. During the latter years of this era, H.A. Craig also initiated the “weekly crop report” which was produced from material from all Ag Rep Districts by means of overnight letters. This tool for producing current information, which was shared via radio and the press with the producers of the Province, is still carried on by the Soils and Crops Branch.

The Weed Division under Soils & Crops

In the Spring of 1960, the operations of the Weeds Commission were transferred to the Soils and Crops Branch. J.O. Forbes (former Secretary of the Weeds Commission) was assigned the position of Chief of the Weeds Division. This division became responsible for the programs of the Department in respect to weeds and weed control. The Weeds Division carried on the responsibility for administration, under the Minister, of the Noxious Weeds Act. They conducted demonstrations of innovative weed control methods and new herbicides, as well as sprayer operation and calibration demonstrations. They maintained a training program for municipal weed inspectors, dealt with drift complaints, and conducted various herbicide trials. They maintained other extension activities, such as the preparation of pamphlets regarding weed control, weed identification services, and participating in local producer meetings.

Weed Control Districts

The Weed Division continued to co-ordinate weed control research within the Province between university, federal, provincial, and commercial research interests. The Weeds Division were also involved in three departmental projects, i.e. Municipal Road Allowance Weed Control; assistance to control Class 1 Weeds; and Weed Control Districts. The Weed Control District policy was meant to foster and support inter-municipal co-operation in weed control. This allowed an area with 12 or more townships to establish a Weed Control Board with representatives from each participating municipal corporation and the Department of Agriculture through the local Ag Rep and a representative of the Weeds Division. This board oversaw the operations of the District, and hired the services of a full time Weed Supervisor, with the aid of a Provincial grant to help cover part of the Weed Supervisor’s salary and some of the operating costs of the District. In return, the Weed Supervisor took part in Department training programs, and assisted with Department extension work. This funding assistance served to recognize, and reinforce, the Department’s continuing belief in the importance of innovative and responsible weed control fostered by a strong extension program. In 1960 there were 10 organized Weed Control Districts operating in the Province. By 1968 there were 31 such Districts, involving 67 rural municipalities, 37 incorporated villages, 8 cities, and 4 local government districts. The number of Districts increased more slowly during the 1970’s & 80’s, and some Districts changed their boundaries to encompass more municipal districts.

Manitoba Weed Supervisors Association

During this period the Manitoba Weed Supervisors Association came into being as a non-profit organization of local Weed Supervisors. This organization worked closely with the Weeds Section, as it came to be known, and fostered better inter-District co-operation concerning common problems and concerns. It also enhanced a joint approach to many extension and continuing education activities, such as the Weed Fair (now known as Ag Days).

In the early 1990’s the Weed District program became one of the many casualties of government belt-tightening. The Weed District grants were phased out over a 2 year period, leaving local governments totally responsible for covering the costs of operation of the many Districts. With the loss of the grant came the loss of the full-time requirement for a Weed Supervisor’s position. Many Districts have been able to maintain the positions as full-time by expanding the duties and responsibilities of the Weed Supervisor. Others have expanded to cover larger areas, or taken on custom weed control responsibilities for neighbouring municipalities. Others have simply let the position become seasonal. In all cases, this has resulted in the Weed Supervisor’s labour and ability being stretched such that some issues do not receive the time required to do an adequate job. It has also led to some districts having difficulty recruiting people for such a demanding position on a seasonal basis. While the M.W.S.A. membership still works closely with Department staff, specifically the Soils & Crops Branch, their time requirements and manpower availability also have a limiting effect on the level of communication and interaction. While both the Department and the M.W.S.A. are still committed to the importance of a good extension program, time and financial considerations have served to reduce the amount of this work that can be accomplished. While both organizations have worked tirelessly to support some of the important programs initiated in past years, and continue to be on the look-out for new weed problems such as herbicide resistance and invasion of new problem plants, the resources and time available for these issues is limited at this time.

Those initial pieces of legislation, along with successive legislation and Provincial initiatives, recognized the importance of weed control to the economic and environmental health of the Province as a whole. Noted that all references were made to weed "control", accepting the fact that weed (i.e. individual plant species) elimination was not practical, possible, or desirable. While all of the weeds identified as “noxious” in 1894 are still with us today, the lack of a regulated control policy would have seriously affected our ability to be so efficient in the production of agricultural products today. While we continue our battle with weeds on all fronts across the Province, the importance of education of the public and producers to weed control strategies, issues, and concerns is as important today as in the past. The globalization of all economies and activities has increased the potential for the introduction of new, and undesirable weed species. The import regulations of our trading partners demands an ability to produce “clean” exports. The costs of transporting, or removing, undesirable components from produce demands an ever-increasing need to minimize them at the source. It is the hope of this writer that a co-operative and resourceful strategy can be established and maintained that will allow our producers, the backbone of our economy, to move forward into the future with the assistance that they have a right to expect from our governments, from local to provincial to national.

Acknowledgements:
A large portion of the information compiled in this article was gleaned from a booklet, The Ministry of Agriculture in Manitoba from 1870 to 1970, by Mr. J.H. Ellis.