New website against weeds launched

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Glacier FarmMedia – Producers have a new website to bookmark if they’re looking for weed information on the Prairies.

The Western Grains Research Foundation has announced the official launch of a weed monitoring hub, prairieweeds.com. The website will be the new digital host for resources, data, weed maps and research under the Prairie Weed Monitoring Network (PWMN)—a joint initiative between provincial and federal governments and weed experts.

In a recent release, project leaders Charles Geddes and Julia Leeson from Agriculture and Agri-food Canada said the PWMN is “designed to be a pioneering initiative that will implement an all-inclusive weed biovigilance strategy” for the Prairies.

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The new website will offer “a wealth of resources and up to date information on weed abundance, herbicide resistance and integrated weed management specific to the Canadian (P)rairies,” said Geddes.

The PWMN builds on the kind of work done by both the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network and the Prairie Crop Disease Monitoring Network. The goal is a co-ordinated effort to raise awareness around the weeds and facilitate better identification, scouting and assessement.

“Prairieweeds.com will be a great resource for farmers, agronomists and researchers,” said Laura Reiter, Western Grains Research Foundation chair. “The website is a great opportunity to provide the agricultural industry with the information required to manage weeds effectively, anticipate new threats, and mitigate herbicide-resistant weeds.”

Supporting names behind the PWMN include Agriculture and Agri-food Canada, Alberta Grains, Alberta Canola, SaskCanola, Saskatchewan Wheat Development Commission, Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, Manitoba Crop Alliance, Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers, Manitoba Canola Growers Association and Prairie Oat Growers Association.

About the author

Alexis Kienlen is a reporter with Glacier Farm Media. She grew up in Saskatoon but now lives in Edmonton. She holds an Honours degree in International Studies from the University of Saskatchewan, a Graduate Diploma in Journalism from Concordia University, and a Food Security certificate from Toronto Metropolitan University. In addition to being a journalist, Alexis is also a poet, essayist and fiction writer. She is the author of four books- the most recent being a novel about the BSE crisis called “Mad Cow.”