Features

With new higher-yielding carinata varieties 
on the market, farmers have another oilseed 
to add to their rotations

In the mid-19th century, Captain John Palliser described the region that now includes southeastern Alberta and southwestern Saskatchewan as a desert or semi-desert, and deemed the area unsuitable for settlers. Despite climatic limitations, farmers have settled Palliser’s Triangle, and they now have another hardy oilseed to add to their rotations — carinata, also known as Ethiopian mustard. […] Read more

On-farm traceability, and the paperwork that comes with it, is going to become more common, whether farmers want it or not, says an on-farm auditor

It’s going to be, in the long run, more about consumer confidence. And not necessarily in regards to safety of food, but in the sustainability of the food — where it’s coming from and that’s it’s being produced in a sound way,” says Jodi Holzman, auditor with Control Union Canada. Holzman has audited about 100 […] Read more

University of Manitoba researchers are hoping to kill two birds with one kidney stone by mining manure


Struvite is a naturally occurring mineral that forms kidney stones, says Dr. Don Flaten, soil scientist. The mineral, which can be made from hog manure, is also a phosphate source which is less water-soluble than commercial phosphate fertilizers. Regular phosphorus fertilizers dissolve quickly, leaving high salt concentrations, which can kill seedlings if too much fertilizer […] Read more