An artist's rendition of a Landsat satellite in Earth orbit.

Checking crops from orbit may be underused option

The available satellite imagery of our crops may be an underused tool for field analysis

Glacier FarmMedia — Last fall on her farm near Holland, Man., Anastasia Kubinec was struggling with a decision about a canola field. In one part of the of the field, it seemed like the crop was ready to combine. But other areas were possibly too wet and too green. One option was going in with […] Read more


(Jimfeng/iStock/Getty Images)

U.S. to boost biofuel mandates over next three years

Biofuel groups still feel shortchanged

Reuters — The Biden administration on Wednesday increased the amount of biofuels that oil refiners must blend into the United States’ fuel mix over the next three years, but the plan has angered the biofuel industry, which says mandates for corn-based ethanol and biodiesel are not high enough. The U.S. Environmental Protection Agency has finalized […] Read more

Prince Charles (now King Charles III) visits Shane Fitzgerald’s Kil Mige Mogue farm near Waterford in southeast Ireland on March 24, 2022. (Photo: Reuters/Phil Noble/Pool)

What will King Charles’s reign mean for climate action?

Some projects may be handed to other family members

London | Thomson Reuters Foundation — As Britain’s King Charles III begins his reign after the death of his mother, Queen Elizabeth II, environmental campaigners will be watching closely to see if he continues to advocate for climate action and is able to help drive change as monarch. In his first speech to the nation […] Read more



When you sell straw or hay off your farm, have you ever considered the fate of the nutrients contained in the hay or straw?

Selling nutrients: the last straw

Practical Research: How to degrade productive cropland by selling the nutrients after the harvest season

Sandy soil areas are not uncommon on the Canadian Prairies, especially west and north of Edmonton, my home area. It made me wince when I saw endless lines of wheat straw bales on countless sandy fields this fall. Technically speaking, straw should never be sold on any kind of cropland unless there is a very […] Read more



Sacramento-based Origin Materials in March started working with bottled-water firms Nestle Waters and Danone on development of plastic bottles made from biomass feedstocks. (Nestle-WatersNA.com)

Bioprocessor coming to Sarnia

Bioindustrial Innovation Canada (BIC) has invested in California bio-based products company Origin Materials. Origin Materials will be building its first commercial-scale demonstration facility in Sarnia, Ont. by late next year. It will be using bio-based feedstocks such as crops and biomass to make new polymers, surfactants and carbon blacks, which are used as fillers and […] Read more


Canada invests in Canadian biomass and composites industries

Federal and provincial governments are investing up to $2.9 million to the Composites Innovation Centre Manitoba for two initiatives. The funds will go towards the development of quality standards and measurement techniques for Canadian biomass, and research into overcoming technology barriers to the adoption of natural fibres in the composites industry, a news release says. […] Read more

AAFC's Dr. Abdelali Hannoufa says identifying a genetic regulator in alfalfa could lead to more drought-tolerant varieties.

Drought-tolerant alfalfa studied

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) researchers have discovered a gene in alfalfa that could help to make the crop more drought resistant. A team of researchers, led by Dr. Abdelali Hannoufa at AAFC’s London Research and Development Centre in Ontario, working in collaboration with industry partner, Forage Genetics International in the United States, discovered the […] Read more