Bernie McClean's annual crop rotation includes canola, CPS wheat, malt barley and oats.

Extending rotations, in the field

Part 1 of 3: How real farmers are extending their rotations

There seems to be no shortage of articles, presentations and research exhorting farmers to lengthen rotations. Longer rotations benefit everything from weed control to disease suppression in crops. But what are farmers doing to maintain or extend rotations? Grainews spoke to three farmers to find out how they’re managing their rotations. And while each farmer […] Read more

Cover crops provide residue on the surface over the winter, catching snow. In the spring, when that snow melts, salts are flushed down.

Managing soil salinity through cover crops

For the growing problem of dry land salinity, try planting a cover crop

Dry land salinity is a major problem on the Prairies. In Alberta, about 1.6 million acres of dry land are impacted by secondary salinity. On average, Alberta crop yields are reduced by 25 per cent annually because of the problem. Salinity also impacts 3.3 million acres in Saskatchewan and 0.6 million acres in Manitoba as […] Read more


Photo: Thinkstock

Four ways to increase your organic matter

A question that I hear a lot is, “How do cover crops fit into a grain operation?” Lots of grain farmers have no desire to get into the livestock business and no interest in producing hay. But many have some soil issues that need to be addressed. This can be done by buying more iron […] Read more

The green crop on the left is a chickpea monocrop still flowering on August 31. On the right is intercrop that is more ripe and not flowering.

Ins and outs of intercropping

Intercropping researcher Lana Shaw shares tips and tricks for successful intercropping


You can’t convince farmers to use long rotations if they are losing money on some of those crops, says Lana Shaw, research manager of South East Research Farm at Redvers, Sask. Nor is it good enough to only have one or two profitable crops in a region. The industry needs to find a way to […] Read more


Aphanomyces disease symptoms in the field.

AAFC projects focus on aphanomyces root rot in pulse crops

Good management practices still the best way to control aphanomyces in the field

While improving management practices and reducing risk factors are still the best ways to avoid root rot in pulse crops, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) researchers hope to find other tools. Syama Chatterton, an AAFC research scientist whose areas of expertise include diseases in pulse crops and soil borne diseases, is working on research projects that focus […] Read more

There were no hives for 30 miles, but still piles of bees around the Phacelia stand.

My 2017 crop year in review

It was dry, but still a good year at Kevin Elmy’s Friendly Acres Seed Farm in eastern Saskatchewan

For the producers that wanted a drier year, we definitely got that in 2017. Between 2009 and 2016, we received just under 200 inches (500 mm) of rain, so a year with “normal” rain would have been well received. 2017 delivered 2-1/2 inches (63 mm), and two-thirds of that came in the beginning of June. […] Read more


Sask. and QC couples earn national OYF honours

Working with natural systems appeals to OYF-winning diversified producers

What’s the world coming to? When it comes to well managed farming operations recognized as Outstanding Young Farmers it appears to be leaning toward a natural field cropping operation in Saskatchewan and an organic market garden operation in Quebec. Derek and Tannis Axten of Axten Farms Ltd. near Minton, Sask., and Véronique Bouchard and François Handfield of Mont-Tremblant, […] Read more

The CCX9000 Cover Crop Seeder is now available from Kuhn Krause for use on its Excelerator 8000 and 8005 vertical tillage implements.

Kuhn introduces CCX 9000 Cover Crop Seeder

Attachment designed for use on Excelerator vertical tillage implement

Kuhn Krause has recently announced the introduction of the CCX 9000 Cover Crop Seeder, which is designed for use on its Excelerator vertical tillage implements. It gives producers the ability to seed a cover crop while performing a tillage pass. The Quantron S2 control monitor inside the tractor cab, which includes what the brand describes […] Read more



On the left is a root of a sugar beet grown in fine sandy loam soil, showing root stratification in the second and fourth foot of soil where layers of clay were encountered. From Weaver, 1926, Root Development of Field Crops. The wheat and wild mustard graphic on the right shows root competition between Marquis wheat (on the left, with roots marked 1, 2, 3 and 4), and wild mustard, 22 days after emergence. (This graphic is from Pavlychenko and Harrington, 1937: Ecology Vol. 18 No.1 Pages 62-79.)

Getting to the root of the matter

For a look at the big picture, the ‘old’ research on roots is still relevant today

Plant roots are receiving more attention of late and well they should. Roots are the foragers that deliver water and nutrients to the plant, but too often our attitude is “out of sight, out of mind.” With the current interest in many plant species, cover crops and soil health, much of it comes down to […] Read more