environmental issues Archives - Page 2 of 2

Changing nitrogen use to avoid taxes

Nobody likes the idea of a new tax. Especially when it could impact the way we farm

By Leeann Minogue March 8, 2017

[Updated: April 9, 2017] When Dr. Mario Tenuta braved icy roads to drive from his home in Winnipeg to Weyburn, Sask., to speak at the Indian Head Agricultural Research Foundation (IHARF) Soil and Crop Management Seminar, he wasn’t planning to make many friends. The University of Manitoba soil scientist had come to make farmers aware […] Read more

Adding a pulse crop to your rotation will put N back into your soil, some even require less water to produce.

Columns, Crops, Weather

Get your farm ready for global warming

Agronomy management: How can you adapt your Prairie farm to changing climate conditions in the years to come? 

By Ross H. McKenzie February 10, 2017

Many Prairie farmers have gradually come to accept that global warming is real. Over the past 60 years, our Prairie climate has been gradually changing. In most regions of the Prairies the length of the growing season has increased, the amount of heat (growing degree days and crop heat units) has increased and the number […] Read more

Columns, Crops

Start planning spring crop rotations

Strong crop rotations can bring along a wealth of long-term agronomic benefits

By Ross H. McKenzie January 5, 2017

Crop rotations can be used to take advantage of differences in how each crop in a rotation contributes to increased soil organic matter, aids in pest management, manages soil nutrients and controls soil erosion. Rotating different crops in the same field can effectively promote sustainable crop production. If you haven’t already started planning your crops […] Read more

Schleitheim in the Fall: Schleitheim is the village I live in and write from.

Features

Letter from Europe

Farm Perspectives

By Marianne Stamm December 2, 2016

Background: Marianne Stamm grew up on a pioneer farm in the Peace country of British Columbia. Marriage to her Swiss husband Robert sent her to a mixed family farm in Switzerland, then back to a grain farm in Westlock, Alberta. She has now moved back to Switzerland to be near the grandchildren. Looking at the […] Read more

Crops, Features, Livestock

What is holistic management?

Are cover crops on the rise?

By Leeann Minogue November 7, 2016

Holistic management is a framework for making decisions by looking at your entire environment, including your soil and the living organisms in it, how you’re capturing rainfall and energy from the sun and the diversity of the entire biological community. It also includes taking into account the environmental, economic and social consequences of the decisions […] Read more

Researcher Tim McAllister says agriculture is a minimal contributor to global warming, but still needs to demonstrate it is running the safest, cleanest operation possible.

Columns, Hart Attacks

A crippled old cow and the killdeer nest

Hart Attacks: Agriculture is under scrutiny, and under public pressure to do the right thing

By Lee Hart September 23, 2016

I remember a few years ago, one spring day, being at the farm of Brian Otto in southern Alberta and I suspect he wanted to bend my ear about how some politicians and agencies (read CWB) had their heads up their butts when it comes to grain marketing. Later we went out to a field […] Read more

Water level changes in a shallow (35 foot) observation well near Melfort, Sask. 1967 – 2016.

Columns, Weather

Climate and weather cycles

There have always been climate cycles. The question is "Where are we now?"

By Les Henry April 27, 2016

One of the biggest topics for discussion in recent years is climate change and how we have to shut down the world as we know it to keep alive in the future. On the CO2 and fossil fuel issue Canada is a rounding error. It is all about China. And China must change. Not so […] Read more

Crops

VIDEO: Herbicide resistance spreading in Western Canada

From the International Weed Resistance Summit

By Lisa Guenther April 4, 2016

At the Herbicide Resistance Summit this past March, Dr. Hugh Beckie presented the results of the latest weed survey in Saskatchewan. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researchers hadn’t finished screening for herbicide resistance. But Beckie expects to see herbicide-resistant weeds on over 50 per cent of cultivated land in Saskatchewan, he told Grainews reporter Lisa Guenther. […] Read more

Crops, Features

Farmers ahead of carbon curve

Farmers practise soil management, and play an active part in carbon sequestration

By Julienne Isaacs January 29, 2016

Carbon sequestration” is a term with plenty of traction these days. Technically speaking, it refers to long-term storage of carbon dioxide or other forms of carbon to help mitigate the fallout from climate change — a subject that increasingly figures on Canada’s agendas. In agriculture, carbon sequestration finds a home in discussions about soil management […] Read more

Cattleman’s Corner

Snow can be an excellent water source for cattle

Eating snow is a learned behaviour which may take a few days for livestock to adjust

By Roy Lewis December 24, 2014

For eons, wild animals in Canada especially the large herbivores have relied on snow as their primary water source through the winter. It has been shown that some wild species like reindeer actually prefer snow if given a choice. Canadian ruminants, especially pregnant beef and bison cows and heifers, can do well eating snow. On […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures come down from highs

Entomologist tests trap crops and marigolds to repel flea beetles at an Ag in Motion

Canada’s foreign affairs minister spoke with Chinese counterpart, federal government says

GFM Network News