An algal bloom photographed in 2017. Lake Winnipeg's nutrient concentrations have been linked to increased algae problems. PHOTO: GOVERNMENT OF MANITOBA

Producers wrestle over organic standards draft

Canada’s organic farmers had until late July to comment on new organic standards that would open the door to products like municipally derived struvite fertilizer, but would also crack down on lapses in organic management

Organic farmers had until late July to comment on proposed new Canadian standards that would open the door to products such as municipally-derived struvite fertilizer — but would also crack down on lapses in organic management.




Powdery scab a puzzling potato problem

Powdery scab a puzzling potato problem

Biosecurity, such as avoiding the use of manure from livestock that ate infected potatoes, is a must

Powdery scab, caused by Spongospora subterranea, thrives in cool, moist conditions and can significantly impact potato crops by forming lesions on tubers and galls on roots.


Cattle grazing on a range infested with velvet lupine in eastern Washington state. Producers will want to know in advance about any potentially hazardous plant life before turning cattle out on unfamiliar land.

Prevention and responsibility can be shared

Animal Health: Crop growers and cattle producers can benefit by working together

In writing for the past several years for Grainews it was nice trying to create articles that had application to the cattle, grain and mixed farmers out there. Better long-term solutions are created by looking from both sides of the fence at a problem. These create win-win situations, where both sides of a deal, trade […] Read more

What manure does over and above its nutrient content is to provide organic carbon matter, which does wonders for soils.

Manuring cropland can be misunderstood and overdone

Sources of manure and compost

There are some 60,000 cow-calf farms and 20,000 dairy operations in Canada. Cattle numbers are around 12.5 million with more than 40 per cent of this total in Alberta. Alberta also had 90 per cent of the beef feedlots with lesser numbers in Saskatchewan and Manitoba. There are 14 million hogs at any time in […] Read more


File photo of a garbage dump at Tuktoyaktuk, N.W.T. (Rlesyk/iStock/Getty Images)

Canada launches offset credits to help tackle emissions

Landfill gas protocols now launched; ag-related protocols soon to follow

Reuters — Canada on Wednesday launched a credit system for greenhouse gas offsets, a major part of its plan to cut carbon emissions, starting with a set of rules stipulating how projects can generate tradeable credits by capturing gas from landfills. The government said protocols for four other sectors including agriculture and forest management are […] Read more

A custom hauler spreads dairy manure on hay ground using a Husky 18000L Slimline liquid manure spreader on a farm at Wallenstein, Ont., north of Kitchener, in the spring of 2018. (Husky Farm Equipment handout photo via Reuters)

No poop for you: Manure supplies run short as fertilizer prices soar

Ontario honeywagon maker all sold out

Chicago | Reuters — For nearly two decades, Abe Sandquist has used every marketing tool he can think of to sell the back end of a cow. Poop, after all, needs to go somewhere. The Midwestern entrepreneur has worked hard to woo farmers on its benefits for their crops. Now, facing a global shortage of […] Read more