Soil surveys in war zones have revealed widespread diffuse soil pollution in agricultural lands.

Comment: War’s long shadow

Warfare ruins the environment – and not just on the front lines

On the morning of December 6, 1917, a French cargo ship called SS Mont-Blanc collided with a Norwegian vessel in Halifax harbour. The SS Mont-Blanc, which was laden with 3,000 tons of high explosives destined for the battlefields of the first world war, caught fire and exploded. The resulting blast released an amount of energy

Comment: The smokescreen of COP28

The global climate change event is the world’s biggest green mirage

Its official name is the United Nations 28th Conference of the Parties on Climate Change, or COP28 for short. Given the news from the two-week gathering in the desert near Dubai, a better name might be “Shifting Sands, Shifting Blame.” For example, “A staggering 88,000 people are accredited” to attend the meeting, financial magazine Barron’s


The dangers of AI are apparent, including biased algorithms, data privacy violations and the manipulation of human behaviour. It is also a technology that has the potential to solve many problems.

Comment: AI can be an agricultural solution

The technology can help farmers tackle the challenges of modern farming

For all the attention on flashy new artificial intelligence tools like ChatGPT, the challenges of regulating AI and doomsday scenarios involving super-intelligent machines, AI is a useful tool in many fields. In fact, it has enormous potential to benefit humanity. In agriculture, farmers are increasingly using AI-powered tools to tackle challenges that threaten human health,

'Think of a down jacket: it’s the air between the feathers that helps keep the wearer warm. Honeybee clusters are similar to the action of compressing a down jacket, whereby the thermal conductivity eventually increases to that of a dense solid of feathers...'

Comment: Bee clustering knowledge based on faulty guidance

Honeybees cluster together when it’s cold but we’ve been completely wrong about why

Honeybees in human-made hives may have suffered the cold unnecessarily for over a century because commercial hive designs are based on erroneous science. For 119 years, a belief that the way honeybees cluster together provides a kind of evolutionary insulation has been fundamental for beekeeping practice, hive design and honeybee study. In the modern day,


Massive investment firms are pushing the cost of land out of reach. The cost of farmland is skewed by the interests of investment firms who are purchasing land far above market rate.

Time to protect Canadian-owned farmland

Young farmers and farmworker leaders call for ban on investor ownership of farmland

Canada is hemorrhaging farmers. Recent reporting shows that 40 per cent of Canadian farm operators plan to retire over the next decade. The majority don’t have a succession plan. The number one barrier facing new farmers is access to farmland. By 2033, a shortfall of 24,000 general farm, nursery and greenhouse workers is expected to emerge. Young farmers

Agriculture has the potential to further drive Manitoba’s economy, bring investment to our province and develop our communities.

Comment: Government in an uncertain world

There are a couple of asks agriculture needs to make of government

What should farmers be asking of governments? This is an especially relevant question for producers in Manitoba who are getting to know the new government led by Premier Wab Kinew. Farmers and their representatives need to get this question right. Sometimes, agriculture’s asks can be counterproductive both for the development of a positive relationship with


transport ship on the ocean

Comment: For want of fresh water

Fresh water is a hidden challenge and opportunity for global supply chains

Reports of lengthy shipping delays for vessels traveling through the Panama Canal this year have highlighted the critical but often overlooked role that fresh water plays across global supply chains. Abnormally dry conditions in Panama, brought on by El Niño, left the region drought-stricken and sent water levels in the locks that feed the canal

The effectiveness of vaccines in chickens is limited because the bird flu virus rapidly evolves.

Comment: Eliminating bird flu in chicken barns

Bird flu could be eradicated by editing the genes of chickens and one study shows how

Recent advances in gene editing technology could potentially help create disease-resistant animals. In a recent study, my colleagues and I showcased the potential of gene editing to protect chickens from the threat of avian influenza. This disease is caused by an ever-evolving virus that gets around numerous biosecurity measures such as good hygiene, restricted bird


From beyond meat to the return of meat

From beyond meat to the return of meat

Climate-based policies frequently ignore consumer preference and economic reality

As I walk by a storefront that once housed the city’s largest ‘plant-based butcher’, the irony hits me. The new sign announces that this will soon open again – as a beef burger cafe. It brings to light the complexity of understanding Canadian consumers and their varying wants and needs. Protein in all sources is

‘… there are many thousands of kilometres of road ditches mowed every year and the mowing is often paid for by taxpayers. Those thousands of kilometres of mowing add up to thousands of acres of forage that is chopped and left in the ditches.’

Comment: Time to stop wasting ditch grass

Publicly funded forage could be one small step toward climate resiliency

It is time for Alberta and perhaps the rest of the Prairies to start thinking outside the box and recognize we may have to start doing things differently. We can start with a new approach to emergency cattle feed supplies. For the past three years, a feed crisis has risen in the Prairies, affecting many