Palmer Amaranth.

These non-native weeds are big problems in Manitoba

Keep an eye out for these noxious weeds in the coming growing season

The Province of Manitoba has declared the last full week of April as Invasive Species Awareness Week. The Manitoba Weed Supervisors Association (MWSA) recognizes this week by highlighting just a few of the invasive plants considered to be a significant threat to the landscape of our province. Many of these invasive species are mistaken for

Fire, flood and drought have all been part of the Australian agriculture experience in the past year, causing a rising recognition of the perils of global warming.

Aussie farmers cutting carbon to stay competitive

Two growers presenting to an international conference say this is a response to growing demand in premium markets

While many Canadian farmers say policies to reduce carbon emissions will make them uncompetitive, Aussie producers are setting ambitious climate mitigation goals to meet international customers’ growing demand for sustainable food. “The (Australian) agriculture industry has really led this and has been pushing for these sorts of policy changes… ” Richard Heath, executive director of


ABOVE: Little snow remains on fields near Brandon in mid-March.

Manitoba farmers confronted with a dry spring

Much of agro-Manitoba is sitting at 30 per cent or less of normal precipitation since November, and that’s not counting the dry fall beforehand

Agro-meteorologists have good news and bad news. The good news is: chances are you’re getting onto your field early this spring — in fact, the first reports of field work in central Manitoba have already started trickling in over social media. The bad news is: those worries you had about a dry spring are coming

Take a systematic approach to improving the ecosystems beneath your feet.

There’s a teeming world of diversity and complexity in your field’s soil

This soil ecologist says six principles can be applied to improve soil health

Soil is more than just dirt, a place where plants put down roots to grow seeds. It’s a complex ecology, teeming with infinite varieties of flora, fauna, microbes and minerals that provide both the raw materials and machinery to build crops and livestock. It’s a factory floor with a lot of moving parts and we’re


... the health of one soil can be very different from the health of another and both are healthy.” – David Lobb, University of Manitoba.

Soil health a moving target

There’s no one-size-fits-all measure of soil health, David Lobb says

Saying a soil is ‘healthy’ isn’t something simple like running through a checklist. David Lobb, a soil scientist at the University of Manitoba says it’s a moving target that takes many variables into account. There are hundreds of different soils across the province, thousands across the country and the development of each one moves toward

Paying farmers to store carbon in their soils is, at least in theory, a win-win scenario.

Editorial: The carbon credit reality

Canadian farmers, industry and governments should pay close heed to the recent announcement that one of Canada’s largest food processors has inked a deal to buy carbon credits from American farmers. Maple Leaf Foods will pay $20 per tonne to U.S.-based Indigo Ag for carbon stored on American farms applying soil-building practices. It represents a


John Deere says its new line of heavy harrows features a quick folding and unfolding sequence to help farmers move more quickly between fields. (Deere.com)

Degelman to make heavy harrows for Deere

Regina company reaches OEM agreement for new line

Major U.S. farm equipment manufacturer John Deere Co. has launched a new line of heavy harrows — and is going to Saskatchewan to get them. Regina equipment maker Degelman Industries announced Tuesday it has reached an OEM (original equipment manufacturer) agreement to provide Deere with a line of three heavy harrow models, the HH50, HH70

The European honeybee, vital to pollination and the honey industry but not suitable for all crops such as seed alfalfa or some fruit or greenhouse crops.

A multitude of bees are your tireless workers

You might be surprised to find out just how much extra canola a few more pollinators can bring to your bins

Canola growers like what happens when they enlist hives of honeybees to help tend their crops. According to figures presented to the Manitoba Agronomist Conference earlier this winter by Melanie Dubois of Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, pollination increases production by as much as 46 per cent. And the quality of the seed set is significantly


A modified, one-pass seeder and hilling system from Spudnik was key to Berry’s foray into direct-seeded potatoes.

Direct-seed potatoes show no harvest hit

Both yield and quality were comparable in an initial trial comparison of traditional spring tillage and direct seeding

The amount and quality of the potatoes coming off Chad Berry’s field last fall weren’t that much different from one side to the other, but one half came with a lot less tillage. Results are in from the 2020 field-scale trial, which hoped to create a side-by-side comparison of conventional spring tillage and direct-seeded potatoes.

“Soils, wherever you are on the planet, were never formed with monocultures.” – Blake Vince.

This farmer sees cover crop benefits

It’s not just about the environment; it’s also about the bottom line

Farmer Blake Vince says he’s seen both benefits and challenges as he’s made cover crops part of his operation near London, Ont. At November’s Farm Forum Event virtual conference, he appeared by way of a pre-recorded presentation done weeks earlier at his no-till farm. Standing in the middle of a cover crop that was planted