Manitoba Co-operator
Soil health and cover crops were the focus of a western Manitoba farm tour in 2019.

Soil health survey keys in on farmer voice

The Soil Health Network says their new survey is meant to keep farmers in the driver’s seat when it comes to adopting on-farm practices

The Soil Health Network says their new survey is meant to keep farmers in the driver’s seat when it comes to adopting on-farm practices.



Organic farmers do not soil test as much as conventional farmers do, but it’s important to understand the nutrient levels in all soils used for crop production.

Organic farms need soil testing too

Organic farmers should take a lesson from conventional farming when it comes to testing for soil nutrients and benchmarking fields frequently: University of Manitoba researcher

Organic farmers should take a lesson from conventional farming when it comes to testing for soil nutrients and benchmarking fields frequently: University of Manitoba researcher

Kyle Heggie spreads compost on a field. Heggie hopes to instead place pellets made from compost inside the seed row.

Compost pellets ready for fertilizer trying ground

After years of trials, Saskatchewan farmer Kyle Heggie is ready to take his compost pellets to the field rows in the hopes that they boost crop nutrition

Kyle Heggie has been spreading a unique blend of compost on his crops for years, and has also used on-farm trials to test the practicality of mid-row banding compost “pellets” into the seed row next to the seed.

The U.S. is a key source for imported queen bees (marked here with a green dot to set her apart from the rest of the hive).

Tariff anxiety hits Canadian honey producers

Canadian beekeepers are pushing to keep key imported honey supplies out of trade war crosshairs

Canadian beekeepers are lobbying to keep their products out of the trade war. The U.S. tariffs may cause problems for the industry, but the domestic market may be enough to keep the Canadian honey industry strong.


A hay crop seed mix made of alfalfa and forage grass species.

Beef farmers may be missing out on better forage genetics

New and improved alfalfa and grass varieties are out there, but not every livestock producer in Western Canada is fighting to grow them

New and improved alfalfa and grass varieties are out there, but not every livestock producer in Western Canada is fighting to grow those cutting-edge forage genetics.





Photo: iStock/Getty Images

U.S. pork begs for tariff exemption from Canada

The Canadian pork sector, meanwhile, says U.S. tariffs against Canadian pork creates similar damage to the highly integrated North American pork market

Canada's retaliatory tariffs threaten to hurt North American pork and hog supply chain, U.S. farm group argues.