Proudly Canadian
Proudly Canadian
Local buying clubs take the burden of direct marketing off the shoulders of small farm operators
Farmers using zero till reported yields of two tons per hectare while some farmers using conventional practices lost their entire crop
Kazakhstan’s 2012 drought and high temperatures cut the country’s wheat harvests by more than half from 2011 output, but wheat under zero-tillage practices gave up to three times more grain than conventionally cultivated crops. Two million hectares are currently under zero tillage, making Kazakhstan one of the top 10 countries for conservation agriculture and helpingFarmers are starting to think about Plan Bs, but there is no sign yet of a major shift in seeding intentions
Wet conditions across the Prairies and the increasingly likelihood that planting will be delayed this spring have some farmers starting to think about “Plan Bs.” “I think what a lot of farmers are probably doing is looking at the Plan Bs because they’re thinking they might have to use them later on,” said Bruce Burnett,University of Manitoba plant science researcher says farmers need to think more about what happens below a field’s surface and how they can improve soil health
It’s time for farmers to stop treating soil like dirt. “The role of a farmer is to manage a complex ecosystem to produce food, feed, fibre and fuel,” University of Manitoba plant science researcher Yvonne Lawley said at the recent Ecological and Organic Farming conference. “Millions of ‘moving parts’ need to work together, both above
