Rick Rutherford says he starts his crop planning by looking at last year’s report card: his yield map.

VIDEO: Making 4R nutrient management work

EMILI field day features farmer experiences, high tech systems and extension education

When Rick Rutherford starts to plan his crop, he begins at the end – the end of the last growing season, that is. The Grosse Isle-area seed grower and owner-operator of Rutherford Farms sits down, current year’s yield map in hand, with agronomist Dave Ives of Enns Brothers to plan for the following spring. “It’s

A varroa mite feeds on a honeybee during its pupa stage.

New control for varroa mites on the horizon

University of Manitoba researchers look to CO2 to help beat back the parasite

Research at the University of Manitoba involves a promising and inexpensive control for varroa mites in honeybee colonies. Professor Rob Currie, head of the school’s department of entomology, is exploring the use of carbon dioxide to help mitigate mite infestations. The elevator pitch behind the treatment is that varroa mites have a higher sensitivity to


We have entered the all-hands-on-deck phase to quickly mitigate the devastating effects of the climate emergency.

Comment: Why carbon capture and storage is key

It will allow us to adapt more quickly and completely, to avoid the worst effects of the climate emergency

With the ongoing climate emergency, there’s a heightened need to significantly reduce greenhouse gas emissions through whatever means possible. Despite this, carbon capture technologies have been labelled as a distraction from supporting renewable energies and as extending the life of the oil and gas industry. But this is a technology we cannot ignore. It concentrates

The Co-op Ethanol Complex at Belle Plaine, Sask. (FCL.crs)

Co-op to capture carbon at ethanol plant, refinery

FCL, Whitecap sign agreement to sequester fuel plants' CO2

A major Prairie ethanol and fuel producer is posed to spend just over half a billion dollars on a system to capture and sequester carbon dioxide from its operations in Saskatchewan. Federated Co-operatives announced Thursday it had signed a memo of understanding with Calgary-based ‘clean energy’ company Whitecap Resources, in which the latter company will

An information label is seen on packaging for a CO2 cylinder for a fizzy drinks machine in Manchester, Britain on Sept. 20, 2021. (Photo: Reuters)/Phil Noble)

Britain tells its food industry to prepare for CO2 price shock

U.K. pays fertilizer maker CF Industries to reopen plants

London | Reuters — Britain warned its food producers on Wednesday to prepare for a 400 per cent rise in carbon dioxide prices after extending emergency state support to avert a shortage of poultry and meat triggered by soaring costs of wholesale natural gas. Natural gas prices have spiked this year as economies reopened from


An information label is seen on packaging for a CO2 cylinder for a fizzy drinks machine in Manchester, Britain on Sept. 20, 2021. (Photo: Reuters)/Phil Noble)

U.K. meat industry warns of threat to supplies from CO2 crisis

CO2 shortage is caused by closure of fertilizer plants

London | Reuters — Some of Britain’s meat processors will run out of carbon dioxide (CO2) within five days, forcing them to halt production and impacting supplies to food retailers, the head of the industry’s lobby group warned on Monday. A jump in gas prices has forced several domestic energy suppliers out of business and

CBOT May 2020 corn with Bollinger (20,2) bands. (Barchart)

U.S. grains: Corn slumps as ethanol production hits decade low

Improved U.S. wheat crop ratings raise expectations of bumper supplies

Chicago | Reuters — Chicago corn futures slumped on Wednesday, giving up part of the previous session’s gains, as the U.S. government reported the U.S. ethanol industry saw a near-decade low in weekly production amid massive stocks. Wheat futures followed in mid-day trading, as investors squared up their positions ahead of Thursday’s world agriculture supply

Higher carbon dioxide levels could negatively impact the nutritional value of rice, an important crop to many lower-income countries.

Rice’s nutritional value decreases in higher CO2 concentrations

Researchers examine how climate change can impact dietary quality of crops

Rice grown at higher carbon dioxide (CO2) concentrations, like those possible later this century, has lower nutritional value, according to a recent study. Notably, some varieties of rice seemed to react differently to increased levels of CO2, say the study’s authors, showing relatively smaller decreases in nutritional value. The finding that rice’s nutritional quality can


Canadian scientist Robert Sandford says there is an urgent need to address and adapt to climate change and its effects on the hydrological cycle.

Western Canada has crossed into an entirely new hydro-climatic cycle, scientist says

Climate change is accelerating hydrology at an even faster pace than earlier thought, making for rapid-fire change

A Canadian scientist says those trying to protect farmland from future floods, and bolster local resilience against other extremes of hydrologic climate change must do so with a sense of urgency. “I hope you’ll see beyond urgency to the emergency we face if we do not act in a timely and effective manner to protect

Thousands of litres of fuel are needed for farmers to grow, maintain and harvest their crops, and a carbon tax could dramatically rise their fuel costs.

Carbon tax alarms agriculture groups

Too heavy-handed regulation that’s out of step with other countries could put Canadian farmers at a disadvantage

Proposals for a carbon tax to help reduce emissions that cause climate change pose a major threat to Canadian farmers, says the Western Canadian Wheat Growers Association. Canadian farmers already have to cope with a tough climate, says Robin Speer, WCWGA executive director. “They’re already producing more food while using less land, water and fuel