U of M student Calum Morrison, along with Professor Yvonne Lawley, are digging into cover crop use on the Prairies in an ongoing survey.

Survey looks for those who’ve grown cover crops – or haven’t

The University of Manitoba study looks to quantify cover crop production across the Prairies

University of Manitoba researchers want to hear from producers growing cover crops – and those who’ve yet to grow them. The survey of cover crops on the Prairies is in its second year, and is calling on all farmers to tell them if they grew a cover crop in 2020 — and if they didn’t, what they

Bayer’s cross symbol hangs in a terminal at Frankfurt International Airport. (Typhoonski/iStock Editorial/Getty Images)

Bayer launches carbon capture pilot for U.S., Brazilian farmers

Chem and seed firm expects to expand plan to other countries

Chicago | Reuters — Bayer launched a pilot program in the United States and Brazil on Tuesday that will pay farmers for capturing carbon in cropland soils, making it the latest agriculture company to capitalize on environmental initiatives. The company seeks to enroll about 1,200 row crop growers in its Bayer Carbon Initiative in the


How a radish cover crop interseeded into soybeans planted in August looked on Sept. 27, 2019.

Calling all cover croppers!

A survey is looking for hard numbers on the practice and what it looks like on Prairie farms

The University of Manitoba is looking for numbers on local cover crop use, and it’s turning to producers to get them. Yvonne Lawley of the University of Manitoba is spearheading the Prairie Cover Crop Survey, which hopes to gauge how widely and in what form cover crops are taking root across the Prairies. The survey

There was plenty of interest in a comparison of roller crimping versus tillage for cover crop management at Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show in Woodstock, Ont.

To till or not to till

Demo highlights differences between tillage and no-till cover crop practices

As more producers start to incorporate cover crops into their soil health strategy, machinery companies are racing to develop tillage and non-tillage options to manage them. When choosing how to manage your cover crops, the first thing to address is whether you want to use tillage or go to a non-tillage option like a roller


Cattle move into a new intercropped paddock at Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives north of Brandon. Both simple and complex intercrop mixes got put to the test for grazing at the applied research farm this year.

Using brassicas to feed cattle could pose a challenge

The best intercrop or cover 
crop grazing plans may hit a wall 
if the cattle turn into fussy eaters

Brassicas feature in most polycrop seed mixes on the market, but feeding cattle on those mixes may require some extra consideration. Jillian Bainard, of AAFC Swift Current, noted that cattle were less likely to graze brassicas during her ongoing study into grazing intercrops. The study hosted plots at Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives in Manitoba,

Photo: Thinkstock

Four ways to increase your organic matter

A question that I hear a lot is, “How do cover crops fit into a grain operation?” Lots of grain farmers have no desire to get into the livestock business and no interest in producing hay. But many have some soil issues that need to be addressed. This can be done by buying more iron


Students pull up a round of litter bags and root cores from the cereal 
rye-soybean plot.

Not all cover crops are equal

They all have similar benefits, but how and when they deliver them varies

What’s the best time to plant a cover crop to capture and supply nutrients for the cash crop you’ll be taking to harvest? A group of U.S. researchers are trying to answer that question and they’re finding different cover crops provide different things at different times. “It’s like trying to time a meal to come

Yearlings and dry ewes graze on rotational perennials -- grass plants, legumes, and forbs -- at Menoken Farm, a demonstration farm just east of Bismarck, N.D.

Cover crops ‘essential’ to in-field grazing

Confined livestock do little to help build soil health

Got cows? On your cropland? Jay Fuhrer certainly hopes so. The soil health specialist believes cropland and large ruminants are a natural fit. He advocates turning animals out of the barn and onto the land whenever possible. “Soils, plants and animals evolved together,” he told producers gathered in Winnipeg for the annual Dairy Farmers of