Indigenous peoples have traditionally viewed plants as teachers. Modern ideas like regenerative agriculture are only starting to realize some of those lessons.

Natural resources more than just ‘stuff’ in our ecosystem

Exploring Indigenous agricultural views of relationship and reciprocity with the land

In scientific and conservation terminology, “ecosystem services” refer to the benefits that wetlands, diverse plant and animal life and wild spaces provide to society. For Indigenous peoples, those things are gifts, the audience was told during the Sustainability of Canadian Agriculture Conference in mid-March. The virtual conference was co-hosted March 12-14 by the University of

Panelists talk about agricultural sustainability at the 2024 Canadian Crops Conference in Winnipeg in early March.

Agriculture needs better frame for carbon value

Farmers and industry need to join forces to guide the conversation on carbon and climate change, panel says

The ag industry has a chance to get a hand on the reins of climate change discussions. That was the takeaway from a panel discussion at the 2024 Canadian Crops Convention in Winnipeg March 6. Why it matters: Farmers are being pushed to be more sustainable and to have evidence to support sustainability claims. Kristjan


RBC says that the market for agriculture-based carbon offsets is still in early development as firms struggle to attract capital and farmers.

Report flags lack of national guidelines for ag carbon offsets

Canada falling behind in agriculture carbon market, report says

A national framework is needed if carbon markets are to be profitable for farmers and companies, a new report says. RBC’s Climate Action 2024 report suggests that Canada lags the U.S., Brazil and China in its issuance of forestry and land use carbon credits, a category that would include agriculture, despite Canada’s early adoption of sustainable farming

For hog farmers, energy costs are the second-highest operating expense after feed. – Cam Dahl.

Comment: It’s hard to be green while in the red

Farmers must make money before they can invest in sustainability and the carbon price isn’t helping

I’m not the one to come up with the line used in this article’s headline, but I wish I was. It is a succinct way of describing one of the most challenging policy aspects of sustainability. It is difficult, even impossible, to change farming practices aimed at improving environmental sustainability when experiencing negative margins. That

Public wants ‘green’ farming, but wallets remain closed

Public wants ‘green’ farming, but wallets remain closed

Consumers care about the climate, but not enough to pay extra in the grocery store

Glacier FarmMedia – Canadians say they care about climate change, but they aren’t willing to pay to address it. Canada’s food, agriculture and farming industries need to accept that failure as their own, according to the executive chair of Maple Leaf Foods. “They care, but they’re not motivated by it,” said Michael McCain, whose company


An agroforestry plot in Africa.

Comment: Agroforestry can be a financial win or a trendy flop

Farmers must be set up for success if agroforestry is to live up to its promises

Imagine adding one thing to a field and suddenly, as well as producing food, it also generates building materials, fuel and fodder. At the same time, this change would nourish the health of the soil, regulate the micro-climate and support pest-controlling wildlife like beneficial insects. Or maybe that addition could produce a whole other crop.

“If you reduce methane emissions, there has to be another ‘sink’ that will wrap up that hydrogen. In the rumen there’s a number of different ways that hydrogen can go.” – Karen Beauchemin.

The science of burp-busting GHGs in cattle 

Bovaer is safe and effective but other GHG-limiting solutions should be appraised, says researcher

By now, many beef and dairy cattle producers have heard of Bovaer, the methane-reducing cattle supplement recently greenlit for use in Canada.  It’s being heralded as a tool to help those industries achieve their greenhouse gas reduction goals. But is Bovaer safe for animals and the humans that consume their products? A retired researcher gives

University of Winnipeg climatologist Danny Blair speaks at the Brokenhead River Agricultural Conference on Feb. 5.

American climate in Manitoba’s future

Longer growing seasons are likely, but they’re probably bringing more droughts with them

Eastern Manitoba could have a climate akin to the American Central Great Plains by 2080, according to one climatologist from the University of Winnipeg. “In a high-carbon scenario, Beausejour is expected to have climates like Missouri and Kansas currently have in the summertime,” Danny Blair told a crowd of producers Feb. 5. Blair is co-founder


“It’s exciting to see the 15 per cent reduction in GHG emissions intensity, which puts us on track to achieve the 33 per cent reduction 2030 goal that the industry has set.” – Ryan Beierbach, chair of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Beef.

GHG reductions highlight Canadian beef sustainability report

Assessment reveals industry has reduced emissions by 15 per cent

A new report marks a win for a Canadian beef industry striving to minimize its carbon footprint. The industry has reduced the greenhouse gas emissions required to produce one kilogram of beef (boneless and consumed) by 15 per cent since 2014, according to the recently released National Beef Sustainability Assessment (NBSA) and Strategy report. “It’s

A thick layer of smoke emanates from forest fires on the west side of Okanagan Lake.

Top weather stories of 2023

Mother Nature wasn’t kind to Canada weather-wise over the past 12 months

The degree of devastation across Canada in 2023 was difficult to comprehend. It was not a pretty picture, given countless scenes of charred landscapes, scorched shells of former homes, and debris piles as evidence of powerful tempests, dried out riverbeds, and fields underwater as far as you could see. Beautiful sunrises and sunsets belied the