Sustainable agriculture Archives - Page 15 of 37

Dirt’s big year

The FAO has designated 2015 as the International Year of Soil

By Alan Guebert January 12, 2015

Last year may have been a lot of things to a lot of people but one thing it surely wasn’t was predictable. I mean who foresaw last year’s record-setting high in the U.S. stock market, the plunge in global crude oil prices, Russia’s naked grab of Ukraine’s sovereign territory or the Obama administration’s reaching out

Crops, Opinion

Editorial: Changing how we think

By Laura Rance-Unger January 12, 2015

Back in the days when Prairie farmers were still in the experimental phase of adopting what is now known as conservation agriculture, I remember interviewing a farmer who had gone all the way and embraced zero tillage. He said it was an exercise in frustration bordering on failure until he realized the transition involved more

News

Weeds and weather woes included

A new card game aims to meld farming with fun, while teaching kids a little bit about  how agriculture works in Manitoba

By Shannon VanRaes January 9, 2015

Trevor Lehmann can’t say exactly what the cards have in store for him, but he hopes it’s something good. The international student adviser at the University of Manitoba has been a lover and creator of board and card games since he was knee-high to a grasshopper. Now he hopes his latest creation called Crop Cycle

Steve Kenyon talking about pasture weeds

Forages, Livestock

Steve Kenyon: The weed whisperer

Alberta cattle farmer shares his  tips on successful practices

By Meghan Mast December 10, 2014

When Steve Kenyon speaks to producers about pasture management, he likes to rile up the crowd. “There’s no such thing as weeds,” he said to cattle farmers gathered in the Boissevain community centre last week. “What we call a weed is just a plant that hasn’t learned to grow in rows yet. Or we haven’t

Crops, Did you know?

Conflicting ideologies cloud debate on farm chemicals

Chemical farmers view the notion that organic is more profitable as just plain wrong

By American Marketing Association November 20, 2014

Anti-organic: Why do some farmers resist profitable change? Why do some farmers who use farm chemicals resist a conversion to organic methods even when it can be more profitable? A new study in the Journal of Marketing suggests it may be because making that change feels like switching belief systems. “The ideological map of American

man and woman standing in a field with cattle

Crops, Livestock, Local news

New study investigates success of local organic farm

Biology professor from Brandon expects to learn a lot from closed-system operation

By Meghan Mast October 14, 2014

A biology professor from Brandon is going into the field, literally, to study how operators of a small organic farm in southern Manitoba make it work. Terence McGonigle, from Brandon University, became interested in Howpark Farms, a certified organic operation in the Brandon Hills, when he heard the owners Ian and Linda Grossart operate profitably

Local musician Del Barber sings about working farmers and rural life. Photos: Meghan Mast

Country Crossroads, Local news

Agriculture enthusiasts descend on the town of Clearwater

Harvest Moon connects urban and rural folks through workshops, markets, concerts and more

By Meghan Mast October 1, 2014

After his father dies, a man leaves his family cattle farm to work on the oil rigs in Alberta. He works part time so he can return to tend to his pastures, bale hay and maintain his herd. This story is all too familiar for many Prairie ranchers, but this particular one is from Del

Don Cruikshanks, manager of the Deerwood Soil and Water Management Association, at a unique research site in the Pembina Hills where two watersheds meet. The location allows researchers to do comparative analysis of farm management practices related to water and nutrient management. Photo: Laura Rance

News, Opinion

Agriculture’s role in nutrient loss

Ultimately, storing water on the land isn’t just about flood control, it’s about capitalizing on available nutrients as well

By Les Mcewan September 15, 2014

Checking the news feeds across my conservation agriculture news, I see a common thread. Increased nutrient loads at Lake Erie, Chesapeake Bay, the ever-present “dead zone” of the Gulf of Mexico and calls for more action on the state of Lake Winnipeg. The human contributions are relatively constant, albeit constantly increasing, so when things go

News

Agricultural Hall of Fame: Robert McNabb

Five new members of the Manitoba Agricultural Hall of Fame were inducted July 17 at a ceremony  in Portage la Prairie. We’re featuring a new inductee each week

By Manitoba Co-operator Staff August 27, 2014

Robert (Bob) McNabb was born and raised on a farm at Minnedosa, Manitoba. He attended the University of Manitoba where he obtained a degree in agriculture, majoring in animal science. While at university, he took flying lessons and obtained his commercial flying licence. Following graduation, Bob spent eight years in northern Saskatchewan where he was

Michelle Carkner is an M.Sc. candidate in the University of Manitoba’s department of plant  science conducting soybean varietal trials under organic production. PHOTO: LORRAINE STEVENSON

Crops, Oilseeds

Evaluating soybean varieties for suitability in organic production systems

Organic growers in Manitoba have limited options right now

By Lorraine Stevenson August 18, 2014

At $25 a bushel, organic soybeans could be a highly lucrative crop for organic farmers. But right now that market is out of reach for most due to the limited number of varieties suitable for organic production systems. A student researcher at the University of Manitoba is hoping to change that. She is evaluating conventional

Daily Network News

U.S. livestock: Cattle futures end lower

ICE Weekly: Trade progress, new data threaten to break canola’s price range

CBOT Weekly: Trade awaits USDA S/D report

Tag Archives Sustainable agriculture