Sustainable agriculture Archives - Page 27 of 37

U.S. Farmers To Sow Idle Acres, Yields In Doubt

By Michael Hirtzer April 7, 2011

For the past five years, Nebraska farmer Brandon Hunnicutt has carefully avoided a small, soggy seven-acre plot of land in the middle of his farm, fearing the poor soil will be more trouble than it’s worth. This year, however, Hunnicutt – and thousands of others across the Midwest – will rush to cash in on

Crops, Forages, Livestock, News

Pasture Days Insurance Enters Second Year

By Ron Friesen April 7, 2011

Wet weather limited Dane Guignion’s ability to harvest hay last summer – and the time his cattle spent grazing on pasture. Guignion had crop insurance contracts for both hay production and days on pasture. He didn’t get paid for the first one. He did for the second. The reason? The hay was there but Guignion

Opinion

Business Risk Management

By Laura Rance-Unger March 17, 2011

The importance of planning to be safe on the farm can ever be overemphasized in agriculture. Rural culture is such that for far too long farm families have lived a risky lifestyle, accepting and even celebrating obsessive work habits in the name of staying one step ahead of the weather, saving money or earning more.

Crops

Eco-Farming Can Double Food Output By Poor

By Alister Doyle March 17, 2011

Many farmers in developing nat ions can double food production within a decade by shifting to ecological agriculture from use of chemical fertilizers and pesticides, a UN report showed March 8. Insect-trapping plants in Kenya and Bangladesh’s use of ducks to eat weeds in rice paddies are among examples of steps taken to increase food

News, Pulses

Food Processors Look To Farm Practices

By Lorraine Stevenson February 17, 2011

Canadian farms have sustainability advantages from the climate they produce food in, progressive soil management practices and low water usage, Pulse Canada says. Two new reports have attempted to measure sustainability within agricultural supply chains and how food companies view and value it as a measure of food product quality. The reports, commissioned by Pulse

Cereals, Crops

Cover Crops Help Manage Moisture, Says Researcher

By Daniel Winters February 17, 2011

New research shows cover crops can help mop up excess soil moisture, says Ranjan Sri Ranjan, an irrigation, drainage, and water management expert. The University of Manitoba professor wants to better understand the movements of water, both frozen and unfrozen, in the root zone. To do that, he used finger-sized probes to measure moisture and

Crops, Forages

No-Tillers Tap Benefits Of Underground Livestock

By Daniel Winters February 17, 2011

North Dakota grain farmer Glenn Bauer is reaping the benefits of “livestock” in his operation – but you’d need a microscope to see most of them. “We don’t have any cows, but we’ve got a lot of livestock that we try to feed below the surface,” Bauer said during a panel presentation on no-till soil

News

U.K. Organic Sales Stable After Recession Fall

By Nigel Hunt February 17, 2011

Sales of organic products in Britain has stabilized after a recession-driven decline which was particularly severe in the meat sector, the incoming director of the Soil Association said on Feb. 9. “Last year we saw a drop (in demand), particularly in some areas. The feeling is very much that it is more stable now and

Crops, Forages

Properly Done, Organic Grain Is A Money-Maker

By Daniel Winters February 10, 2011

Narrow rows, early seeding, and heavier seeding rates are just some of the strategies organic farmer Ian Cushon uses to fight weeds on his 3,600-acre organic farm on the fringes of the black soil zone near Oxbow, Sask. “In terms of weed management and crop competition, seeding equipment I think is the most important equipment

Cereals, Crops

Organic Wheat Tough To Move, Says CWB Marketer

By Daniel Winters February 3, 2011

Canadian organic wheat farmers have effectively been shut out of the European market due to lower-priced competition from Kazakhstan. After the meteoric rise of organic wheat to $30 per bushel in the spring of 2008 that ended in the global economic recession that began later that fall, food manufacturers started looking elsewhere for raw materials.

Daily Network News

Southern California honeybees show resistance to varroa mites

Pulse Weekly: SaskPulse optimistic despite input, crop price concerns

Canadian aquaculture should be classed as agriculture, industry groups say

Tag Archives Sustainable agriculture