Reading Time: 4 minutes The first thing you’ll notice as you drive by Grass Roots Family Farm is the orchard — an unlikely sight in rural Alberta, but somehow it seems right at home beside the sprawling vegetable garden. In a paddock near the house, a sow nurses a handful of nearly newborn piglets, and just down the lane […] Read more
Permaculture advocate says work with nature, not against it
Ferintosh producer Takota Coen says carefully designed mixed farms are the way of the future
When it comes to seed, we live in a land of giants
Straight from the hip: Big seed, chemical, trading and retailing companies dominate world commerce
Reading Time: 3 minutes When Jack’s mother threw the bean seeds out the window, little did she know of their powers. Overnight, a large stalk had grown and Jack promptly climbed up the beanstalk to their future fortune. That fairy tale now mirrors reality as we look at the massive growth in GM seeds and their place in gardens […] Read more
Three keys to successful on-farm research
Reading Time: 2 minutes The first critical step in research is to keep it simple. “Ask one question, and keep it very specific,” said Farming Smarter researcher Lewis Baarda. “It’s important to keep that as simple as you can and have one research question where you can look at one thing at a time. The simpler you make it, […] Read more
Water management beats precision fertilizing on irrigated land
Higher organic matter gives crops a big nitrogen boost and so it’s better to focus on water management, study finds
Reading Time: 3 minutes It seems fertilizer prescriptions matched to the needs of various areas of a field doesn’t give much of a return under irrigation. That’s the conclusion of an Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development study of responses to applying fertilizer according to the needs of the field’s soil zones. The project included dryland and irrigated fields with […] Read more
Production shortfalls and transportation woes could result in nitrogen shortage
Experts say there’s still time to close the supply gap, but farmers should be talking to their suppliers about booking their orders
Reading Time: 3 minutes Concern is mounting as transportation and production issues point to a serious shortage of nitrogen supplies this spring. “If it was April, I would be panicking,” said Brian Kenyon, director of sales and marketing with Yara Canada. However, even though nitrogen shipments to Western Canada are down by an estimated 750,000 to one million tonnes […] Read more
Clogged rail network could impact last-minute fertilizer deliveries
The fertilizer bill should be lower this year, but the transportation system may not be able to accommodate a late surge in delivery orders
Reading Time: 2 minutes Cash flow or storage concerns causing you to hold off on booking fertilizer? That could be a costly move if you wait too long. “With the way the commodities have tailed off in the last few months, some guys may be looking to push (fertilizer purchases) back a bit due to cash flow concerns,” said […] Read moreCyber-Savvy Farmer
