Lara is originally from west central SK, but has lived across southern AB, and briefly in lower mainland BC. She started her career in horticulture with training from Olds College. After gaining a BSc from the University of Lethbridge in Agricultural Studies, Lara gained experience in an unexpected position as a hops agronomist and field manager, before returning to her home province for more studies. Most recently she finished a MSc program in soil science at the U of S, studying the effects of rotation on biological nitrogen fixation in pulse crops across Saskatchewan. You can find Lara on Twitter at
This past summer, a diligent agronomist in southern Alberta was suspicious of downy brome that was not being controlled by glyphosate. The population in question was widespread in a glyphosate-tolerant canola field in Taber County, Alberta, and was not controlled following multiple applications of glyphosate, says Charles Geddes, weed scientist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada,… Read More
Soil sensors can provide a multitude of information, but not all soil sensors are created equal. As part of Olds College’s Smart Farm applied research programs, the accuracy and functionality of five different soil sensors and their capability to measure soil properties were evaluated. Daniel Stefner, Smart Ag Research project lead and farm liaison at Olds… Read More
Raymond and Tracey Bredenhof, of R&T Poultry and Bredenhof Hops at Abbotsford, B.C. are one of the two winners chosen as Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers for 2021. The Bredenhofs operate a 40,000 broiler per cycle chicken operation in the Fraser Valley. Poultry farms are quite common for their area, but what’s less common is growing… Read More
There is very limited ability for producers to control canola oil content though management practices, largely because the final oil content is highly dependent on environmental conditions. Drought can affect a canola crop at any given stage during its growth, but it’s heat that’s the real culprit for a decrease in oil content this year…. Read More
Wild pigs pose ecological and agricultural problems across Canada and into the United States. Every year, this rapidly reproducing, non-native species expands its territory, most recently being discovered in Alberta’s Elk Island National Park. Originally brought into the country to help diversification efforts in agriculture in the late 80s and early 90s, the invasive species, cross-bred… Read More
Good science communication tells a clear story. Taking a science communications class was a requirement of my MSc program at the University of Saskatchewan, and it has turned out to be a skill that I use every day. One of the most important things I learned in that class is that communicating science can be… Read More
Drought this year has not only hindered yields on the Prairies, but it could also directly affect next year’s crop by not allowing for pesticide breakdown in soil. There are several different ways pesticides can break down in the soil: by volatilization after application; through photodegradation on the soil surface (sunlight); through hydrolysis in soil;… Read More
Three nominees have been acclaimed to the Saskatchewan Pulse Growers’ (SPG) board of directors following the close of nominations in early September. SPG had called for nominations for three positions on the board of directors and received three nominations. As such, the candidates will be acclaimed. Mario Gaudet, of Melville, will join the board of… Read More
Interest in building soil resiliency or measuring soil health is growing. But before jumping to complicated soil health tests, we first need to understand how the basic physical, chemical, and biological properties of a soil in combination with management practices will affect soil microbial populations. “You can’t take the genetic base, essentially, like the DNA… Read More
Long-term field research, conducted by the University of Guelph, has confirmed Solvita Soil Tests as valuable testing tools for evaluating soil health. Research results show that Solvita tests enabled a high level of certainty in “useful” cropping comparisons and correlated with soil carbon levels and total soil nitrogen. Solvita tests have the ability to capture… Read More
The American Meat Science Association (AMSA) has announced Dr. Phyllis Shand as the 2021 AMSA Industry & Organizational Leadership Award recipient. Shand is a professor of meat and food science in the department of food and bioproduct sciences at the University of Saskatchewan whose research program focuses on physicochemical, biochemical, and functional aspects of muscle… Read More
In the uncertainty of a national carbon strategy and how a carbon offset system will work, farmers’ contributions to sequestration and carbon emission mitigation efforts are frequently minimized. It seems the more knowledge there is about the exact amount of carbon sequestered in agricultural land, the more power farmers may have in lobbying for exemptions… Read More
Saskatchewan’s push towards developing value-added processing industries has been accelerating in recent years. Just this year, three canola crush plants have either been announced as new builds or expansions. But canola isn’t the only agri-processing moving ahead, as Red Leaf Pulp recently announced its plans to build a wheat straw-based pulp mill at Regina, Sask…. Read More
The recently announced Bill C-290, the Soil Conservation Act, has many steps to pass through before becoming an act. The premise of the bill — supporting efforts to create a national soil health strategy, that soil is the foundation for sustainable food production, enhanced biodiversity, cleaner air and water, and are at the root of… Read More
One concern this spring is whether or not there’s enough moisture to get a crop going, but another common springtime concern is that of compaction. Compaction is a risk every time you drive on a field, but the severity of compaction depends on where soil moisture is in the soil profile. “You can’t compact a… Read More
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