Category: Biodiversity Habitat

The Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association (SSGA), along with the South of the Divide Conservation Action Program Inc. (SODCAP), has received US$250,000 from the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation (NFWF). The money will be used to implement results-based conservation agreements with beef producers. “This NFWF grant demonstrates that our beef producers in Saskatchewan are actively engaged… Read More

The Canadian Prairies are exactly that — prairie. Rich soil supports incredible crop production now, but the climate, soil, and plants that have mingled and grown here long before agriculture moved in were all about permanent ground cover. Annual cropping leaves soil exposed or even bare if tillage is part of the equation, and while… Read More

This week marks the official opening of theLivestock and Forage Centre of Excellence (LFCE), located southeast of Saskatoon. Leadership of the LFCE say that this isn’t just a world-class facility, but it is designed to be world-leading in forage and beef production research. RealAgriculture’s Dale Leftwich attended the grand opening of the LFCE and met… Read More

Precision agriculture provides clear evidence of the impact of yield variability. But often farmers find themselves mired in a swamp of data as they work to create management zones and prescriptions to maximize yield across a field. University of Guelph’s Clarence Swanton certainly sees the opportunity for farmers to intensify management and increase yield but… Read More

If you’ve got cows, you likely do something like this: number of cows x days on feed = tonnes of hay/forage needed. But what if you’ve got land, but no livestock, and want to include perennial forage in rotation? Have you ever sat down and done this: number of acres x tonnes of feed produced… Read More

Farmers and land owners will have two chances this year to access funding under the Grassland Stewardship Program (GSP) beginning with a January 9th to February 1 intake. The program, administered by the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) and funded through the federal Environment and Climate Change Canada department, provides funding to implement forage… Read More

Honeybees have played an important role in Canadian agriculture for decades, with past stressors and tough seasons humming along under the radar, for the most part. That all changed a few years ago when it became a political imperative to “save the bees.” Maryam Sultan, bee health associate with Bayer, recently discussed the subject of… Read More

The Ontario government recently rolled out its Pollinator Health Action Plan, a draft of which had been put forward in January, 2016, and up for discussion. The final product, found here, is remarkably similar, and, as many have commented, it’s a solid, balanced approach to improving honeybee and native pollinator health in the province. The… Read More

Ontario has released its Pollinator Health Action Plan which includes focusing on four key stressors to honeybee and pollinator health and financial support and increased education for beekeepers. A re-iterated aspirational goal to “restore, enhance and protect” 1 million acres of pollinator habitat is also included in the plan. Found here, the plan is a mix of… Read More

Stating a “weight of evidence” that neonicotinoid imidacloprid poses too high a risk to aquatic insects, Health Canada announced today a proposed three-year phase out of the insecticide. In Canada, imidacloprid is used in some cereal and potato seed treatments, as well as within the horticulture industry. Health Canada says it drew on data submitted… Read More