What limits yield on your farm? Too much water? Not enough? Low soil nutrient levels? Not enough heat? At least one scientist will tell you it's none of the above — the most limiting factor for crop production in North America is actually soil carbon. "Our soils are starved for carbon," says Kristine Nichols, a... Read More
Category: Water
Farmers from a wide swath of Saskatchewan and Manitoba are slogging through washed out roads, flooded homes and submerged fields after a weekend of rain that dumped from three to over seven inches of water over the southeast and west portions, respectively, of those provinces. For many crops, the water is simply too much —... Read More
A huge swath of the prairies was hit with up to seven inches or more of rain between Friday and Sunday night, with more precipitation in the forecast. 16 Saskatchewan communities have declared a state of emergency and several highways and roads are closed in the east and southeast of the province. Manitoba is also... Read More
This week, Winnipeg, Man., hosted the World Congress on Conservation Agriculture — a three day event that brought together research and extension staff with farmers and industry to discuss the state of conservation agriculture all over the world. Conservation agriculture, a combination of zero-tillage, cover crops, extensive crop rotation and more, looks very different from... Read More
Tank mixing crop protection products has been an important practice for western Canadian agriculture for a very long time; it allows us to manage weed resistance, control grassy and broadleaf weeds in an efficient one-pass system, and possibly manage nutrition and disease at the same time. The downside is that the chemistries sometimes can be... Read More
Long-time followers and fans of Real Agriculture know two things: we love to do a conference or show wrap up at most of the events we cover, and, that we usually include incredibly serious, hard hitting news in each of them. Well, that second point may be a bit of a stretch, but the Real... Read More
Five small communities in Saskatchewan have a chance to try out a new water-purification system valued at $45,000 in a competition that seeks to find Saskatchewan's worst water. The system was developed by Tec-Water Supplies Inc's Bill Kidd, and uses a coagulant (or floc) to join the particles that cause turbidity in water. Once the... Read More
The devastating early blizzard that shut down parts of South Dakota last week is a harsh reminder of how we're at the mercy of the almighty Mother Nature. As several news outlets are now reporting, the number of cattle who have died or are missing tops the 100,000 mark. Similar to the wicked spring snowstorm... Read More
What's sure to be a career-shaping week for nearly 120 youth from across the world kicked off in Calgary yesterday, as the first-ever Youth Ag Summit got rolling in the city. Hosted by 4-H Canada and Bayer CropScience, the week-long event's theme is "Feeding a Hungry Planet," and each day delegates from 20 countries will... Read More
The City of Saskatoon celebrated with Ostara Nutrient Recovery Technologies Inc. yesterday with the grand opening of the nutrient recovery facility at the city's Wastewater Treatment Plant. The system, which cost $4.7 million to install, is projected to produce per year 730 metric tons of 5-28-0 +10%Mg, slow-release fertilizer. Not only will this fertilizer eventually... Read More