Farmer/researcher Dwayne Beck | Believers of Beck’s systems-wide approach to research refer to themselves as Beckies
There aren’t many speakers brave enough to tell a room of 250 farmers that they’re wasting their money when they buy a new half-ton truck. However, Dwayne Beck, manager of Dakota Lakes Research Farm near Pierre, South Dakota, isn’t your typical agricultural conference speaker. No one flinched when Beck told producers at the Manitoba North […] Read more
Robert Arnason
Stories by Robert Arnason
Sunflower growers look to expand export markets
Consumers used to have two choices when it came to sunflower seeds: salted or unsalted. These days seed lovers can choose from a plethora of flavours, from spicy garlic and dill pickle to nacho cheese and jalapeno hot salsa. But while North American consumers prefer a variety of flavours, seed connoisseurs in other parts of […] Read more
When bans become banes
Manitoba considers cosmetic pesticide ban | Producers say legislation will have unintended effects
The president of Manitoba’s Keystone Agricultural Producers is almost always calm, composed and collected when he discusses agricultural issues facing his province. But there was a hint of irritation in Doug Chorney’s voice last week when he answered questions about the Manitoba government’s plan to ban cosmetic pesticides in the province. In short, Chorney said […] Read moreManitoba plans to ban cosmetic pesticide use
The Manitoba government will likely introduce legislation next year to ban cosmetic pesticides in the province, as it plans to begin public consultation on the issue this spring. The province’s plan for a ban provoked a swift reaction from Doug Chorney, Keystone Agricultural Producers president, who said the ban is “nonsense” and not based in […] Read more
Cool-warm season crops fare best in longer rotations
Avoid annual rotations | A longer time period between rotations discourages weeds
MINOT, N.D. — An American researcher has a message for Canadian no-till famers who grow a two-crop rotation of canola and wheat: such a practice is short-sighted and stupid. Dwayne Beck, manager of the Dakota Lakes research farm in Pierre, South Dakota, told the Manitoba North Dakota Zero Tillage Farmers Association annual workshop in Minot […] Read more
Flexible rotations can benefit growers
Go with the flow | Varying crops can take advantage of nutrients and moisture and avoid disease and insects
MINOT, N.D. — Don Tanaka could never understand why most northern Plains producers locked themselves into a fixed rotation of two or three crops. “Cropping systems that are not flexible to change will be unsustainable,” the recently retired U.S. Department of Agriculture researcher wrote in Agronomy Journal in 2007. He said this was particularly problematic […] Read more
Hoppers expected this spring in Alberta
Grasshopper forecast | Saskatchewan, Manitoba predicted to have few troubles with grasshoppers this spring
EDMONTON — Saskatchewan and Manitoba look safe from grasshoppers this year, according to the 2012 forecast, but Alberta farmers need to beware. “Alberta gets to be the lucky contender with grasshoppers this year,” said Jennifer Otani, an Agriculture Canada entomologist. “The forecast in Alberta has pockets with severe populations, but that depends what happens in […] Read moreCattle die in Manitoba truck-train accident
Dozens of cows are dead after a train smashed into a tractor-trailer near Carberry, Man., last night. The accident happened around 11 p.m. at a controlled train crossing 10 kilometre north of Carberry, where Highway 5 intersects with the Canadian National Railway main line. RCMP said thick fog was a factor in the accident, which […] Read more
Course motivates learning about ag and science
It’s hard to define empowerment, except that it’s one of those feel-good words frequently used by social workers, psychologists and motivational speakers. Regardless of definition, empowerment is an excellent word to describe why Lauren Reynolds, a Grade 12 student at Evan Hardy Collegiate in Saskatoon, liked a course she took at the school last year […] Read more
U of S ag and–bioresources college not just for farm kids
The University of Saskatchewan’s College of Agriculture and Bioresources is educating its largest class of first year students in the last decade. At 231, the number of first year students is 17 percent higher than 2010, when 198 students were in the first year of the program. In 2009, there were 108 first year students. […] Read more
