When given the chance to do some gardening, six-year-old Melissa Kerik doesn’t hesitate. She jumped right into the task after her mom, Maryanne, handed her radish seeds and a plastic windowsill greenhouse. She stood on a chair while putting radish seeds into 12 peat pellets already in the tiny greenhouse, which looks similar to an […] Read more
Robert Arnason
Stories by Robert Arnason
Red River flooding potential increases
With nearly double the normal amount of precipitation in southern North Dakota, the U.S. National Weather Service says conditions are right for major spring flooding in the Red River Valley this spring. “We’ve got a fair amount of snow and a fair amount of water in the snow, so we’re piling up the stored runoff,” […] Read more
Cover crops expand reach on Prairies
Mentioning cover crops at a farm meeting 10 years ago would have provoked puzzled looks, but these days they are a common topic of conversation. “Everybody’s talking about it and everybody’s thinking about it. You can go to any no-till conference or workshop and they’re going to talk about the need to use cover crops,” […] Read more
Intercropped canola yields hold their own in Man. trials
A Manitoba researcher was shocked last year to discover that plots of intercropped canola yielded nearly as much as canola grown by itself. “The cool weather really helped us have good yields overall, but when we went to harvest it, we were pretty amazed as to the results,” said Scott Day, a diversification specialist with […] Read more
Cover crops important key to producer profit
After two years of study, researchers are concluding that cover crops are essential if a farmer wants black ink in the accounts ledger, a sure sign that the operation is profitable. “What people care about is the colour of their ink,” said Jared Carlberg, during a presentation on the economics of legume cover cropping in […] Read more
Better times ahead for cow-calf sector
It may never happen, but after years of losses, cattle producers are actually talking about supply management, said Scott McKinnon, a market analyst with Canfax. “Never say never. I think producers are to the point where maybe that’s an option,” said McKinnon, during a media scrum following his presentation on the cattle market outlook at […] Read more
Money squeezed from waste?
Large-scale hog farmers have been blamed in recent years for generating excessive pig manure and for the increased levels of phosphorus in Lake Winnipeg and other water bodies. But if Joe Ackerman’s project is successful, hog farmers might be able to change that image by removing excess phosphorus from manure and selling the nutrient at […] Read more
Man. co-op plans hemp processing plant
The federal government has committed $4.9 million to help build a hemp processing plant employing about 12 workers in Waskada, Man. The cash will allow Farm Genesis Group, a co-operative started by farmers in southwestern Manitoba, to achieve its dual goals of building the plant and community, said Keith Hannah, company president. “Our group, 32 […] Read more
Meat that matters
BLUMENORT, Man. – Customers at Country Meat & Sausage in Steinbach, Man., face the traditional glass case filled with the usual assortment of ham, pepperoni, pork chops and salami. However, they’ll also find a meat product that isn’t displayed at most butcher shops in Western Canada. It’s not a fringe item at Country Meat & […] Read more
Conservation agriculture mainstream in Brazil
MINOT, N.D. – Mention Brazilian agriculture and it likely provokes a mental image of vast fields of genetically modified soybeans and large tracts of cattle pastures. In reality, however, Brazilian farmers are world leaders when it comes to cover crops and conservation agriculture, says Theodor Friedrich, a sustainable farming specialist with the United Nations’ Food […] Read more
