It’s not always easy for farmers to find answers to their agronomic questions.
The information is available in scientific journals, but access can be formidable. Even if farmers do find the articles, the scientific language can be laborious, making these publications difficult to read even for other researchers.
“The information is often contradictor y, which makes decision-making more difficult since additional effort is required to separate good information from bad,” said Guy Lafond, a research agronomist at Agriculture Canada’s research farm in Indian Head, Sask.
Read Also
Ag In Motion 2025 site hub of activity
day before Ag in Motion preview.
“Over the years, we’ve found that very few extension people ever read these publications, even though it’s the basis for much of our soil and crop management.”
Lafond and the Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association have developed a new web-based e-publication to address this concern.
“We’ve needed something like this for a long time. It’s one single website where people can find virtually all the scientific research pertinent to prairie soils and crops,” said Lafond.
Lafond said editors ofPrairie Soils and Crops: Scientific Perspectives for Innovative Managementinvite top agricultural experts and researchers to write articles on their topics of expertise.
“Ultimately, the intent is to make world-class agricultural research on the Canadian prairies accessible to everyone.”
The website is organized into five topics, the first three of which are complete and posted.
• Agriculture and its impact on the environment
• Weeds, herbicides and management
• agricultural soils of the Prairies
• Pest management
•Major findings from long-term studies on the Prairies
Lafond said scientific jargon has been removed from the articles so that the website can be suitable for a wide audience. The writing style allows anyone with an interest in agriculture to keep abreast of the latest thoughts and findings.
“The articles will be of value to anyone ranging from Grade 11 students to university students to farmers and agrologists,” Lafond said.
“A lot of the excellent research that seldom sees the light of day can now become part of our mainstream pool of knowledge.”
He said raising the level of soil and crop knowledge can have tremendous benefits for the entire agricultural sector.
The website is also a professional development tool for agrologists and certified crop advisers. Exams are being developed to accompany the articles. Certified crop advisers can earn continuing education units by successfully completing these exams.
For more information, contact Lafond at 306-695-5520 or guy. lafond@agr.gc.ca or visit www.prairiesoilsandcrops.ca.
