A soybean field where researchers are trialing different bio-stimulants at the Manitoba Crop Diversification Centre near Carberry on Aug. 6, 2025.

Carberry field day looks for agriculture solutions

Manitoba farmers explore research solutions for resilient crops, agronomic issues and new kinds of ag products

Manitoba farmers explored research solutions for resilient crops, perpetual agronomic issues and new kinds of agricultural products at a field day at the Manitoba Crop Diversification Centre in Carberry on Aug. 6.

Neal Wagar with EcoTea and Mary-Jane Orr, general manager of Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives, test soil treated with EcoTea during a field day at the organization's Brookdale farm on Aug. 12, 2025. Photo: Miranda Leybourne

EcoTea microbial soil treatment gets stress-tested at MBFI

EcoTea biostimulant was applied to cereal forage crops at Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives north of Brandon this year, with some initially good results

Plot research on a microbial biostimulant at Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives’ farm points to modest yield advantages for growers, though field variations may sway the data. Further study is planned.

Spencer Harris (green shirt) speaks with attendees at the Nutrien Ag Solutions crop plots at Ag in Motion on July 16, 2025.

Interest in biological crop inputs continues to grow

Nutrien exec shares thoughts on uptake and profitability of biological crop inputs

It was only a few years ago that interest in alternative methods such as biologicals to boost a crop’s nutrient uptake seemed to spike in popularity. But according to Spencer Harris, senior vice-president of global ag retail for Nutrien Ag Solutions, biologicals are not all that new for Nutrien — the global ag retailer has […] Read more


Spencer Harris , in the green shirt, speaks with attendees at the Nutrien Ag Solutions crop plots at Ag in Motion on July 16. Photo: Greg Berg

Interest in biological crop inputs continues to grow

Nutrien exec shares thoughts on uptake and profitability of biological crop inputs

It was only a few years ago that interest in alternative methods such as biologicals to boost a crop’s nutrient uptake seemed to spike in popularity. But according to Spencer Harris, senior vice-president of global ag retail for Nutrien Ag Solutions, biologicals are not all that new for Nutrien — the global ag retailer has been researching biological crop inputs for nearly two decades.

Spencer Harris (green shirt) speaks with attendees at the Nutrien Ag Solutions crop plots at Ag in Motion on July 16, 2025. Photo: Greg Berg

Interest in biological crop inputs continues to grow

Nutrien exec shares thoughts on uptake and profitability of biological crop inputs

It was only a few years ago that interest in alternative methods such as biologicals to boost a crop’s nutrient uptake seemed to spike in popularity. But according to Spencer Harris, senior vice-president of global ag retail for Nutrien Ag Solutions, biologicals are not all that new for Nutrien — the global ag retailer has […] Read more


A man's hand is using the small spoon built into the screw-on lid of a plastic tube to collect a small sample of soil in a field.

Demystifying biological inputs

A new partnership brings science-based field data to ag input listings to help growers sort fact from fiction

Biome Makers’ BeCrop Trials system measures changes in the soil microbiome after a product is applied. While the AgList/Biome Makers badge doesn’t validate efficacy, it signals a product has been through third-party field trials.




A woman waering a labcoat and blue latex gloves works under a ventilation hood in a lab.

VIDEO: Biologicals company celebrates ‘new beginning’

It’s pretty common to celebrate the milestones in life, and the folks at Saskatoon’s Novonesis lab and production facility are no different. The company, formerly known as Novozymes, specializes in plant biosolutions, and for one day during the recent Crop Production Show, it opened the doors to its state-of-the-art facility to mark a number of […] Read more

On-farm testing and public data is available on the efficacy of fertilizer supplements and biological products, but it can be difficult for producers to find the results.  |  File photo

Feds not expected to resume supplement testing

WINNIPEG — Some farmers and producer groups would like the federal government to restore testing of non-fertilizer supplements to prove they work before the products are commercialized. That’s unlikely to happen, says a fertilizer expert who has been in the industry for decades. The federal government stopped regulating non-fertilizer supplements in 2013, and efficacy testing […] Read more