Coming Nov. 5: Fresh Agronomy Insights from the Field, Straight to Your Mailbox

Don’t receive The Western Producer but still want a copy? We’re personally mailing a physical copy to all of our Digital Learning and Agronomy Smarts subscribers as a special perk for subscribing!

Otherwise, you can find this edition of the Farming Smarter magazine along with all of our other editions right here on our website – after the mailing date, of course. Visit our Magazines page under Resources to start reading.

Alberta Rice and Futuristic Fabric - Kristi Cox

Is growing rice in southern Alberta as crazy as it sounds? Dr. Illimar Altosaar seeks to develop rice as a cheaper, low-waste alternative for medical, industrial, and textile use. But how do you get it to grow in our semi-arid climate? The journey taking his research into the proof-of-concept stage tells you how!

Farming Smarter Enters Its Next Era - Sean Kjos

Southern Alberta’s agriculture industry has undergone constant transformations since the soil broke for the first time. For nearly four decades, the roots of Farming Smarter have played a role in that transformation. Now, the non-profit charity is undergoing its own transformation in its biggest year of agronomy research yet.

Farming Smarter Travellers Come Home with Newfound Knowledge - Jeff Gaye

In January 2026, 30 travellers set off on an adventure across the world from their homes in southern Alberta. They spent two weeks touring the agricultural communities of Australia and New Zealand, learning about the culture and industry while meeting a crowd of new faces. Their journey was so impactful, they remain in touch today!

Lookin' Up - Trevor Bacque

Are drones all that they’re cracked up to be? While many are flying high after drone-applied pesticides were permitted in Canada, some hesitate to join the cheering crowds. Three experts weigh in about the efficacy and quality of drone sprayers as a new tool for farmers across the country.

Farming Smarter Builds a Three-Year Strategy to Tackle Persistent Wild Oats - Janet Kanters

Crop competition, cover crops, and herbicide strategies are among the 27 treatment combinations under evaluation to reduce wild oat pressure and deplete the weed seed bank. Over the course of this three-year trial, cultural and pesticide management practices will be layered to create a long-term strategy for canola, wheat, and peas.

Building and Inspiring a Culture of Innovation in Western Canada Agriculture 

Farming Smarter is an agriculture innovation hub based out of Lethbridge, Alberta. Our mission is to support the people involved in advancing irrigated and dryland crop production. We work closely with farmers, entrepreneurs, businesses, government, academia and more to bridge the innovation gap, drive economic growth, improve social impact and environmental sustainability. 

We are a policy governed, non-profit organization with by-laws under the Alberta Societies Act, and a Canadian Charity registered under the Canada Revenue Agency. If you like what we do, please consider supporting Farming Smarter by making a donation, sponsoring us, or come to us for your agricultural research needs. 

Innovation is hard and about long-term results. We invite anyone interested in agriculture innovation to work with us and together we can change the way people farm.