News and updates

Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada has released the Guide to Pest Wireworms in Canadian Prairie Field Crop Production. With this field guide, you'll be able to easier identify wireworm damage in your fields, develop strategy plans to mitigate the damage, and better protect your field!

Soon, irrigation could see hands-off technology entering the market in southern Alberta.

Together, with UBC's LiteFarm & Ensemble Scientific, we are working towards building a community-driven, open-source irrigation system to benefit farmers around the globe.

One of the major long-term goals of the sustainable farming systems is to achieve high crop yields with lower application rates of inorganic nitrogenous fertilizers.

Spend a little time around Farming Smarter and you may experience an infamous Lewis Baarda quip coming at you from left field.

Getting along with neighbours is important no matter where one lives. When you live in a rural, agricultural area where the land is both home and livelihood, good neighbour relations can be extra critical.

As our Perfectly Placed trials wrap up their third year, we've seen dramatic differences this year. We're focused on adapting the precision planters for crop production in southern Alberta with this trial.

In southern Alberta, Farming Smarter Director John Kolk probably needs no introduction. Chances are you've served with him on a board, council, or advisory committee. If not, you've watched him in action.

We're looking for subtle changes in moisture levels as the crops grow. These slight changes could lead to practices developing and changing to better optimize crop yield.

There's more to blowing soil than what (painfully) meets the eye. Those airborne particles can hold vital nutrients and even crop disease.

While our Hemp Agronomy project is focused on the fertility of the plant, our Perfectly Placed trial focuses on seeding. Specifically, we're comparing vacuum/precision planters to air drills.

Right now, we have three separate trials for alfalfa going on at Farming Smarter. We're researching how to best combat alfalfa weevil, the best time & product to desiccate alfalfa, and the effect of plant growth regulators on the crop.

When the wind picks up and the sky turns grey with blow-dirt, everyone loses.

For the farmer whose field seems suddenly half in the air, the economic impact of a major wind event can be nothing short of devastating.

If you've ever seen things exploding in an agriculture research presentation, you were probably watching a presentation by Mike Gretzinger, Farming Smarter Research Coordinator.

To continue the conversation around soil nitrogen in agriculture, let's talk about how plants uptake nitrogen from the soil in nitrate (NO3-) and ammonium (NH4+) forms.

Why scout for disease after harvest?

Harvest means the end of the crops, but the job's not done yet. A thorough field scouting after harvest is important to provide insight into the future wellbeing of your crops.

Should you have the chance to sit and talk with Amber Kingcott, her genuine concern for farmers, farms and farming shines through instantly. She comes from farm families on both sides and, clearly, loves all things farm related.

For the CHTA variety trials, we're doing things a little bit differently - we've broken our trials into two separate plots, one looking at fibre agronomy & the other investigating grain agronomy.

Soil erosion has negative effects, not just for the landowner losing precious soil, but also for neighbouring lands, roads, ditches, and buildings. In Alberta, the Soil Conservation Act and the Agricultural Service Board Act pair up to provide protection for this soil and help ensure longevity of agriculture in the province.

Use of cover crops has been increasing throughout the Prairies, but little is known about their benefits & detriments.

A Farming Smarter project is investigating how to incorporate cover crops in the fall season. Our strategy is to implement them within crop rotations.

Lewis Baarda, Farming Smarter Field Tested Manager, sits down with project partners Kevin Cussen and Mark Johnson to outline the project and the challenges it plans to address for water efficiencies under irrigation.

Nicole Rasmussen of Corteva AgriScience talks about canola seed size, corn crops, planting methods and planting depths with Mike Gretzinger of Farming Smarter.

Rachael Melenka of 20/20 Seed Labs talks with Lewis Baarda of Farming Smarter about the Spornado spore trap that offers a cost effective alternative to more expensive spore traps.

Precision planted durum trials test the effects of agronomy tools on the yield of irrigated durum. We test precision planted versus air seeding planted plots; different seeding and nutrient rates; varying row spacing; and more.

What a joy to be at a live field day! A day full of sunny skies, good jokes, and informative presentations! Our Lethbridge Plot Hop was a phenomenal success, and we're beyond happy to have spent it with fantastic people. Getting people back in the field..