News and updates

FYI - a new executive committee took the reins of Farming Smarter at the Board organizational meeting March 17, 2017.

It's spring in southern Alberta! A new research year has begun! At Farming Smarter, we're out in the field and getting our hands dirty. We have seeds in the ground and plans in motion. Our ultra early seeding trials were planted in mid-March, but..

Laverne Gill's generosity, quest to both acquire and share knowledge, and willingness to try new things, all led him to be the 2021 Orville Yanke Award recipient.

Soil Savvy gives you some facts to consider about potassium in your soils. It is segment two in the soil potassium series.

The project looked at how to implement biobeds to filter pesticide rinsate and recycle the effluent. The goal of this project is to limit the water contamination of chemical application and protect water resources.

Our Extensions program had plenty of trail to blaze in 2021. Dedicated to delivering informative content and opportunities, our Extensions program fought tooth and nail to keep the ball rolling over the past two years. Throughout COVID, we encountered...

Whether it's the corner of a pivot circle, a low spot in your field, or a saline patch ≥ marginal land is a blunder for your field. These unproductive patches of land can impede yields and make harvest difficult...

Our Custom Research program saw a lot of success in 2021. In fact, Custom Research Unit Lead Trevor Deering learned how to juggle! Rather, he learned to juggle the work necessary to complete 62 research trials this year...

Environmental DNA (eDNA) is a collection from organisms degraded in the environment by bacteria, UV radiation, pH, or temperature. Unlike living DNA, eDNA is expelled from living organisms, fragmented, and accumulated in its surroundings...

As part of our Field Tested program, this project is studying the effectiveness of spore traps as a low-tech, cost-effective warning system. Additionally, we want to learn to better understand these pathogens and how we can mitigate them...

We finished our third of three years in our Agronomic Influences on Fiber and Grain Yield in Industrial Hemp project. Currently, we are working on a final report to bring you the final data. Keep an eye out for the report closer to the end of March...

It was a busy year at Farming Smarter, everyone had a lot on their plate throughout 2021. The Agronomy program, headed by Research Coordinator Mike Gretzinger and Research Scientist Dr. Gurbir Singh Dhillon, kept busy with the 40 projects they had on...

Our Precision Planting Canola study has been published in the Canadian Journal of Plant Science! The study looked at the effect of seeding canola using precision planters and conventional air drill seeders at different seeding rates on plant density and seed yield.

We wrapped up another great Farming Smarter event - our 2022 Conference & Trade Show! Our first big in-person event in the last two years was a smashing success!

Board Director Scott Holtman first noticed Farming Smarter while on his way to the Irrigation Update seminar many years ago he spotted a road sign on Hwy 3 at the SMRID yard advertising a field event.

Potassium is the third most critical element among the essential elements required by plants, after nitrogen and phosphorus. Potassium is required for photosynthesis, protein synthesis, nitrogen fixation in legumes, translocation of sugars, and starch formation.

For the past two years, we've been looking at a field-scale precision approach to evaluate soil moisture and nitrogen management. Our study took place in 160-acre fields, we utilized both dryland and irrigated sites. We tested with fields that grew seed alfalfa, peas, wheat, and canola.

We're getting ready to tackle our last year of the project identifying how to best integrate novel crops into traditional rotations. In 2021, we finished the first year of this second rotation so this will be our final rotation.

The 2022 Rotary Club of Lethbridge East/Lethbridge Exhibition Park Agricultural Scholarships are among the most coveted post-secondary scholarships available in southern Alberta agricultural students.

The second year of our biostimulants study has wrapped!

This year, our trials had a rotation of wheat, canola, and pea. While it was a tough year of battling droughts and grasshoppers, we still saw some good results!

The application of organic-rich amendments like manure and plant residues can help increase phosphorus availability in soils. Also, the microbial breakdown of these amendments helps slow release of phosphorus that plants can take up before it becomes fixed in the soil.

This winter, we're exploring the adaptability of crops for winter!

In a one-year partnership study with Western Ag Innovations, Farming Smarter is investigating which crops can be best adapted for winter.

Claudette Lacombe, Farming Smarter Communication Manager, grew up thinking word play and a vast vocabulary were the secrets to success in life.