Soybeans

Soy wins health claim

The label approval is seen as an important step toward increased Canadian consumption

Reading Time: 6 minutes The popular saying is that good things come in small packages, which exactly describes Canada in terms of its overall output as one of the world’s soybean producers. Because good things do come from Canada. In fact, they may even be great things, thanks to our capabilities at producing high-quality identity-preserved, non-GMO soybeans, as we […] Read more

“It’s a very, very diverse ecosystem, perhaps the most diverse ecosystem on Earth.” – Jim Germida, University of Saskatchewan

Going underground for soil ecology

Soil is far more than just dirt. Are you nurturing the organisms that help it grow great crops?

Reading Time: 5 minutes A warm, early-July breeze blew through a wheat field in northeastern Saskatchewan, not far from Nipawin. The heads had just emerged and were still green, but the field was taking on that fuzzy look that you typically get with a fresh, bearded cereal. This field was unusual, however, because even though you couldn’t see it, […] Read more


Men shaking hands

Our toughest marketing challenge

Farmers are losing respect. Now is the time to win it back, before the costs get even worse

Reading Time: 4 minutes Rodney Dangerfield built a comic career on his signature line: “I don’t get no respect.” But for the agricultural industry, loss of respect is no laughing matter. The public perception of agriculture is steadily eroding. Last fall, Harris Interactive asked 2,537 Americans to name the most prestigious occupations. As you might guess, doctors topped the […] Read more

Researcher Dilantha Fernando says the goal is to introduce genetic resistance to fusarium and minimize the need for fungicides.

University sets its sights on fusarium

This major U of M lab program hopes to stop fusarium before it starts

Reading Time: 4 minutes Protecting crops from the ravages of fusarium is a never-ending job for investigators like Dr. Dilantha Fernando and his staff at the University of Manitoba. The most common species of the pathogen is fusarium graminearum, commonly known as fusarium head blight (FHB) or fusarium scab. It’s a cereal crop pathogen that has become the most […] Read more


Guide Health: Which iron is the right iron?

Guide Health: Which iron is the right iron?

Symptoms of iron deficiency and choosing the right supplement for your needs

Reading Time: 3 minutes You need iron in your body for your red blood cells to have enough hemoglobin to carry oxygen through the blood system to your cells. A reduced number of red blood cells (i.e. erythrocytes) is called anemia. Iron-deficient anemia is the result of low iron levels. Your body contains about 3.5 grams of iron, of […] Read more

When Alberta farmers Kate Hook (r) and Dawn Boileau (l) announced they had married, the common question was, “To whom?”

LGBT on the farm

On these farms, diversity is good for business

Reading Time: 7 minutes Now 33, Otis Bell admits he’s outside the mainstream of agriculture. Growing up in Seattle, Bell next lived in Olympia, where he got his first taste of growing plants and gardening, and where he decided to get more directly involved with farming. “I think being queer made me take a step out of some of […] Read more


chickpeas in a testing lab

VIDEO: Putting more ‘superfood’ in the North American diet

Reading Time: < 1 minute It’s hardly an exaggeration to call pulses a ‘superfood’ — they’re high in protein and other nutrients, they’ve been proven to reduce bad cholesterol and they provide free nitrogen for the farmers who grow them. But while they’re a staple in diets in the Middle East, consumption is low in North America. In this video, […] Read more