In recent years, the global brewing industry has increasingly focused on the environmental sustainability of beer. Many of the world’s largest breweries have set aggressive emissions reductions targets. This has been driven by a combination of jurisdictional regulations, corporate social responsibility goals and consumer demand. Much of the initial focus has been on manufacturing, packaging and transportation, but their initiatives increasingly encompass the entire supply chain including emissions associated with raw materials like barley malt.

Each year, crop diseases diminish yields in Western Canada and around the globe. To address such perennial threats, Australian company BioScout created its signature product, an agricultural disease detection, spore identification and quantification system. Its purpose is to help farmers manage crop disease by identifying spores prior to the appearance of symptoms on the plants. BioScout has launched active pilot projects around the world to test the unit’s ability to detect diseases in crops such as fruits, vegetables, oilseeds, legumes and cereals.

In its second big year, CrossRoads 2024 offers a vibrant selection of speakers and sessions from Jan. 29-31 at The Westin Calgary Airport. The event’s theme is “New ideas and directions: examining big picture innovation in agriculture.” This emphasis on innovation extends to a wide range of areas, including agronomy, business management, government policy and sustainability. The inaugural event attracted about 800 participants. CrossRoads is for farmers and a wide variety of agricultural professionals interested in its cutting-edge information sessions, lively and informative discussion opportunities and industry networking.

Prairie farmers continue to deal effectively with grain diseases of all kinds. This is due to an efficient new variety pipeline, access to certified seed and a host of crop protection products and cultural practices. Reassuring as this is, farmers must remain vigilant in the fight against crop diseases such as Fusarium head blight, rust, bunt and smut. Likewise, researchers work to produce resistant varieties and create tools so farmers can curb incidence rates.

While school exams can cause anxiety, testing seed can net valuable quality information and peace of mind. “Testing of any seed at harvest, as well as testing throughout storage, is very important,” said Sarah Foster, president and senior seed analyst at 20/20 Seed Labs in Nisku. “Seed is at its prime when it first comes off the field. If you store it at the right moisture level, dry it when necessary and monitor it in the bin, you can maintain it in prime condition.”

Whether it’s pernicious pests, an unpredictable climate or increasing costs, threats to cereal crops constantly evolve. To build and maintain a sustainable system for cereal production in Canada requires the ability to adapt. There are few better examples of adaptability in agriculture than the efforts made by plant breeders to assist farmers. 

When Rayann Campmans signed up for the Picture Butte High School agricultural program, she and her fellow students knew they had to take an active role in directing and building the new initiative. They loved the idea of farm-based learning, but feared the program would be discontinued if it didn’t go over well. They pitched in to support the project. 

Under the latest five-year Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Policy (SCAP) framework, each province must develop its own ag insurance initiative to promote a best management practice (BMP) that produces an environmental benefit while it reduces operational risk.  Farmers who employ the practice could receive a benefit through their premium calculations. In Alberta, program development falls to the Agricultural Financial Services Corporation (AFSC), which partners with the provincial and federal governments to create and deliver farm insurance products. “Every province has been given free rein to do whatever they feel is impactful in that province,” said Jesse Cole, AFSC manager of insurance products and product innovation.

For 27 years, farmers and entomologists have co-operated to record insect data for the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network (PPMN). This has produced a unique scientific resource not available in other parts of the world, said Meghan Vankosky, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada entomology research scientist and PPMN co-chair. Her peers in countries such as Australia have not surveyed the ebbs and flows of insect populations as widely or for as long as the PPMN. “Having so much information from such a huge geographical area over such a long period of time is very unique from what I understand,” she said.

Research has long established the benefits of diversified crop rotations. However, most Prairie farms keep their rotations short and simple, typically growing cereals and oilseeds on an intensive basis. Many farmers agree they need to diversify their rotations, but it’s tricky to find one that consistently delivers better returns than what they already grow.