From new grain aeration technology to green energy equipment, our annual gear roundup features devices and equipment aimed to make farming faster, safer, greener and more efficient.

Kris Nichols, principal scientist and research director of MyLand, calls microalgae “eco-engineers” that improve soil health and benefit crops. “Our perspective on algae, oftentimes, is that they’re aquatic organisms and they’re going to be where you have a lot of water,” said Nichols. “But they are very key in very dry systems to help manage water and nutrient relationships.”

With the use of artificial intelligence and optical sensing, Regina-based Precision AI aims to enlist drones in crop spraying to reduce herbicide use and field compaction.

Over the last decade, grain drying has become more common on farms across the Prairies, but especially so in Alberta. It has been particularly necessary to maintain optimal quality in wet years such as 2018. That year, farmers spent an estimated $35 to $45 million on grain drying. However, little data has been compiled on efficiency in grain drying practices, until now. 

Agriculture produces an estimated 10 per cent of the national greenhouse gas (GHG) emission total, but experts believe it can potentially account for 26 per cent of Canada’s overall reduction target for the federal 2030 Emissions Reduction Plan. Thus, the federal government’s plan to achieve net-zero emissions by 2050 relies on agriculture as a central component of GHG emissions reduction. Given the traction this and other such frameworks have received across the globe, farmers may be faced with a choice: write the playbook as they like, or risk having rules imposed upon them.

Each fall, once harvest is complete, Alberta Agriculture, Forestry and Rural Economic Development collects soil samples for wheat midge and does stem counts for wheat stem sawfly.

Many Prairie crops did poorly in the high summer temperatures of 2021, but the wheat stem sawfly thrives in such conditions. The beneficial insect populations that prey upon the sawfly were also knocked back by the heat, which has given the cereal pest another leg up. To size up the sawfly situation for the current crop year, GrainsWest spoke with Meghan Vankosky, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada entomology research scientist and co-chair of the Prairie Pest Monitoring Network.

While the nation expects agriculture to contribute to long-range carbon emissions reductions targets, agriculture has made huge gains in sustainability since the early 1990s. Naturally, farmers are frustrated by the lack of recognition for these positive developments.

On a bright but chilly day last October, Nevin Rosaasen, Alberta Pulse Growers (APG) sustainability and government relations lead, and Hayley Webster, the commission’s Adaptation Resilience Training project assistant, made their way to a small slough on Hannah Konschuh’s farm near Cluny. Konschuh, a former Alberta Wheat Commission (AWC) director, joined them for the short hike down from an adjacent dirt road to examine this modest, semi-permanent wetland.

In recent years, cover crops have been widely promoted as a regenerative practice that offers a range of benefits, both environmental and economical. Many western Canadian farmers are skeptical, though, citing short growing seasons, limited moisture and added costs as reasons they haven’t adopted the practice. Yet, policymakers and agri-businesses continue to push cover crops as a fundamental component of regenerative agriculture and overall farm sustainability. But is the adoption of cover crops a logical move for Prairie farmers?