I write about more than field crops -- although when I look at my desk some days that's a hard statement to prove. Below is a selection of different ag topics I've covered over the years. If you have a project you'd like to work with me on, please feel free to get in touch with me through my contact form.
Diverse crop rotations benefit winter wheat
Publication: Top Crop Manager West
Western Canadian growers are often on the fence when it comes to adding winter wheat to their crop rotations, particularly if they don’t have canola stubble ready. A new study suggests that growing winter wheat immediately after soybeans or lentils has the potential to achieve superior grain yields and protein concentrations over canola.
The Influence of Phosphorous on Canola Plant Roots
Publication: Top Crop Manager West
If you look at it on paper, Saskatchewan, with its large total phosphorus pools, should be the perfect place to grow canola. The problem is that only a small percentage of that total phosphorus is available to plants.
Pandemic Still Impacting Home Garden Seed Market
Publication: Seed World US
The home garden seed market has seen its fair share of panic buying over the decades, but nothing in modern history compares to the run on seeds triggered by the COVID-19 pandemic and the lasting impact it’s had on the industry.
Many Eggs, Many Baskets: What Is Being Learned From the Crop-Climate Project
Publication: Small Farm Canada
With climate change impacting everything from bird migration patterns to wildfire severity, it’s not surprising that Canadian researchers are taking a hard look at the challenges farmers are going to encounter growing crops in the face of increasing climatic instability.
Craft Cider Makes a Splash
Publication: Small Farm Canada
When Marcus Wiebe first started producing hard ciders in Manitoba just over a year ago, not only was he new to the industry, he pretty much was the industry.
Permaculture Comes of Age
Publication: Small Farm Canada
When contemplating agricultural practices in Canada today, it’s hard not to notice that permaculture, once the black sheep of alternative farming practices, has begun making inroads on small farms in this country after decades of barely registering on farmers’ radars.
An Operation That Mushroomed!
Publication: Small Farm Canada
Monte Paynter has always been passionate about mushrooms and until five years ago that passion took the form of harvesting native fungi in the forests near his home in Kimberley, B.C. That was until the day he and his partner, Lija Lasmanis, watched a TED Talk by renowned American mycologist, Paul Stamets and were inspired to start cultivating gourmet mushrooms in their home.
Wild About Bees
Publication: Harrowsmith Magazine
When Canadians think of bees, it’s typically the much-loved honeybee that springs to mind. And while there’s no question that honeybees play an important role in our culture, they are just one of more than 800 species of bees found in this country, a figure that often takes people by surprise.
How Earthworms Are Changing Our Forests
Publication: Harrowsmith
When we think of invasive species, earthworms rarely come to mind. And yet earthworms are foreign invaders that were first introduced to this country by European settlers hundreds of years ago and have been making their home here ever since.
Lyme Disease in Farm Animals
Publication: Small Farm Canada
While media reports tend to focus almost exclusively on human cases of Lyme disease, it's important for farmers to understand that the illness can also impact more than 300 species of animals, including some that are commonly found on farms.