By Alice McFarlane

Agriculture Roundup for Friday February 17, 2023

Feb 17, 2023 | 9:41 AM

MELFORT, Sask. – The Western Grains Research Foundation has created a series of twelve regional factsheets that show the benefits of diversifying crop rotations.

The Resilient Rotations project is part of the Integrated Crop Agronomy Cluster (ICAC) that is evaluating various crop rotations to help create more productive, sustainable, and resilient cropping systems on the prairies.

The project is led by Dr. Kui Liu, a research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC).

“We are approaching crop rotation by looking at a systems approach – all the elements that impact crop rotation from soil health, economics and yield to local growing conditions,” Liu said. “It’s a more holistic way to look at crop rotation and one we hope will provide new insights and options for farmers in Western Canada in a more customized, prescriptive type of approach.”

The team is evaluating six different crop rotations at seven field sites across the prairies. There are three sites in Alberta, three in Saskatchewan, and one in Manitoba. Data from the four-year rotations have been evaluated by region based on yield, economics, and efficient use of both precipitation and nutrients.

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WGRF Executive Director Wayne Thompson said agronomists, weed scientists, pathologists, economists, and soil health experts are involved in the project.

“It’s a testament to the diversity of factors that impact an effective, sustainable, and productive approach to crop rotation. WGRF invests in research like the Resilient Rotations project with the goal to help farmers make decisions that are the best fit for their operation,” Thompson said.

The survey can be accessed here while the factsheets can be found on the WGRF website.

The Resilient Rotations project is supported by funding from WGRF, Alberta Wheat, Sask Wheat, Alberta Pulse Growers, SaskCanola, Manitoba Crop Alliance, and Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada through the Canadian Agricultural Partnership— a provincial-federal-territorial initiative.

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The Canadian Agricultural Human Resources Council (CAHRC) is developing a program that helps key sectors of the economy implement solutions to address their current and emerging workforce needs.

Labour continues to be the most serious issue facing Canada’s agriculture and agri-food industry. Like other sectors, agriculture and agri-food are struggling to attract workers from a limited and shrinking labour pool.

Roughly 40 per cent of employers surveyed in primary agriculture reported not being able to fill vacancies and the industry suffered earning losses of $2.9 billion in total sales due to unfilled vacancies tied to the pandemic.

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Shell and S&W Seed Company based in Colorado will work together to develop and produce sustainable biofuel feedstocks.

The joint venture called Vision Bioenergy Oilseeds LLC will develop Camelina while the oil and meal will be extracted for future processing into animal feed, biofuels, and other bioproducts.

S&W Seed Company CEO Mark Wong said Camelina is recognized as a low greenhouse gas cover crop and is a commercially viable oilseed with the potential to be a sustainable feedstock source for the energy transition.

“We are pleased to be entering this joint venture with Shell, which leverages our seed and technology capabilities with Camelina and demonstrates how agriculture and energy can work together to lower carbon emissions by producing domestically sourced sustainable biofuel feedstocks,” Wong said.

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alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

On Twitter: @farmnewsNOW