Imperial Seed is marking a major milestone, celebrating 75 years in the forage, turf, and cover crop seed business. Speaking with RealAgriculture at the Western Canadian Crop Production Show in Saskatoon, Kurt Shmon, owner of the Winnipeg-based company, reflected on both the company’s history and the changes shaping the forage industry today. Founded in 1950,... Read More
Category: Cover crops
Farmers across Canada are facing a dizzying array of incentive programs aimed at promoting sustainable and regenerative agriculture. While tight crop margins are leading farms to consider new ways of adding value, the sheer volume of sustainability-type programs and incentives is creating a mix of confusion and administrative burden, says Shawn Catherwood of Spur Line... Read More
In this episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, Peter Johnson celebrates a slightly belated Canada’s Agriculture Day with a heartfelt "hats off" to the producers navigating the tough realities of weather and livestock. With the polar vortex finally breaking in the East, Pete shifts from shivering at minus 20 to digging into some truly staggering yield... Read More
On this episode of The Agronomists, host Lyndsey Smith is joined by Joanna Follings, cereal specialist, and Christine O'Reilly, grazing and forage specialist, both of the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness to talk about revving up forage stands, particularly winter triticale, for use as feed, a cash crop, cover crop, and even a... Read More
On this episode of the RealAgriculture Wheat School, Peter Johnson learns how U.K. farmer Mark Stubbs grows winter wheat that yields up to 235 bu/ac on his farm in Lincolnshire, England. Stubbs farms clay-loam soil over chalk — only about six inches of actual soil sits on top of soft chalk that provides excellent drainage... Read More
On this episode of The Agronomists, host Lyndsey Smith is joined by Dr. Yvonne Lawley of the University of Manitoba, Callum Morrison of Manitoba Agriculture, and Marty Vermey of the Grain Farmers of Ontario, to discuss a large-scale cover crop survey currently underway, five years after the first. What have we learned? How have the... Read More
Improving the soil while maintaining a profit to feed the farm. It's a simple philosophy that's reflected in Cavan, Ont., farmer Norm Lamothe's approach to nitrogen management and cover crops. On this episode of Farming Forward, Lamothe shares how he's combining cover crops and the power of living roots with a split nitrogen strategy to... Read More
It’s the second-last Word of 2025, and Wheat Pete is diving into resistance risks, fertilizer economics, and the big agronomic takeaways from recent conferences. From septoria strains in the UK to corn-on-corn nitrogen credits, there’s no shortage of head-turning info this week — plus a reminder to challenge long-held practices (like plowing down red clover).... Read More
How much more resilient and productive are soils with higher organic matter content? A quick review of available research and a look at farm fields paints a pretty clear picture of the power of soil organic matter, says University of Minnesota soil extension specialist Jodi DeJong-Hughes. On this episode of the RealAgriculture Soil School, DeJong-Hughes... Read More
Integrating cover crops into cash crop systems doesn’t have to mean adding livestock or completely reworking existing farm practices. Saskatchewan agronomist Kerry Nell says on this episode of Farming Forward that integrating a cover crop successfully requires a practical, low-disruption approach to balance limited water resources, tight seeding windows, and short growing seasons. He's seeing... Read More