Mimicking nature has been key to a financial turnaround for Greg Judy and his family. The Missouri-based livestock farmer told a crowd gathered at an Ecological Farmers Association of Ontario […] Read more
Tag Archives Environmental Issues
Eye on Mother Nature pulls farm from brink
Diverse rotations, water management and attention to erosion restore environment, farm profitability
Sorting through science and food messaging
The challenges agriculture has in the acceptance of new technology by the public is a function of resistance to change
In many ways this is the best time in history for the production and safety of food. There are fewer greenhouse gases produced per bushel of corn, with significantly less […] Read more
Carbon pricing system to include relief for farmers
Farm fuel for vehicles looks to be exempt, but barn heating and cooling may still require full payment
Farmers and rural residents will get breaks on what they’ll have to pay under a carbon pricing scheme announced by the federal government. But as of yet, those promises of […] Read more
Weather extremes to become more severe as global temperatures rise
Many more people will face heatwaves, extreme rainfall and shrinking harvests without unprecedented action, scientists say
Thomson Reuters Foundation – Many more people — besides the world’s poorest — will face sweltering heatwaves, more extreme rainfall, shrinking harvests and worsening water shortages unless unprecedented efforts to […] Read more
Glyphosate drives long-term herbicide changes
Ontario keeps track of detailed herbicide use every five years, which shows how the use of active ingredient has declined
A study of glyphosate use in Ontario shows the herbicide has created significant change in crop management. It shows that while corn and soybean acreage and yield have increased in […] Read more
Mapping moisture from space
Data collected by orbiting satellites can potentially inform field and farm policy decisions
Canadian research is measuring soil moisture content from space. Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Ministry of the Environment and Climate Change are involved in two projects designed to measure […] Read more
Wild genetic adaptations can have many uses
Science Notes: A gene that helps rice grow taller in floods is a variant of rice genes used to rapidly increase yield
When floodwaters rise, some rice varieties rapidly grow taller to keep from drowning. A new study identifies the key gene responsible for the deep-water rice adaptation — SD1 (semidwarf 1). […] Read more
China develops its own version of Enviro-pig
A researcher who worked on the University of Guelph Enviro-pig now works with Chinese universities
Chinese researchers are moving forward with a transgenic pig similar to the Enviro-pig developed at the University of Guelph. In a paper published May 22, in a biochemistry and chemical […] Read more