Liquid manure is approximately 75 per cent water, making its management complex and expensive.

Recycling livestock manure into clean water and nutrients

A technology that separates the liquid and solid components of manure allows farmers to benefit from its value

An Alberta company used its expertise in contaminated soil cleanup to create an innovative solution to recycle livestock manure into clean water and high value nutrients. At approximately 75 per cent water, managing liquid manure is complex and expensive, so much of its potential is unused. Growing regulatory pressure regarding manure limits farm expansion in […] Read more

A lack of water can hamper production and disrupt the supply chains that businesses rely on.

Opinion: For want of fresh water

Fresh water is a hidden challenge and opportunity for global supply chains

Reports of lengthy shipping delays for vessels traveling through the Panama Canal this year have highlighted the critical but often overlooked role that fresh water plays across global supply chains. Abnormally dry conditions in Panama, brought on by El Niño, left the region drought-stricken and sent water levels in the locks that feed the canal […] Read more

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How microplastics are making their way into our farmland

Across nine provinces and 22 wastewater treatment plants, the problem was universal

Microplastic pollution is a global environmental problem that is ubiquitous in all environments, including air, water and soil. Microplastics are readily found in treated wastewater sludge, also known as municipal biosolids, that eventually make their way to our agricultural soils. Our recent investigation of microplastic levels in Canadian municipal biosolids found that a single gram […] Read more

Monitoring dairy cows’ water use has benefits

Monitoring dairy cows’ water use has benefits

Maximizing water use efficiency should be a priority, says AAFC researcher

Small changes can pay big dividends in water use on dairy farms, both financially and in preserving water quality and supply. Determining where to make those changes often takes careful monitoring and investigation. That was one of the messages delivered during the Southwestern Ontario Dairy Symposium earlier this year by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researcher […] Read more


The SWOT spacecraft is moved into a transport container inside the Astrotech facility at Vandenberg Space Force Base on Nov. 18, 2022. (Photo: USSF 30th Space Wing/Chris Okula)

NASA to conduct first global water survey from space

Data would bolster weather and climate forecasts

Los Angeles | Reuters — A NASA-led international satellite mission was set for blastoff from southern California early on Thursday on a major Earth science project to conduct a comprehensive survey of the world’s oceans, lakes and rivers for the first time. Dubbed SWOT, short for Surface Water and Ocean Topography, the advanced radar satellite […] Read more

Photo: File

Soil moisture more critical than rainfall to estimate climate impact

Science Notes: Evaporation, infiltration and runoff can result in dramatic differences

You don’t need a PhD in agriculture to know that water is critical to crop production. But for years, people like Jonathan Proctor, who has a PhD in Agriculture and Resource Economics from the University of California Berkeley, have been trying to explain why the importance of water isn’t showing up in statistical models of […] Read more

Two American studies show that tile drainage can offer a significant return on investment.

American drainage studies show broad scale of returns on investments

Long-term data collection shows yield benefits and more effective soil conservation

Glacier FarmMedia – Two long-term research studies show a significant return on investment of tile drainage in American cropping conditions in the Midwest.  Eileen Kladivko of Purdue University published an update on a 35-year study on a 15-acre plot of poorly drained silt loam soil in Indiana where tile drainage was installed. When the study […] Read more


A soil infiltration demonstration provides a good visual of how coarse and fine root channels help move water through the soil. Cover crops with coarse roots (e.g. daikon radish) and those with very dense root systems (e.g. cereal rye) provide the most benefit.

Managing to get the most from available water

Tips for keeping it in the ground to make it accessible to crop roots

Water is the most important limiting input for crop production. In more than a couple of the past years, producers across the province have been forced to watch while their crops suffer from dry conditions in the heat of summer. Other than irrigation (which is rare for field crops in Ontario), there’s really nothing we […] Read more

File photo of barrels on display in a Nova Scotia vineyard. (Tashka/iStock/Getty Images)

Wastewater regulation eased for Nova Scotia on-farm processing

Nova Scotia has introduced regulatory changes that allow on-farm processing operations to better manage wastewater on their smaller scale. The changes, which took effect May 11, come at the request of the Nova Scotia Federation of Agriculture (NSFA) — which has said that owners of small farm-level processing facilities shouldn’t be treated the same as […] Read more