Insights and Stories of Don Norman

Dec. 15, 2023 at 9:49 am CST

Broadly speaking, commercial vertical farming operations are humankind’s attempt to grow food under conditions more controllable than Mother Nature allows and with a minimum of wasted space. Many seem like sci-fi greenhouses: hydroponics, plants growing in stacks or up walls and high-tech sensor setups that seem straight out of the […]

By Don Norman

Nov. 14, 2023 at 2:53 pm CST

The federal government is putting up $9 million to drive the sustainable growth of Canada’s canola sector. The funding comes from the AgriScience Program—Clusters Component, an initiative under the Sustainable Canadian Agricultural Partnership and was announced today (Nov. 14) in Winnipeg by Lawrence MacAulay, the federal agriculture minister. “This new […]

By Don Norman

Nov. 10, 2023 at 9:34 am CST

A new-to-North-America wetland harvester could revolutionize the way wetlands are managed and provide cheap, sustainable fertilizer in the process, according to at least one watershed district that has tested the machine. “It definitely has the potential to be a game-changer for wetland maintenance, drain maintenance and biomass harvesting,” said Redboine […]

By Don Norman

Oct. 6, 2023 at 4:04 pm CDT

Cattle are often maligned for their contributions to greenhouse gas levels, but Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Tim McAllister says that’s wrongheaded. “We hear about people advocating for the need to eliminate livestock from agriculture production, basically without really understanding the negative connotations that would have,” the researcher said during a […]

By Don Norman

Aug. 11, 2023 at 9:33 am CDT

Maximum residue limits can affect the marketability of a crop, so farmers need to heed them, say crop market experts. “Because we produce so much beyond what we need for our domestic demand for food, we really do need to keep in mind market access and those requirements that we […]

By Don Norman