AAFC Prairie Biovigilance Network (PBN) needs help from farmers

Jun 28, 2021

The Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada Prairie Biovigilance Network (PBN) group was developed to address concerns related to surveying of wheat diseases in the Prairie region as well as general insect and weed issues. Access to wheat samples is critical for the work group conducts.

The group needs farmer assistance with a leaf disease survey of commercial wheat fields, and a survey of stored product insects occurring in farm grain bins, in the Prairie region. The goal of these surveys is to create additional awareness regarding the prevalence, variability and impact of leaf diseases and stored grain product insects across the Prairies. In addition, data summaries and recommendations will be sent back to collaborating producers to inform them of the diseases and pests present and how their levels compare with other Prairie producers over a range of production practices.

All information identifying specific producers and locations will remain strictly confidential. During the winter of 2022, collaborating farmers will be sent the results from their samples as well as a summary of results based on region and cropping practices. In addition, an overall summary of the survey will be published in the Canadian Plant Disease Survey as well as the annual Western Committee on Plant Disease annual disease situation report.

Farmers will be sent a package comprised of sampling kits and instructions for wheat leaf collections as well as stored-grain insects collections. Pre-paid envelopes to return the leaf samples and the stored insect pests will be provided.

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Video: Evolution of Beef Cattle Farming

The Clear Conversations podcast took to the road for a special episode recorded in Nashville during CattleCon, bringing listeners straight into the heart of the cattle industry. Host Tracy Sellers welcomed rancher Steve Wooten of Beatty Canyon Ranch in Colorado for a wide-ranging discussion that blended family history and sustainability, particularly as it relates to the future of beef production.

Sustainability emerged as a central theme of the conversation, a word that Wooten acknowledges can mean very different things depending on who you ask. For him, sustainability starts with the soil. Healthy soil produces healthy grass, which supports efficient cattle capable of producing year after year with minimal external inputs. It’s an approach that equally considers vegetation, animal efficiency, and long-term profitability.

That philosophy aligned naturally with Wooten’s involvement in the U.S. Roundtable for Sustainable Beef, where he served as a representative for the Colorado Cattlemen’s Association. The roundtable brings together the entire beef supply chain—from producers to retailers—along with universities, NGOs, and allied industries. Its goal is not regulation, Wooten emphasized, but collaboration, shared learning, and continuous improvement.