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Agriculture This Week: Transforming ag: The search for new crops

Agriculture, like most business sectors, spends a fair amount of resources, both cash and time, seeking what might be the next big thing.

It’s not an easy find in terms of crops for Canadian Prairie Producers.

There are a number of core obstacles to overcome, starting with of course the growing conditions here.

Producers might well wish to add field corn or soybeans to their rotations, but conditions here are not optimum for growing either crop.

So what has to take place is considerable effort in terms of plant breeding trying to create varieties that will produce under conditions here to a level where they are not just profitable in terms of the input of the crop itself, but competitive with long term crops already grown.

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Trending Video

Understanding Nitrogen Loss Through Denitrification

Video: Understanding Nitrogen Loss Through Denitrification

Denitrification is one of the three main pathways for nitrogen loss, but what is it really, and how much nitrogen do we stand to lose?

In this episode, Lyle Cowell is joined by Dr. Erin Daly from the University of Guelph to break down denitrification and the conditions that drive nitrogen loss in the soil. They explore how nitrogen can be lost as nitrous oxide and nitrogen gas, what conditions drive losses and when they are most likely to occur.

Erin also shares how CanN2ONet, a national research network, is helping us better understand nitrous oxide emissions across Canada. From field towers that measure emissions to research into regionally tailored best management practices, discover how the network is working to help growers improve nitrogen use efficiency and help reduce nitrogen losses across the country.