Brett van Heyningen

We’re mashing up innovation and #CdnAg programs at the International Potato Technology Expo in Charlottetown #PEI!

Stop by our booth at the Eastlink Centre tomorrow and Friday to learn how our cutting-edge research and programs are helping farmers grow into the future, one spud at a time.

With funding from our Agricultural Clean Technology Program, Atlantic Grown Organics installed automated energy curtains in their greenhouse. These curtains create a thermal barrier between the crop and the roof to reduce heat loss at night and on cold, cloudy days.

Learn more: ow.ly/46Ib50Yh2bY

Father-son farming duo Jeff and Kyler Weeks aren’t afraid of trying new things on their 1000-acre #PEI farm of corn, soybeans, wheat, barley, and oats. Especially when it can benefit the environment and help them be profitable.

Learn how our On-Farm Climate Action Fund helped: ow.ly/Yla950XKyzA

For students, choosing a career isn’t small potatoes. When the right seeds are planted, youth can be inspired to grow! 👧🏼👦🏽
This week, students across PEI visited our Charlottetown Research and Development Centre where they saw firsthand how our scientists and technicians support Canadian farmers. 🧪🔬

To learn more about Dr. Foster’s work on the FHB forecasting tool: ow.ly/Pbgj50XuUu3 #AntimicrobialResistance #AMR X/

To help farmers, Dr. Foster and his team have developed a web tool that tracks the risk of FHB based on crop, province or region, and weather. This helps reduce fungicide use, resulting in benefits to the environment, lower input costs, and a reduced risk of developing fungicide resistance. 5/

They also found that the severity of FHB could worsen with climate change, as warmer temperatures at night become more frequent in the Maritimes. 4/

That’s why Dr. Adam Foster is leading research to better understand FHB and how to manage it sustainably. 👨‍🔬 Testing wheat and barley FHB samples from 175 fields and 39 sites across NB, NS, and PEI, they found differences in fungicide resistance between provinces and disease populations. 3/

Fusarium head blight (FHB) is a serious fungal disease affecting cereal crops, like wheat and barley that reduces crop yield and quality.🌾 It is managed partially through fungicides but overusing them can have negative impacts – including resistance. 2/

Did you know that antimicrobial resistance (AMR) isn’t just a human or animal health issue, but it affects plants, too? 🦠🌱
AMR is when bacteria, viruses, fungi, and parasites no longer respond to antimicrobial medicines, making infections hard to treat. It’s no different for agricultural crops. 1/

Sandy soils on PEI means farming practices can directly impact water. 🌱💧 #AgLivingLab Research from Dr. Yefang Jiang shows swapping red clover for soybeans in crop rotations can cut nitrogen in groundwater by 17%, in estuaries by 8%, and sea lettuce biomass by 24%.

Learn more: ow.ly/RJIT50XgtLe

A revamped Future Farm Program 2.0 is now available to support new #PEI farmers with mentorship, funding, and training to begin or continue to grow in their agricultural career. ow.ly/uhih50Xc1yu #SustainableCdnAg #GC

Through the Yield Enhancement Network (YEN), grain and oilseed producers in #NB, #NS, and #PEI are celebrating their latest #CdnAg achievements in crop yield, soil health, and farm management: ow.ly/HTTs50X9JTW

Soil and water are connected in #CdnAg. Inputs like fertilizer can impact the water ecosystems that we rely on every day.

For #ScienceLiteracyWeek, we celebrate the innovators with @AgMuseum who protect our ecosystems, like #PEI #GCAggie scientist, Dr. Yefang Jiang.

Learn more: ow.ly/CkW350X7Jkj

We’ll be at Farm Day in the City with the East Prince Agri-Environment Association this Sunday, October 5, in Charlottetown, Prince Edward Island. Connect with us between 10 am- 4 pm (ADT) and learn about the roots of science that supports farmers across the Island and Canada.

There’s something on #PEI that’s destroying weeds in a flash! 🗲 Our #GCAggie biologist Nicolle MacDonald is testing the Weed Zapper, which uses electricity to destroy weeds, on horticulture crops like blueberries, potatoes, carrots, and more. Learn more: agriculture.canada.ca/en/science/s...

Our researcher, Dr. Erin Smith, is collaborating with local farmers through #AgLivingLab #PEI to help develop other ways manure can be applied to boost yields and cut emissions. 💩

Dr. Smith is exploring injection and dribble bar that conserve nitrogen and reduce economic and environmental loss.

Thanks! This one is among my favourite stories.

Attn: home gardeners📢! Our #GCAggie scientists discovered new late blight pathogen genotypes and producers need your help to protect their tomato and potato crops. Learn more: agriculture.canada.ca/en/science/s...

The new Horticulture Diversification Program is now available to support #PEI farmers in growing diverse crops, enhancing greenhouse infrastructure, and improving storage capacity. ow.ly/W8zV50WooK1 #SustainableCdnAg #GC

Introduction to NL Living Lab YouTube video by NL Federation of Agriculture

Watch NL Federation of Agriculture's video on #AgLivingLab #NLAg featuring some of the many farmers at the heart of the initiative. Farmers and researchers are teaming up to develop innovative beneficial management practices that can reduce our carbon footprint. 👩‍🌾👨🏼‍🔬

www.youtube.com/watch?v=fg13...

OFCAF Cover Crops YouTube video by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada

#PEI mixed crop and beef cattle producer, Brett Francis, is cover cropping like never before, thanks to help from PEI Federation of Agriculture through our On-Farm Climate Action Fund. Find out if cover cropping is right for your farm👇https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1_lF7uMZtrM

The ocean isn't the only thing making waves this summer on #PEI. This perennial ryegrass at our Harrington Research Farm appears to float in the wind. #CdnAg

Craig McCloskey, founder of Bluefield Seeding Solutions, developed his seed sensing technology that helps producers improve environmental performance, with support from our Agricultural Clean Technology Program. Learn more: agriculture.canada.ca/en/agri-info...

Brett Francis’ father was an early adopter of cover cropping, but now with help from the PEI Federation of Agriculture through our On-Farm Climate Action Fund, he was able to expand the practice. Hear from Brett on #TheFirstSixteen: ow.ly/7zuV50Wa4X8

Fusarium head blight is a scary disease for #CdnAg cereal grain farmers because it’s hard to detect. Thankfully, a new #GCAggie and @AtlanticGrain developed forecasting web tool is helping Maritime farmers remove the guesswork. Learn more: agriculture.canada.ca/en/science/s...

During winter, they retreat to hedgerows between fields, so it’s helpful for farmers to plant trees, wildflowers, and shrubs between fields to provide a favourable environment.

If you see one at home, put it in your garden! It might protect your plants from other insects. #NationalInsectDays 3/x

She found that these little critters can travel more than 60 metres into farm fields to search for other crop-attacking insects to eat and some even munch on pesky weed seeds. 2/

Many pests are a nuisance to us and farmers, but did you know that some insects are pests to other insects and weeds? #GCAggie entomologist, Dr. Christine Noronha, studied several species of Carabid beetles, or ground beetles, on Prince Edward Island. 🪲 1/

Here's more on Audrey's work: agriculture.canada.ca/en/science/s...

agriculture.canada.ca/en/node/3936

Also Living Labs: agriculture.canada.ca/en/environme...