Grain on the Brain

Apr 20 2023 7

Grain on the Brain Podcast artwork

Tune in as we are joined by industry experts and farmers to discuss important issues in organic grain farming. Check out our website at www.manitobaorganicalliance.com and www.pivotandgrow.com and see what organic grain production can do for you. We bring the resources, tools and expertise you need to get growing! Grain on the Brain podcast is created by the Prairie Organic Grain Initiative; working to create resilience and stability in the prairie organic grain sector. This podcast is partially funded by the Prairie Organic Development Fund.

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Soil Health Tools

Apr 20 2023 44 mins

Today Scott talks with John Cote who runs John Boy Farms near St. Agathe Manitoba. John shares about his experience growing vegetables for the local market and how and why he chose to focus on garlic. They also cover a few other topics such as soil health, cover crops and inputs.

Organic Connections Panel

Mar 27 2023 50 mins

In this episode, Scott interviews Cody Straza and Ian Cushon in a live panel format, recorded at the Organic Connections show in Saskatoon. Both are experienced organic farmers and they cover a wide variety of topics including species diversity, green manures, soil fertility, livestock and more.

Compost

Jan 24 2023 40 mins

Scott talks about the diversity and importance of compost with Rob Wunder, a fourth generation farmer, who has been exploring the world of biology on his farm through a number of different practices including livestock integration and creating his own compost on his farm. They will also be discussing fertility practices, soil nutrient, making and applying compost, and much more.

Storing Water and Carbon

May 26 2022 43 mins

After weathering the drought conditions in 2021, farmers all over were wondering how to increase resiliency on their farms. This panel discussion from the 2022 Prairie Organics Conference, led by Scott and featuring Ryan Canart (Assiniboine West Watershed) and Henry Wilson (AAFC Research Scientist), covers ways to improve water infiltration and carbon sequestration on organic farms

Biologicals

Apr 09 2022 38 mins

In today’s episode Scott talks to Dale Overton from Overton Environmental about EcoTea. A lot of organic farmers are already using EcoTea on their farms, so we wanted to find out more about the science behind EcoTea. We’ve included some of the results from their results trials in our Resources section on our website.

Thoughtful Tillage

Jan 25 2022 62 mins

This episode we have guest host Allison Squires, from Upland Organics, speak with Curtis Cavers, from AAFC, about some of the things to think about before we take the discer to the fields. They also talk about the kinds of tillage that can lead to water and wind erosion and how to balance tillage needed for weed and green manure management and soil health.

Transition to Organics

Dec 01 2021 45 mins

Transitioning your grain farm to organics, whether you do it field by field or all at once, can have its ups and downs. In this episode, Scott talks to Nic Podoll from the Rodale Institute about how to successfully transition your farm to organics and some of the support available for you along the way.

Intercropping

Jul 09 2021 45 mins

Intercropping, i.e. growing two or more crops together on the same field, can improve fertility and yield, reduce disease and the increased diversity can help build resilience. Not all crops grow well together, though, so it takes some work to figure out how to be a successful intercrop farmer. Scott Chalmers from WADO started trying out different intercrops in 2009 and gives us so

Plant Breeding

May 28 2021 60 mins

Today we do a deep dive again into the world of seed breeding and hear about farmers who are developing their own seed varieties. We also get Aabir Dey, from The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed Security to help us understand a bit more about the policies behind the seeds we use on our farms, how they got there and what work needs to be done to support a fair, farmer-friend

Carbon Sequestration

Apr 23 2021 53 mins

We're kicking off a new season by continuing on our journey to learn about healthy soils! Scott talks to Dr Kris Nichols - soil health guru! He finds out how we can build soil carbon in an organic cropping system, even if we need to do a bit of tillage.