A digital revolution is happening in agriculture. Artificial Intelligence (AI) can turn data into actionable insights, enabling faster and data-driven decisions. This session will explore the challenges and opportunities for AI in Canadian crop production systems. With a focus on AI tools that are commercially available and future opportunities for AI in agriculture, we will demystify and highlight its role in the broader context of agriculture.

Waterhemp is one of the worst weeds affecting farmland in the United States. A member of the pigweed family, waterhemp has been spreading north and west from its origin in the U.S. Corn Belt and has now invaded significant acres in Manitoba. It’s highly competitive, a prolific seed producer and resistant to multiple herbicide groups. The ag community in Manitoba is on high alert and, going forward, we will have no choice but to allocate significant resources to fighting this weed.

Marginal croplands are areas within fields that are consistently low yielding and unprofitable. These are often in sensitive areas near wetlands or edges that are subject to salinity, flood risk, or soil erosion and would be better suited to perennial plantings. Morrissey’s team is working with farmers across the Prairies to map and model the marginal cropland and convert these areas with tame and native forage mixes to study the changes in agronomic, economic and environmental indicators over time.

Hessian fly may have been forgotten about on the Western Canadian Prairies, but it still holds a page in the Field Crop and Forage Pests and their Natural Enemies in Western Canada field book produced by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC). Hear about the lifecycle, damage symptoms and recent appearances of Hessian fly in Western Canada. Other wheat pests of note to be covered are wheat stem sawfly, cereal aphids, wheat midge, aster leafhoppers and cereal leaf beetle.

This presentation covers the physical, chemical and biological factors that control potassium (K) fertility and supply to crops in prairie soils. It will cover the forms, amounts and distribution of soil K, the influence of soil properties and environmental conditions on soil supplies of available K and the factors affecting crop responses to potassium fertilization. Potassium fertilization practices, including K forms, rates, placement and timing are considered for their suitability and effectiveness. Results from Saskatchewan trials on K fertilization and crop response will be used as examples.

Saskatchewan, like many other jurisdictions, is proposing the 4R Nutrient Stewardship program to reduce fertilizer-induced N2O emissions from crop production activities. Yet, research specific to the effectiveness of the 4R Nutrient Stewardship approach to reduce N2O emissions under Saskatchewan conditions is still very limited. There is also the question of what do we mean by enhanced “efficiency”? Is it agronomic, environmental or economic efficiency? This session will cover the results of a field study designed to answer these questions.