Grain on the Brain Podcasts
We bring the resources, tools, and expertise you need to get growing
Tune in as each episode our host Scott Beaton talks to researchers, farmers and other experts in the organic sector to discuss important issues in organic grain farming.
Grain on the Brain is partially funded by Prairie Organic Development Fund.
Episodes
Welcome to our third season! This episode Scott talks to Dr Kris Nichols – soil health guru! He finds out how we can build soil carbon in an organic cropping system. (53:50) April 24, 2021
Today we have a collaborative podcast episode between Grain on the Brain and the Rural Routes for Climate Solutions. We’re both members of Farmers for Climate Solutions (FCS) – a national alliance of farmers and farmer supporters advancing climate solutions in Canadian agriculture. We interviewed Karen Ross, Director of FCS to find out more about […]
Hear how on-farm trials of developing a perennial wheatgrass crop or Kernza® are progressing. Dr Doug Cattani from the University of Manitoba talks about one of the plots while he’s at Dan and Fran DeRuyck’s Top of the Hill farm in Treherne, Manitoba. (28:47) March 10, 2021
Integrating livestock onto your land can have benefits such as reducing wind erosion, nutrient cycling, building organic matter and increasing phosphorus in the soil. In this episode, hear how Ward Middleton has worked with neighbouring cattle producers to integrate livestock on his land. (1:05:54) February 16, 2021
Learn from Dr. Yamily Zavala from the CARA Soil Health Lab about how to figure out what’s in your soil. She talks to Scott about how you can measure, monitor and improve your soil. (48:30) December 23, 2020
Have you been thinking about how to build up the different types of soil carbon on your farm? Professor Cynthia Kallenbach talks to Scott Beaton about soil health, the different types of soil carbon and how to make deposits into both your soil chequing and savings accounts. (43:18) November 27, 2020
We’re talking to Iris Vaisman and Ryan Pengelly today about seed breeding, seed security and seed saving. So just like the title suggests, it’s all about seeds! Have you ever wanted to be a farmer breeder? Or wondered what a farmer breeder is (and then wondered if someone could please change that name)? Iris tells […]
Why should we be aiming to increase biodiversity on our farms? What role do pollinators play in improving our crops and the land that we as grain farmers manage? Our host, Scott Beaton, talks to native seed specialist Stephanie Frischie from the Xerces Society and farmer Allison Squires about why we should be thinking about […]
Mechanical weed control is one of the key tools in the organic farmer’s toolbox! Join us as Scott talks to Sam Hitchcock Tilton about tine weeders, interrow cultivators, finger weeders and more. They talk weed biology, timing, and soil health. We recorded today’s episode in March at the 2020 Prairie Organics Conference in Brandon Manitoba. […]
