Protect and Profit: Farming for the Future

Lydia Carpenter and her husband are first generation farmers in Manitoba, balancing farm production with environmental considerations. Some would say they have unconventional ways of looking at agriculture. A busload of students and researchers from the University of Manitoba travelled to their farm to learn first-hand about their practices.

Farmers and ranchers can access $30 million in new money to improve their pastures and rangelands, thanks to the Weston family and Phase Two of their Prairie Grasslands Initiative. Ducks Unlimited Canada is a partner and will make funding accessible through its new RangeFlex program. On this episode, hear from the Weston family, DUC and a beef producer who improved his grasslands during Phase One of the Initiative.

Drones are fast becoming an important tool on the farm, not just for aerial inspections and picture taking but for seeding. Ranchers Robert Johnson from Saskatchewan and Steve Kenyon from Alberta talk first-hand about their drone seeding experiences.

A chunk of land north of Brandon Manitoba is providing new opportunities for ag research, including a trial in 2026 for GPS collars for cattle. Odanah Pasture is 467 acres of former cropland restored by Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC). Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives (MBFI) has been given use of the land, which will provide an important landscape for testing cattle herd management at scale. On this episode, Mary-Jane Orr from MBFI and Charlotte Crawley from DUC discuss the importance of Odanah Pasture, and cattle farmer Brett McRae explains the virtual fencing study.

We drill down into establishing forages with farm-tested advice from Manitoba producers and recognize the winners in the Top 5 Forage Establishment competition held each year by Ducks Unlimited Canada.

In western Canada, about one in every five acres is considered to be marginal cropland. Half those acres likely lose money every year when seeded to wheat or canola. We’ll hear solutions from ag researchers and farmers including Clayton Robins from Rivers, Manitoba, on ways to turn money-sinks into revenue-producing acres.

Zack Koscielny is the newly-elected board chair for the Manitoba Forage & Grassland Association. The entire board executive is comprised of farmers 30 years of age or younger. Koscielny lays out his vision for the MFGA, which promotes the economic prosperity and environmental benefits of forages, grasslands, cover crops and healthy soils.

Governments and conservation groups in western Canada want to give farmers and ranchers both money and agronomic help. Problem is, most farmers don’t know about those programs or they couldn’t be bothered. Researcher Elisabeta Lika from the Canadian Agri-Food Policy Institute  (CAPI) looked into why on-farm conservation programming in Canada has such low uptake.

Each November, farmers and ranchers gather in Brandon MB for the annual Regen Ag Conference. 2025 keynote speaker Tom Krawiec talks about his book ‘Ranching like a 12 year old’ and his presentation ‘Grazing in the Sweet Spot’. A rancher, farm management consultant and author, Tom has developed ways to simplify daily duties on the farm to increase profitability and decrease labour.

Farmland prices continue to rise on the prairies. Farm Credit Canada (FCC) shows a double-digit jump in one province over the past six months. Great if you’re cashing out but not so great if you’re starting up or trying to expand your existing operation. The latest figures and analysis from FCC's Leigh Anderson plus a perspective from University of Regina researcher Andre Magnan on the trend to fewer, larger farms in western Canada.