Ecosystems

Farm-Scale research in the Peace with the Peace Region Living Lab

In this episode we chat with the coordination team of the Peace Region Living Lab.
Nadia Mori, Dr Akim Omokanye, and Monika Benoit discuss what a living lab is, the practices they will be investigating and how a living lab works.
 
For more information on the Peace Living lab check out their facebook page here: https://www.facebook.com/peacelivinglab.ca
The website can be found here: http://peacelivinglab.ca/
 
For more information about the Peace Country Beef and forage association, check out our website https://www.peacecountrybeef.ca/
 
The intro and outro for Coffee Cows and Crops is Red Wood highway by Jason Shaw, find more here: www.audionautix.com
 

AMP Grazing with Dr Mark Boyce

In today's episode we discuss the University of Alberta's Adaptive Multi-Paddock Grazing system project with Dr Mark Boyce.
For more information on this project you can check out this article in the Western Producer: https://www.producer.com/livestock/intensive-grazing-damage-minimal/
Or this one from the Canadian Cattlemen's Association: https://www.canadiancattlemen.ca/news/grazing-can-amp-up-carbon-sequestration-u-of-a-researcher-says/
To learn more about AMP Grazing you can download the AMP Grazing Guidebook from ALUS here: https://alus.ca/grazing-forward/
 
If you would like to see any of the academic papers from this study you can contact PCBFA.
 
You can find PCBFA's research and factsheets at https://peacecountrybeef.ca/
 
Music for our intro and outro is Redwood Highway by Jason Shaw, find more at www.audionautix.com
 

Forest Grazing with Katherine Haugan

In this episode we chat with Area Range Management Specialist Katherine Haugan about grazing cattle in the boreal Forest and the differences between managing forest pasture and open range.
 
For more information on the topics we discussed today, check out these resources;
Range community Guides; https://www.alberta.ca/range-classification-and-survey-tools.aspx
Health assessment; https://www.alberta.ca/range-health.aspx
Cows & Fish, a great resource for any riparian management questions; https://cowsandfish.org/
 
If you'd like to learn more about PCBFA check out our website at https://www.peacecountrybeef.ca/
 
Our intro and outro music is Redwood Highway by Jason Shaw, find more at https://www.audionautix.com/
 

Managing Natural Water Sources with the Lesser Slave Watershed

In this episode with the Lesser Slave Watershed Alliance we discuss managing natural water bodies the role of Watershed groups, and how to make the most of your natural water sources.
 
For more information, check out the resources below:
LSWC web page: http://www.lswc.ca 
Past Projects: https://d3n8a8pro7vhmx.cloudfront.net/lswc/pages/43/attachments/original/1572536953/2016-19_WRRP_journal.pdf?1572536953 
Cows and Fish:  https://cowsandfish.org/ 
Ducks Unlimited:  https://www.ducks.ca/ 
Alberta Riparian Web Portal: https://www.riparianresourcesab.info/ 
Alberta AG Water Quality for Livestock:
https://www1.agric.gov.ab.ca/$department/deptdocs.nsf/all/agdex718/$file/400_716-2.pdf?OpenElement
Local WPAC Map (to find your local watershed group): 
https://static1.squarespace.com/static/55775efbe4b02c5614691727/t/559d5385e4b0bcd5cef60be4/1436373893936/WPAC-map.pdf
Environmental Farm Plan: https://www.albertaefp.com/
Producer’s Guide to Protecting Water Quality Webinar Recording https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zY5q7T-gijQ&t=7s
The LSWC & LSC Present: Being Good Stewards of the Land
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=7jRx1DLayng&t=112s
 
For Mor info about PCBFA or our project check out: https://www.peacecountrybeef.ca/
 
Music for our intro and outro is Redwood Highway by Jason Shaw. Learn more at https://www.audionautix.com

Dealing with Bears with the Waterton Biosphere Reserve Association

Jeff Bectell is the Coordinator of the Carnivores and Communities Program at the Waterton Biosphere Reserve Association. In this episode, we discuss some of the methods they've tested for preventing conflicts with Grizzly bears and other carnivores.
 
For more information about the Waterton Biosphere, check out their website here: https://www.watertonbiosphere.com/
The Blackfoot Challenge can be found here: https://blackfootchallenge.org/
The Carnivores & Communities Program is here: https://www.watertonbiosphere.com/projects/carnivores-communities/
 People & Carnivores: https://peopleandcarnivores.org/
Alberta Landholder's Guide to Wildlife Friendly Fencing https://www.ab-conservation.com/downloads
Western Landowner's Alliance Reducing Conflict with Grizzly Bears Wolves & Elk: https://westernlandowners.org/lp/reducing-conflict-with-grizzly-bears-wolves-elk/
 
For more info on Peace Country Beef & Forage Association check out our website here: https://www.peacecountrybeef.ca
 
Music for our Intro & Outro is Redwood Highway by Jason Shaw. Learn more at https://audionautix.com
 

Pollination and Wild Bees with Dr Gail MacInnis

In this episode we chat with Dr Gail MacInnis about the role of wild bees in the pollination of feild and forage crops as well as the function of wild bees in the environment and upcoming research projects with the Northwestern Polytechnic (formerly Grande Prairie Regional College).
 
Check out the Xerves website for more information about pollinators: https://www.xerces.org/pollinator-resource-center/north-central
and the Xerces Farming for Bees book for more information on providing habitat for wild pollinators https://xerces.org/sites/default/files/2018-05/15-007_04_XercesSoc_Farming-for-Bees-Guidelines_web.pdf
For more information about the National Bee Diagnostic Center check out the GPRC website here: https://www.gprc.ab.ca/research/nbdc/
 
Visit https://www.peacecountrybeef.ca/ for factsheets, and research performed in the peace country
 
Our intro and Outro music is Redwood Highway by Jason Shaw. Find more at https://audionautix.com
 
 

Regenerative Agriculture and Rural Routes to Climate Solutions

In today's episode we chat with Derek Leahy and Brenda Baritt from RR2CS about their Regenerative Ag Lab and some of the other work they do in rural Alberta.
 
You can learn more about Rural Routes here: https://rr2cs.ca/
The Rodale Institute can be found here: https://rodaleinstitute.org/
and the Savoury Institute is here: https://savory.global/
For research being done in Alberta check out the work being done by Farm Rite https://farmrite.ca/organizations/
and Areca https://www.areca.ca/
PCBFA's research can be found here: https://www.peacecountrybeef.ca/applied-research
 
The music for our intro and outro is Redwood Highway by Jason Shaw; find more at www.audionautix.com/
 
 
 

Cocktail Cover Crops with Kevin Elmy

Curious about Cocktail cover crops? Learn more about them in this episode with Kevin Elmy, we discuss what cocktails are, as well as, seeding, harvesting, and building cocktails that fit your operation and goals.
 
For more info on Kevin, check out Cover Crops Canada https://covercrops.ca/
You can find the Soil Owners Manual here: https://www.amazon.ca/Soil-Owners-Manual-Restore-Maintain/dp/1530431263
When Weeds Talk by Jay L. McCaman can be ordered here: https://bookstore.acresusa.com/products/weeds-and-why-they-grow
The Farm As an Ecosystem by Jerry Brunetti is here: https://bookstore.acresusa.com/products/the-farm-as-ecosystem
Mycorrhizal Planet by Michael Phillips: https://www.chapters.indigo.ca/en-ca/books/mycorrhizal-planet-how-symbiotic-fungi/9781603586580-item.html
Our sponsor for this episode was Ag Safe! check out their website here: https://take11.ca/
Check out PCBFA's research at https://peacecountrybeef.ca
 
Our intro and outro music is Redwood Highway by Jason Shaw, check out more at www.audionautix.com
 

Biodiversity and Monitoring in Alberta with Dave Evans

In this episode we chat with Dave Evans about the work he does with Inno-tech Alberta and the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute. We discuss what biodiversity means, how the data can be accessed, and what makes the ABMI unique.
 
To send in your questions for our episode with Kevin Elmy, email podcast@pcbfa.ca comment on the pinned post on Facebook, or tweet at us @PCBFA on Twitter!
 
For more info on the ABMI check out their website: https://www.abmi.ca/home.html
and blog: http://blog.abmi.ca/
 
ABMI's Mapping Portal can be found here with their species data mapped out across the province- https://maps.abmi.ca/#/
 
ABMI's Biodiversity Browser - Look up more about your favorite species in the province! https://www.abmi.ca/home/data-analytics/biobrowser-home
 
Naturelynx - Unsure about a species of plant, bird, insect, moss or lichen? Take a photo of it and let our panel of experts on Naturelynx identfiy it for you! https://naturelynx.ca/
 
ABMI's online platform for managing, storing, processing, sharing and discovering Trail Camera and Environmental Sensor Data. https://www.wildtrax.ca/home
 
If you're interested in learning more about plant ID check out:
Lone Pine: Plants of the Western Forest
Common Plants of the Western Rangelands Volume 1: Grasses and Grass Like Species - Tannas
Common Plants of the Western Rangelands Volume 2: Trees and Shrubs - Tannas
Common Plants of the Western Rangelands Volume 3: Forbs - Tannas
And if you're interested in hearing more from Dave, check out his podcast here: https://www.buzzsprout.com/1117478
 
Peace Country Beef & Forage Association can be found at https://www.peacecountrybeef.ca
 
the music for our intro and outro is Redwood Highway by Jason Shaw. find more at https://audionautix.com
 

Grazing Riparian Areas with Norine Ambrose

In this episode, we discuss management practices to help you get more out of grazing riparian areas and how to ensure pasture recovery after tough years with Norine Ambrose, the executive director of Cows and Fish.
 
You can find more information about Cows and Fish on their website here: https://cowsandfish.org/
The ALUS program operates in some counties across Alberta and provides support for producers looking into land-use changes such as streambank restoration and riparian area management, more information about ALUS can be found here: https://alus.ca/
Best Management Practices for Alberta's Rangeland is a resource put out by the Alberta Government and can be found here: https://www.alberta.ca/grazing-and-range-management-overview.aspx
 
To contact PCBFA or for help finding more resources, visit our website at: https://www.peacecountrybeef.ca
 
Our intro and outro music is Redwood Highway by Jason Shaw, find more at https://www.audionautix.com/