Manitoba joins FieldWatch

May 06, 2025
By Farms.com

Manitoba joins Sasksatchewan as the 2nd province to join 27 states

FieldWatch, Inc., a non-profit group supporting communication between beekeepers, crop producers, and pesticide applicators, has announced that Manitoba has become the second Canadian province to join its network.

This move allows Manitoba’s farmers and beekeepers to use online tools like DriftWatch™ and BeeCheck™ to register their crop fields and beehives. These tools help applicators avoid spraying near sensitive areas, reducing the risk of pesticide drift and improving stewardship across the agriculture sector.

Manitoba now joins Saskatchewan, 27 U.S. states, and the District of Columbia in adopting FieldWatch’s secure and voluntary registry system. The platform is free to use and designed to support both commercial and hobby beekeepers, as well as organic and conventional farmers.

“The goal is to get beekeepers and crop producers registered through FieldWatch so applicators can access accurate information before spraying,” said Bob Walters, President and CEO of FieldWatch. “This model has been proven to build good stewardship and communication in agriculture.”

“We’re excited to partner with FieldWatch to make this platform available to both Manitoba farmers and beekeepers,” said Marika Dewar-Norosky, Executive Director of Manitoba Organics. “This partnership offers Manitoba’s agricultural industry another tool to support communication, transparency, and stewardship across the province's leading sector — helping protect organic farms and promote coexistence among diverse farming systems.”

Support for this initiative came from Western Canadian Aerial Ltd., CropLife Canada, the Manitoba Beekeepers Association, and Manitoba’s Organic Development Fund.

"CropLife Canada is proud to support the launch of FieldWatch in Manitoba, reinforcing our commitment to innovation, stewardship and sustainable agriculture. Tools like FieldWatch enhance transparency and collaboration between growers and applicators, helping ensure the responsible use of plant science innovations while supporting the long-term success of Manitoba’s farms,” said Pierre Petelle, President and CEO of CropLife Canada.

With this new partnership, Manitoba continues to lead in supporting safer, smarter agriculture.

Article Update: On May 8, 2025, it was announced that Alberta had also joined FieldWatch.

Alberta's membership decision was especially driven by the needs of producers and beekeepers who wanted to register the locations of their crops and apiaries.

“The Province of Alberta is excited to partner with FieldWatch to make their innovative technology available to Alberta farmers and beekeepers alike,” said Dr. David Feindel, Director of Plant and Bee Health Surveillance, Alberta Agriculture & Irrigation. “This partnership gives our farmers and beekeepers another tool in the toolbox as we work together to ensure the continued success of Alberta’s agriculture industry and make our industry more sustainable by promoting safe, effective and efficient pesticide usage.”

Photo Credit: FieldWatch-logo

Video: Turning Plant Defense Into a Management Strategy

Turning Plant Defense Into a Management Strategy

Understanding how a plant responds to stress is one thing.

Using that knowledge to make better management decisions is another.

Systemic acquired resistance, or SAR, is the plant's more direct defense response. When stress or infection occurs, the plant begins signaling throughout its system and preparing defensive compounds.

But if we know that response exists, can we help prepare the plant before the stress arrives?

The answer starts with understanding what triggers the response and what the plant needs to carry it out.

The Trigger and the Fuel

Salicylic acid plays an important role in triggering the SAR pathway.

Think of it as turning the truck on.

The engine may be running, but it still needs fuel to do the work.

In this case, manganese plays an important role in supporting the enzyme systems involved in the plant's defensive response.

This makes manganese status an important part of the conversation. Whether a producer is using tissue testing, sap analysis, or simply scouting for visible deficiency symptoms, the goal is to make sure the plant has adequate manganese available.

Manganese is required in relatively small amounts, but that does not make its role small.

If the plant receives a signal to defend itself but lacks the nutrition needed to support that response, it may struggle to carry out the process efficiently.

The trigger matters.

The fuel matters too.

Prepare Before the Stress Arrives

The best time to think about stress management is before the plant is overwhelmed.

Once a crop is already struggling, management can quickly turn into a game of catch-up.

This is similar to nitrogen management. Once a plant becomes severely deficient, correcting the problem does not necessarily erase the time and yield potential already lost.

Plant defense can work the same way.

Low-rate, targeted approaches designed to support the SAR pathway may fit best ahead of an expected stress event rather than after significant damage has already occurred.

That requires producers to think about predictable stress.

We may not know exactly what the weather will do tomorrow, but we generally know summer heat is coming. We know certain field conditions increase disease pressure. We know a herbicide application can temporarily stress a crop as the plant processes the chemistry.

Even a properly timed and labeled herbicide application can create a temporary response in the plant.

That does not mean the herbicide is bad.

Weeds can create significantly more yield loss than the temporary stress caused by controlling them.

The question is not whether we should eliminate every stressor.

The question is whether we can better prepare the plant to manage necessary and predictable stress.

Not All Stress Is Bad

Stress is a normal part of plant growth.

A perfectly stress-free environment does not exist in the field.

In fact, some stress is necessary for normal plant development. A plant responds to wind, temperature, moisture, sunlight, and countless other environmental signals throughout the season.

The environment is stress.

The plant's job is to manage it.

Problems begin when the stress load becomes greater than the plant's ability to respond.

Extreme heat, drought, high salt concentrations, disease pressure, and even certain management practices can add to that load.

This is where understanding SAR becomes useful.

Instead of waiting until the plant is visibly struggling, producers can begin identifying periods when stress is likely and make management decisions around those windows.

ISR Starts With the Soil

While SAR is a more direct defense response, induced systemic resistance, or ISR, brings the conversation back to soil health.

The longevity of a farm is closely connected to the health of its soil.

Carbon plays a major role because it supports biological life within the soil. Bacteria, fungi, and other organisms interact with plant roots and influence how the plant grows, accesses nutrients, and prepares for stress.

This is why soil health cannot be reduced to one product or one application.

It is a system.

Keeping living plants in the field longer can support biological activity. Cover crops may fit some operations. Better water management can improve soil conditions.