Laser Scarecrows: Gimmick or solution? URI needs your help to find out...

Blackbirds and starlings can be a severe problem in sweet corn; the birds shred the husks and peck the kernels, rendering the ears unmarketable. Even more frustrating, losses occur just before harvest, after growers have already invested time and inputs into the crop. Many sweet corn growers use some combination of scare guns, pyrotechnics, and hunting. As some of these methods are consider controversial and illegal, farmers, politicians, and regulators are very interested in a practical alternative for protecting crops.

 

Dr. Rebecca Brown and her colleagues at the University of Rhode Island (URI) want to explore the impact of laser scarecrows on bird damage in fresh market sweet corn production. They are conducting a short survey that asks questions about crop production and bird damage you have experienced.The goal of this survey is to gather preliminary information for grant applications. The survey can be found here: https://riepr.org/s/birds.

 

Video: From Conventional to Regenerative: Will Groeneveld’s Journey Back to the Land

"You realize you've got a pretty finite number of years to do this. If you ever want to try something new, you better do it."

That mindset helped Will Groeneveld take a bold turn on his Alberta grain farm. A lifelong farmer, Will had never heard of regenerative agriculture until 2018, when he attended a seminar by Kevin Elmy that shifted his worldview. What began as curiosity quickly turned into a deep exploration of how biology—not just chemistry—shapes the health of our soils, crops and ecosystems.

In this video, Will candidly reflects on his family’s farming history, how the operation evolved from a traditional mixed farm to grain-only, and how the desire to improve the land pushed him to invite livestock back into the rotation—without owning a single cow.

Today, through creative partnerships and a commitment to the five principles of regenerative agriculture, Will is reintroducing diversity, building soil health and extending living roots in the ground for as much of the year as possible. Whether it’s through intercropping, zero tillage (which he’s practiced since the 1980s) or managing forage for visiting cattle, Will’s approach is a testament to continuous learning and a willingness to challenge old norms.

Will is a participant in the Regenerative Agriculture Lab (RAL), a social innovation process bringing together producers, researchers, retailers and others to co-create a resilient regenerative agriculture system in Alberta. His story highlights both the potential and humility required to farm with nature, not against it.