Growing Benefits of Prairie Agriculture
By centering the knowledge and experience of diverse lands and people, our network is harnessing prairies’ inherent resilience, and helping beneficial agriculture take root across the region.
THE FRAMEWORK
Co-creating the knowledge we need
Prairie producers continuously adjust their practices to make the most of changing conditions. To understand how soil carbon, biodiversity, and other important benefits are affected, research must be attuned to the details of real-world management. By regularly integrating on-the-ground results with insights from diverse collaborators, our living lab is steadily improving our understanding of the strategies that work best for our region.
Our Local Context
Advancing prairie-proven solutions, together
Prairie systems show us how to thrive in a challenging and ever-changing environment. Through our collaboration, we are tapping into a wealth of local knowledge, studying a range of real-world scenarios, and building on the most promising strategies, in order to define and promote solutions that are best suited to the place we call home.
Avoiding land conversion
Retaining native and naturalized landscapes, including native and tame grasslands, riparian, wetland, and shrubby or wooded areas.
Managing grazing impacts
Actively manipulating timing and intensity of grazing and rest in native and tame rangelands.
Promoting perennials
Restoring and rejuvenating perennial grassland communities to use as pasture or hayland.
Polycropping
Planting cropland with diverse species blends to use as forage or fodder for livestock.
Our stories
The unique stories of prairie land managers and collaborators enrich and enlighten our work. Their experiences offer inspiration, ideas, and opportunities to shift our focus towards building a promising future agriculture together.
Be part of shaping the story
All with a stake in prairie agriculture are invited to join us. Your unique contributions can help to shape our approaches, our priorities, and our definitions of success. Get involved to make an impact on the landscapes and communities that carry us forward together.
Producers
Scientists
First Nations
Opportunities to connect
Join us at upcoming events to connect, learn, and actively engage with the future of prairie agriculture.
Living Lab – Central Prairies Conference
Join producers, researchers, and industry partners for a conference focused on shared learning, practical experience, and collaborative discovery. A room block has been reserved at the Saskatoon Inn. View the event agenda here! There is a room block reserved at the...
SaskSoil Field Day: Vanscoy, SK
Living Lab participants Brett and Arlie LaRoche at Farm One Forty near Vanscoy, SK for a field day centred on the kind of livestock-crop integration that builds soil health from the ground up. Visit SaskSoil’s website for more details.
SaskSoil Field Day: Gull Lake, SK
Join SaskSoil's field day to learn about cover cropping, nitrogen management, soil health and more. We will begin the day in Gull Lake with presentations on soil health and the Living Lab - Central Prairies project. Following lunch, we will head out to tour a nearby...
Sharing our progress
Stay informed about our journey toward a resilient prairie agriculture that benefits us all.
Listen Now: Living Lab on the Radio
Data Collection Update
Polycropping Workshop at Wapella, SK
Grazing and Restoration Field Day at Abbey, SK
