b'Yvonne Lawley,a professor at theUniversity of Manitoba,is doing research on cover crops across the Canadian Prairies. PHOTO: YVONNELAWLEY.Morrison had planned on spending the growing season travelling back and forth across the Prairies visiting his trials and completing tests on them, but then the global COVID-19 pandemic hit. In March 2020 as North America went into lockdown, Morrison found himself scrambling to keep his research work going.However, his PhD project wasnt just focused on the trial fields, there was also a farmer survey. As part of Lawleys own research work, she had given Morrison a survey to do of farmers across the Prairies on their cover croppingIt became very apparent that a experiences. younger person who is moreI had been planning on doing the survey just as Callum was starting that fall. I drafted some questions and then very clumsily sort of made a papersocial media savvy was needed,form. I then realized that I needed to make an online form that farmers couldand that is what Callum hasfill out on their phone, Lawley explains. It became very apparent that a younger person who is more social media savvy was needed, and that is whatbrought to the project. Callum has brought to the project. YVONNE LAWLEYAs lockdown settled in, Morrison quickly pivoted his work to focus on re-viewing the survey results from the first year, while still checking in with those minding his field plots across the Prairies.COVID was a bit of a mixed blessing for me, because it allowed me to go down this different angle and its been fantastic, Morrison says. I think as scientists, we need to realize that its very important to understand what farmers are actually doing on the ground.30 SPUDSMART.COM WINTER 2021'