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Organic

Wind erosion can have devastating consequences on soil health, as seen in this photo.
Crops, Features

How to build healthier soil

Farmers discuss what works for them at Alberta Pulse Growers seminar

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Ask a dozen people for a definition of soil health and odds are you will get 12 different answers in response. John Kolk is managing partner of Kolk Farms Conrich, located near Picture Butte, Alta., and is chair of the Alberta Biodiversity Monitoring Institute. He was also one of the speakers on a soil health […] Read more
The percentage of canola growers using variable-rate fertilizer on all of their fields in 2021 was down slightly from the previous year.
Columns, Crops

Why are farmers slow to adopt variable-rate fertilizer technology?

Reasons for the slow adoption rate plus tips to get you started

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Variable-rate fertilizer (VRF) application has caught the interest of a lot of farmers over the past 15 years. However, the level of adoption of VRF has been slower than expected. A Fertilizer Canada survey of canola farmers in Western Canada in the fall of 2021 found only 10.2 per cent of growers used VRF application […] Read more
Dry alfalfa and straw bales are loaded into the Kuhn Side Slinger manure spreader, which doubles as a mixer wagon. The hay and straw will serve as biomass for the compost.
Features, News

Build your own bioreactor

Regenerative Ag: A farmer puts his homegrown biological fertilizer to work in his fields to improve soil health and crop quality and save on input costs

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Former Saskatchewan farmer Franck Groeneweg will be heading out to his Montana grain fields this spring to apply a biological fertilizer made on his farm. Over the past three growing seasons, it appears this liquid compost extract helps to maintain crop yields while making it possible for him to significantly reduce chemical fertilizer rates. It […] Read more
Alumni of Canada’s Outstanding Young Farmers program Ian (left) and Karilynn (middle) Marshall of Bowden, Alta., receive the W.R. Motherwell Award from COYF president, Danny Penner (right), at the COYF national award ceremony in November.
Features, News

Outstanding Young Farmers Awards go to Saskatchewan and Quebec

Organic farming receives national recognition

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Cody Straza and Allison Squires say developing an organic mixed farming operation in southern Saskatchewan over the past dozen years was a reflection of their values in terms of creating a sustainable farm operation guided by proper environmental stewardship and social justice principles. Winning a national award recognizing excellence in farm management gave them reassurance […] Read more
Smooth Volcano carrots are known for strong, upright tops and easy pulling, and they are tolerant of late harvests.
Farm Life

Lots of good reasons to grow carrots

Plus, Happy New Year greetings

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Well, howdy folks howdy! It’s a brand new year. 2023 has arrived. I once entered a song I wrote more than 25 years ago into an international song writing competition. It became one of 10 songs chosen that received “honourable mention” from among thousands of entries received. I still sing all verses of that song […] Read more
A view of a crop rotation treatment tested in Melfort, Sask., in July 2022 as part of the Resilient Rotations crop rotations project. Melfort is part of the project’s northern Prairies region.
Crops, Features

A new approach provides evidence to support the benefits of diversified rotations

A five-year study provides science-based, region-specific information on cropping systems

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A new study being conducted in Western Canada could soon provide growers with valuable insights on how to achieve more productive, sustainable and resilient cropping systems. Resilient Rotations is a comprehensive research project that aims to develop a new approach to crop rotations. The five-year study is being managed as part of the Integrated Crop […] Read more
There’s value in adding biotin to dairy diets
Cattleman’s Corner, The Dairy Corner

There’s value in adding biotin to dairy diets

Important to milk production and hoof health, biotin can get lost in the nutrient shuffle

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It’s long been recognized that lactating dairy cows have a specific requirement for biotin which may not be met by natural synthesis in the rumen. Much research in the early 2000s demonstrated biotin supplements to lactating dairy diets yields respectable improvements in hoof health and better milk production. With the advent of many available feed […] Read more
Gurpreet Lidder, along with family members, operates an 80-acre fruit farm near the B.C. Southern Interior community of Keremeos, producing a wide range of fruit through farm gate sales as well as to wholesale markets.
Features, Profiles

Another excellent crop of young farmer nominees

Horticulture, beef and dairy production, along with conventional and organic crops — a year of diversity

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A panel of judges will be faced with a difficult challenge in Saskatoon later this month as they look to select two national winners from a field of seven diverse, well-managed farming operations from across Canada. From tree fruit production to grass-fed beef, mixed farming to organic crop production, and dairy farming to potato production, […] Read more
A picture is better than 1,000 words. Here is a young canola crop neatly placed between the 12-inch-high wheat stubble from the Nerbas farm last year. The wheat stubble will have caught snow to help provide better germination for the shallow-seeded canola and it shelters the canola from wind.
Columns, Crops

Les Henry: Fuzzy thinking about soils and agricultural performance

What constitutes sustainable on a farm depends on soil climatic zone and what is feasible for the area

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There seems to be a constant barrage of media comment about agriculture by folks who have little contact with real farms and little formal training in an agriculture faculty or school. Much of the discourse talks about sustainable agriculture, resiliency, regenerative agriculture and particularly soil health. There is not much detail about what the terms […] Read more

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