This is an update to an article that appeared in the September 2006 issue of Grainews. My Dad often talked about early bachelor settlers who lived on “faith, snuff and slough water.” In many cases on the Prairies it is a good thing they had strong faith and brought along lots of Copenhagen because the […] Read more
Faith, snuff and slough water
After a wet year, the water in your slough may look clean. Test it first. The results may surprise you
Henry: Lessons learned from soil probes this fall
Below is information from my farm at Dundurn, Sask., about 35 km south of Saskatoon, including the results of recent soil moisture probing. Soil: Dark brown loam, which holds 1.5 inches of available water per foot of moist (field capacity) soil. Completely recharged at seeding on May 13, 2013. Rain: May, 1.7 inches; June, 4.6 […] Read more
Trouble in Science Land
A broken research funding system encourages short-term thinking combined with research funding cuts is bad news all around
This piece is not just about agriculture but includes the broader scientific community. I see trouble brewing in science and fear that research funding will be further cut, to the detriment of our long-term health and welfare. You have all seen the picture of the elephant with a few folks scattered around the various parts […] Read moreRain and roots: not always simple
When we experience a wet May you often hear someone say, “the crop will be shallow rooted because the moisture is near the surface and the crop doesn’t have to root down.” With a soil probe, I’ve seen for many years that a crop roots down very nicely in soil at the field capacity moisture […] Read more
Soil and Crops: Lake Diefenbaker and irrigation in Saskatchewan
While we are swimming in water, many parts south of the 49th parallel are parched. Significant parts of Great Plains agriculture rely on irrigation, and much of that comes from underground. Drought in the U.S. The Ogallala Aquifer underlies parts of eight U.S. states. There are 13.6 million acres irrigated in that region. The big three states […] Read more
On unexpended manure
It’s time for more research on the value manure can add to our land, and to find more ways to make use of this valuable resource
In January 2013 there was a Manure Management Update Conference in Lethbridge. I did not attend, but with the wonders of modern technology have reviewed PowerPoint presentations of the talks. It’s not as good as being there, but much better than reading the proceedings. The value of manure First, let’s go back more than 100 years. In […] Read more
Alfafa to intercept road ditch salinity
When I was at the Manitoba meetings in December, Don Flaten, soil science professor at the University of Manitoba, alerted me to a situation in Manitoba. After many wet years and now a drier spell, salinity is being observed along the edge of some road ditches. There was a good example of road ditch salinity […] Read more
Tile drainage to reclaim saline soils
In July I received a book order and letter from a farmer south of Brandon. His question was: “Would the 18 inches of rain we get here be enough to provide the ‘leaching’ part of the drainage and leaching to reclaim saline land?” We discussed the matter in a phone call and I did not […] Read more
Soil moisture as of freeze-up
Before you look at the map take a close look at the legend. This year’s soil moisture map is made the same way as the map you saw in these pages last year. This year’s map is based on the depth of moist soil — that is, it’s a map of the “wetting front” as […] Read more
Rules of thumb: missing from Henry’s Handbook
These rules of thumbs could have been included in my book, Henry’s Handbook of Soils and Water. Rule 1: Water and nutrient use by dept A while back Gordon Kent, Riverhurst farmer and former winter instructor in Agricultural Engineering at the University of Saskatchewan asked me why Henry’s Handbook did not have the 40, 30, 20, 10 […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
