In Henry’s Handbook we had this to say about micronutrients: “I do not suffer under any illusion that we have discovered all the micronutrient deficiencies that exist in Western Canada. It is best to maintain an open mind when the question of a new deficiency comes up. Micronutrient research is expensive and often not exciting […] Read more
Les Henry: Integrated, three-province, field research program for micronutrients needed
Some mechanism to assemble and publish case studies would be an asset
Les Henry: Soil moisture map for 2022
The soil reserve we’ve become accustomed to over the past decade is just not there
It is no surprise to readers that this year’s freeze-up soil moisture map required a lot of red ink to print. In the Allan Hills, where my Dundurn farm is located, folks can drive combines with a full tank of grain through sloughs that needed a canoe to cross a few years ago. You do […] Read more
Les Henry: Soil moisture maps. How it all happened
The adventure began more than 40 years ago
The feature “Catalogue houses: Eaton’s and others and how it all happened” in the November 2021 issue of Grainews, gave a blow-by-blow account of how my book on the topic came about. The response has been tremendous, and many thanks to readers. Your letters, emails and book orders are very much appreciated. In this piece, […] Read more
Les Henry: The Birch effect on our soils in 2021
Microbes had a heyday when the rain came
As I watched the 2021 growing season unfold, there came a time when I started to think about the “Birch effect.” Lo and behold, when I went looking for the papers that documented the Birch effect, I stumbled on a piece titled “Fall Soil Sampling: the ‘Birch’ Effect” by Les Henry in the October issue […] Read more
Catalogue houses – Eaton’s, others and how it all happened
Farmers have never been as rich as they were from 1915 to 1919
Regular readers will be familiar with my sideline dealing with catalogue houses. I thought you might like to know how my interest in the subject ended up with a book being written and published. I was raised in a large, old, two-and-a-half-storey house with four bedrooms on the second floor and a long hallway that […] Read more
Les Henry: Your guide to finding water in the ground via wells
They’re often a good solution to the water problem in pastures
The drought of 2021 has left pastures with dry sloughs and dugouts. A good solution to the water problem in pastures is often a well, or multiple wells. Many former community pastures had several wells with old-fashioned windmills that filled the need in spades. In our soil salinity work of the 1980s and 1990s, we […] Read more
Les Henry: Droughts I have known
What comes next?
The 2021 crop year for the Prairie provinces will go down in history as hot and dry with a huge impact on crops, hayland and pasture. The lack of feed for livestock is most serious, as it will require forced sale of cattle with long-lasting effects on farms and ranches. Many would lead you to […] Read more
Les Henry: The joys of subsoil moisture. 2021 credited to snow
This year has been a major learning curve for me
Regular readers will recall my earlier columns – ‘A snow job: Part 1‘ and ‘A snow job: Part 2‘ – dealt with snow as a contributor to 2021 crops. This year has been a major learning curve for me on the possible benefits of snow to grow a crop. My dad always said, “Give me […] Read more
Les Henry: A snow job, Part 2
Watch out for crop variability in 2021
Drought is now the operative word in major areas of Prairie farming for 2021. The drought in this area started on July 8, 2020, and has been interrupted by only two significant events — the big snow and blow of November 7 and 8 last year and the welcome May 2021 long weekend rain of […] Read more
Let Geonics know you want to up your game with an EM38 Field Scout
In the March 23 issue of this year, I talked about the EM38 non-contacting soil conductivity meter. The new EM38 used extensively in preparing zone maps for variable-rate maps is heavy and not convenient for field scouting. I have an earlier version of the EM38 that shows the same information and is very light and […] Read more
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
