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Stony soil surface of an eroded knoll.
GrowPro

Ground Level: Mapping and managing eroded knolls

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How do we identify an eroded knoll? Eroded knolls lose soil organic matter due to years of tillage, wind and water erosion, which results in surface soil lacking good granular structure and thin to non-existent topsoil. When erosion occurs, it has different physical, chemical and biological characteristics. Some physical characteristics of an eroded soil can […] Read more
Topsoil being removed from a depression area in a soil landscape restoration site in southern Manitoba.
Crops, Features

Restore productivity on your eroded knolls

Landscape restoration, cover cropping, residue redistribution and adjusting crop inputs are some management practices that can help

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The eroded knolls or hilltops common in Prairie farmland are typically the least productive, often yielding considerably less than other parts of a field. Curtis Cavers, an agronomist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada based at Portage la Prairie, Man., says there are ways to boost crop productivity in these problem areas. Cavers provided an assessment […] Read more
Farming Smarter’s strip tillage unit at work.
Crops, Features

Opposing exposure to erosion

Early indications in Alberta research are that soil stays put, with no adverse effect on crop performance

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Strip tillage and cover crops are two techniques being tested in southern Alberta applied research trials, seeking practices that will help reduce the risk of soil erosion. Farmers on the Prairies — and across North America — have made huge strides over the past 40 years in reducing soil losses by applying conservation farming practices […] Read more
An eight-inch-wide strip of tillage in a field with heavy corn residue.
Features

Several benefits come with an eight-inch-wide strip of tillage

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Western Canadian row crop farmers Dean Toews in southern Manitoba and John Kolk in southern Alberta have different levels of experience with strip tillage, but both see the value of working up these eight-inch-wide strips of soil in their fields with a range of production and conservation benefits. Toews, who is part of the family […] Read more
Zero tillage can increase P loss
Crops, Features

Zero tillage can increase P loss

Phosphorus can drain off the soil during snowmelt. Periodic tillage may reduce the losses

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The latest soil-management recommendation will come as a surprise: In some cases, producers should consider periodic tillage to reduce the risk of phosphorus (P) loss from conservation tillage systems. According to Don Flaten, a professor in the University of Manitoba’s Department of Soil Science, zero tillage actually increases P loading from soils to surface water […] Read more
Man with blue shirt wearing glasses.
Machinery

The profit in strip till

There is increasing interest in strip till. 
When considering it for your farm, think 
about profit and conservation, not just yield

By
Strip till is becoming a common practice through much of the U.S. corn belt, especially in Highly Erodable Land (or HEL ground) areas where the U.S. National Resources Conservation Service (NRCS) has strict guidelines against working the full width of the seedbed. Many wonder if this practice can be transferred to Western Canada, especially with […] Read more

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