land management Archives - Page 4 of 8

Measuring soil’s benefits from CTF

A new test offers a way to measure improvements from controlled traffic farming

By Julienne Isaacs July 13, 2017

It can be called “fractal hierarchical aggregation” or just “fractal aggregation.” Whatever the moniker, the new method of soil health testing promises to offer producers an important metric for assessing soil quality and land stewardship, says Guillermo Hernandez, an assistant professor at the University of Alberta. This spring he published a research paper demonstrating that […] Read more

Columns, Crops

Precision ag may not work on your farm

In the field, precision ag does not yet live up to the hype that has surrounded it

By Les Henry April 18, 2017

If we go into a farm meeting and ask how many are using auto steer almost all hands go up. If you ask how many are using variable rate only a few respond. The uptake has been slow and many techies think that farmers are slow adopters. Guess what folks: if it works farmers are […] Read more

Ian Mitchell-Innes, centre, talks to Manitoba producers about how to use selective grazing to improve  soil health and productivity during a three-day workshop in Manitoba last year.

Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock

The profit potential of selective grazing

High stocking density, short-duration grazing helps put carbon back into the soil

By Angela Lovell April 10, 2017

No matter where he speaks in the world, Ian Mitchell-Innes carries a message to beef producers about achieving optimal animal performance, reducing costs, and ultimately becoming more profitable. Animals instinctively know where they can get the highest level of energy — from the top third of the plant, Mitchell-Innes, a South African rancher, told producers […] Read more

McGrath and helpers dig some soil pits along transect lines on native prairie
pasture that is part of Round Rock Ranching to establish some baselines through nutrient and biological soil testing.

Cattleman’s Corner, Crops

Are you a (soil) health nut?

Any treatments applied above ground will eventually affect what happens below your feet

By Sean McGrath April 6, 2017

I was eternally blessed to enter the University of Saskatchewan while Les Henry was still teaching at a time when we were “forced” to take at least an introductory soil science course. I learned a lot in that introductory course; mostly about how much I didn’t know (and how much Dr. Henry did). But more […] Read more

A high stocking density and moving cattle quickly through pastures works well for both  beef production and waterfowl conservation objectives.

Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock, Pasture

Cows and ducks work well together

Producer applies his rotational grazing system to conservation pastures

By Angela Lovell March 9, 2017

Ducks Unlimited Canada (DUC) and Rapid City, Manitoba area cattle producer Gerald Bos are working collaboratively on a project that’s a win-win situation for both by benefitting nesting waterfowl and Bos’s beef herd. The project revolves around ‘The Smith purchase’ — a half section of land that DUC bought in 1994, which happens to be […] Read more

Moisture and a reduced stocking rate helped pastures to get back into a productive state above and below ground.

Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock, Pasture

Keeping soil biology ticking

Pasture Management: Grazing setbacks happen, but find opportunities to get back on track

By Kim Nielsen March 1, 2017

Normal weather” at 4 Clover Ranch near Rocky Mountain House, Alta. has been illusive for a couple of years at least and it has created some grazing challenges at the expense of pasture performance. Our planned grazing system, where we look at the health of the grass on an ongoing basis, has responded well over […] Read more

Columns, Crops, Weather

Les Henry’s prairie stubble soil moisture map

In the map of November 2016 soil moisture, there are no “very dry” areas

By Les Henry February 17, 2017

As usual, this map gives only a very general indication of the soil moisture situation on the Canadian Prairies as we went into freeze up November 2016. It can be summed up in a word WET. To make a soil moisture map it is essential that a good database of rain records from many stations […] Read more

This tillage radish is in the early stages of getting to work.

Crops, Features

The economic value of growing cover crops

Not all of the economic benefits of cover crops can be measured easily, but it’s worth a try

By Kevin Elmy February 15, 2017

The first question that comes up when cover crops are discussed is “Do they pay?” Net returns from cover crops will be determined by what goals were set, what species were grown and other intrinsic benefits from the cover crop. In any business, net profit is the difference between costs and revenue. The two ways […] Read more

This is a feed barley crop at Spiritwood, Sask., in 1996, on Gray Wooded loam soil. This crop yielded 80 bu./ac. with no fertilizer in the year of seeding.

Columns, Crops

A convert to long-term experiments

Soil fertility is a long-term prospect that calls for long-term approaches to research

By Les Henry January 25, 2017

In my younger days I was not a fan of long-term experiments. Almost all were on Federal Research stations with good soils and plot practices that did not always relate to farm fields. But recent information coming from long-term experiments has changed my mind. Worldwide, the longest experiment is the famous Broadbalk field at Rothamsted […] Read more

Danish firm Kongskilde offers its 9200 Series vertical tillage implement to North American farmers in working widths from 11 to 43 feet.

Machinery

Less common tillage implements

A look at implements from brands that aren’t exactly household names in Canada

By Mark Moore October 20, 2016

If you get a thrill out of attending as many farm shows as you can reasonably get to in a season, you’ve likely noticed a few uncommon equipment brands displaying their wares. At the U.S. Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, in August, Mark Moore made a point of stopping by exhibits from a couple […] Read more

U.S. livestock: Live cattle drop as beef prices, packer margins erode

CBOT Weekly: Soybean, wheat futures come down

Masterfeeds to enter new ADM/Alltech feed joint venture

GFM Network News