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Tag Archives soil health

Sustainable agriculture is both a philosophy and a system of farming.
Crops, Features

Redefining agricultural production

Organic, regenerative, sustainable. What do all of these new terms mean?

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Agricultural production used to be basically divided into two camps; conventional and organic. The two production styles have clear delineations and are pretty much exclusive of each other. Today the lines between these systems are being blurred as farmers are beginning to embrace sustainable and regenerative agricultural practices. All of these different terms can be […] Read more
Closeup of a plowed field, fertile, black soil.
Crops, Features

The five principles of soil health

USDA researcher says healthy soil needs a systems approach

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At the Regenerative Agriculture Forum in Brandon in November, Jay Fuhrer, soil health specialist with the Natural Resource Conservation Service of the USDA, spoke about soil health. Fuhrer has identified five principles of soil health, and how they work to improve soil health and increase productivity. Fuhrer defined soil health is defined as “the continued […] Read more
Holding an Earthworm in Hand
Columns, Crops, Hart Attacks

Don’t underestimate the power of soil bugs

Save money, increase profits by getting billions of little creatures working for you

By
There’s that message again — learning to farm without inputs. It is a pretty compelling concept: being able to grow a crop without $200 or $300 per acre invested in added fertilizer and crop protection products. Is it a myth? Does it work? What are these guys trying to sell me? Kevin Elmy says it works. […] Read more
Handful of arable soil in hands of responsible farmer, close up, selective focus
Columns, Hart Attacks

Scientists say it’s all about the soil

Farmers and ranchers need to keep society connected to the land

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So a soil scientist steps up to a conference microphone about to deliver a one-hour talk and my first thought — “is 8:30 in the morning too early for a nap?” But not so. What a great talk given by Henry Janzen, a long-time researcher at the Agriculture Canada Lethbridge Research Centre to open the annual […] Read more
It didn’t take much disturbance to raise the dust during a tillage demonstration at the 2018 Ag In Motion farm show.
Columns, Hart Attacks

Well here is a game changing concept

Profitable crop production with little or no added inputs. Is someone talking nonsense?

By
Talk about an interesting contrast in messages! In one week during my summer travels I attended a first-in-Canada Soil Health School in Manning (Alberta Peace River region) and a few days later I was eating dust at a tillage demonstration at the Ag In Motion farm show at Langham, Sask. My old brain had to […] Read more
Photo: Thinkstock
Crops

Four ways to increase your organic matter

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A question that I hear a lot is, “How do cover crops fit into a grain operation?” Lots of grain farmers have no desire to get into the livestock business and no interest in producing hay. But many have some soil issues that need to be addressed. This can be done by buying more iron […] Read more
Testing the calcium response
Crops, Features

Testing the calcium response

Cavalier Agrow is running field trials to test the agronomics of calcium

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An independent ag retailer in northwest Saskatchewan is examining the agronomics of applying calcium. So far they’ve found the best yield response and economic return in the most calcium-deficient soils. “As those calcium levels went up — no surprise — our returns came down,” said Greg Frey, location manager for Cavalier Agrow near Meota, Sask. […] Read more
The plants in the unaffected areas were showing typical drought symptoms, such as pale colouring, shorter stature, minimal plant branching, and trace pod abortion throughout.
Canola, Crops, Features

Crop advisor casebook: What’s wrong with this patchy canola crop?

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the March 6, 2018 issue of Grainews

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Ted, a Saskatchewan producer who owns a 3,000-acre mixed grain operation near Elrose, asked me to visit his farm last year on July 12. The visit was to assess if diamondback moth larvae populations in his canola field had reached levels necessary to warrant an insecticide application, to save the crop’s yield. Due to lack […] Read more
Derek and Tannis Axten with their children Kate, 13, and Brock, 11, know if they look after the soil it will produce.
Crops, Features

Canada’s OYF: Nominees from Saskatchewan

Derek and Tannis Axten focus on encouraging soil biology

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Daring to be different may enrich your spirit, but it can also leave you cash poor. If you’re Derek and Tannis Axten, however, you wind up having your fungicide-free cake and eating it too. While the 2017 Outstanding Young Farmer (OYF) Award winners for Saskatchewan began their farming career on a well-trodden path, the route […] Read more
Different types of soil have different properties. University of Alberta research is focusing on measuring soil quality.
Crops, Features

Controlling traffic to improve your soil

A new test offers another way to test soil quality improvements

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It can be called “fractal hierarchical aggregation” or just “fractal aggregation.” Whatever the moniker, the new method of soil health testing promises to offer an important way to assess soil quality and land stewardship, says Guillermo Hernandez, an assistant professor at the University of Alberta. Hernandez is the lead researcher on a suite of projects […] Read more

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