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Tag Archives soil health

The use of cover crops such as radish has spread rapidly in Ontario in the past five years. Ontario’s environmental commissioner wants to see that continue. (John Greig photo)
Crops

OMAFRA seen needing a soil health ‘tuneup’

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Ontario’s environmental commissioner is calling on the provincial ag ministry to rebuild its soil health expertise and find ways to encourage farmers to adopt soil-friendly production practices, to deal with what she calls a “catastrophic” loss in soil organic matter levels. The report recommends better soil carbon level monitoring and 10-year programs to financially encourage […] Read more
The project may look simple from above ground, but underground many sensors and scales take complex soil measures.
Crops

Soil health sensor project largest in North America

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A new $2-million soil health research project aims to figure out the impact of different cropping systems on the environment. Research will also be conducted on crop productivity relating to soil health. The result should be new knowledge on productivity of traditional cropping systems versus those with cover crops. The project, at the new Soil […] Read more
Six limiting factors in your soil that will make or break your operation
Crops, Forages

Six limiting factors in your soil that will make or break your operation

Without these six key ingredients, your soil — and your farm — could be in trouble

By
Farms and grazing operations — organic or otherwise — are only as good as their worst resource, according to Oregon-based grazier Abe Collins. “Soil is our primary infrastructure on the farm,” said Collins, who spoke at the recent Organic Alberta conference. “Biologically, chemically, and physically, you need to be looking at the limiting factors in […] Read more
Soil background
Columns, Crops

The making of a healthy soil

“Soil health” is a popular topic, but Les Henry says the fine points are mostly spin

By
We hear a lot about soil soil health these days so thought I should brush up on the literature. To give the punch line first: in my opinion it is mostly spin. Any introductory course or soils textbook starts by picking a hypothetical pound of ground and revealing the basics. Soil is half solids and […] Read more
farm sustainability diagram
Features

New tool measures farm operation sustainability

Demand for “field print” calculations is on the rise

By
Energy consumption, land use, erosion and climate impact are key to environmental management. Consumers and food retailers are now demanding this type of information. But how do you measure your efficiency? A new calculator can help. Denis Tremorin, director of sustainability at Pulse Canada, is the driving force behind the Canadian Field Print Calculator project and […] Read more
Crops, Features

Cover crop buffet feeds microbes

Peace farmer Bill Gaugler is adding a cover crop to his farm’s 
rotation, in hopes of increasing yields with less fertilizer

By
Bill Gaugler hopes including a multi-species plant cover crop year in his rotation will improve soil health on his Alberta Peace River region farm. That could lead to several benefits — Gaugler hopes it could help improve his overall crop yields, or allow him to maintain yields with less or even no fertilizer. It isn’t […] Read more
Turnips used as a cover crop.
Crops, Features

Cover crops increase profitability

Panelists shared cover crop success stories at the Commodity Classic conference in San Antonio

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Cover crops not only improve soil health and bump yields, but also increase profitability, a U.S. farmer told farm show delegates in San Antonio. Jamie Scott was part of a panel at the 2014 Commodity Classic this past February. Scott uses cover crops on his Indiana farm and coordinates the seeding of cover crops on another 100,000 […] Read more

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