Taking representative soil samples, choosing the right depths, and analyzing key nutrients can improve fertilizer planning and crop performance on western Canadian farms.
Tag Archives soil testing
Soil sampling for Prairie farmers: How to test for nutrients and avoid common mistakes
Agronomy Management: Take representative soil samples, choose the right depths, analyze key nutrients
Benchmarking soil health in Alberta
Researchers at the Chinook Applied Research Association’s Soil Health Lab have adapted a soil health assessment from Cornell University to evaluate Alberta soils
Part 2 of 2: New analyses provide test results with handy scores that assess soil using a simple format, and make it easy for Alberta farmers to spot where an intervention or practice change might have the biggest effect.
Measuring the components of healthy soil in Alberta
Part 1 of 2: Soil health more than just its chemical properties, according to the Alberta Soil Health Benchmark Report
The data Prairie farmers get from chemical analysis of soils are necessary to develop a field fertility program — but as an Alberta program shows, those data don’t tell the whole story needed to assess soil health.
Farmers weigh strategies to boost soils’ water-holding capacity
At Ag in Motion, experts discuss soil texture, organic matter and amendments
At Ag in Motion, experts share insights on soil texture, organic matter, cover crops and targeted amendments to help Prairie farmers conserve water and protect yields.
Why crops lodge: a crop-by-crop discussion
Practical Research: Stormy summer weather is one thing, but lodging in a moist, calm growing season is something else
Why would we have lodging of seemingly well-growing crops during grain formation in good moist growing seasons, in the absence of significant winds, but little or no lodging in dry or drought conditions?
Demystifying biological inputs
A new partnership brings science-based field data to ag input listings to help growers sort fact from fiction
Biome Makers’ BeCrop Trials system measures changes in the soil microbiome after a product is applied. While the AgList/Biome Makers badge doesn’t validate efficacy, it signals a product has been through third-party field trials.
Taking the mystery out of soil and tissue tests
Agronomists and soil scientists describe the differences between various tests
Soil tests assess the potential availability of nutrients under optimal conditions. In contrast, tissue tests indicate actual uptake under variable field conditions.
Soil health benchmarking survey in Alberta
Researchers at the Chinook Applied Research Association’s Soil Health Lab have adapted a soil health assessment from Cornell University to evaluate Alberta soils
Every farmer wants “healthy soil.” But what does that mean, and how do they know if they have it? “The first question I ask when I’m speaking to farmers is, ‘How many of you have done soil testing?’” says Yamily Zavala, PhD, soil health lab manager and soil health and crop management specialist at the […] Read more
Soil pH levels can help make seeding decisions
The pH scale is exponential, so small changes in pH mean big shifts in acidity or alkalinity
Small changes in pH reflect significant shifts in acidity or alkalinity due to the exponential nature of the scale.
Understanding phosphorus, part 3: Developing fertilizer recommendations
Agronomy Management: It’s important to have adequate P close to the seed during the first six weeks of growth
Part 3 of 3. Prairie farmers spend over $1 billion annually on phosphate fertilizer; these three articles will hopefully assist with a better understanding of how soil P functions in soil, soil testing for P and then how to develop wise phosphate fertilizer recommendations.
Cyber-Savvy Farmer
