soil Archives - Page 16 of 27

Warren Eilers, in a slough bottom with an EM38. This spot is flushed of almost all salts.

Horse pasture soil salinity: beware of new ground

Land has been left in grass for a reason. And sometimes this reason is salinity

By Les Henry May 30, 2018

In the mid to late 1970s soil salinity was the biggest issue on many Prairie farms. The hue and cry was that we would soon have little land left to farm. Some said salinity was increasing by 10 per cent per year but I never bought into that number. From 1975 to 1980 we held […] Read more

While some areas of the crop were coming up well, others had no germination or uneven emergence, as well as spots with stunted plant growth. Regions with lighter soils, such as hilltops, were more affected.

Canola, Crops, Features

Crop advisor casebook: Germination grief: What went wrong with Dave’s canola?

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the May 15, 2018 issue of Grainews

By Jarrod Fogal May 16, 2018

I’m certain it’s flea beetles,” said Dave, an Alberta producer I visited last June after he discovered his canola crop had emerged poorly. While some areas of the crop were coming up well, others had no germination or uneven emergence, as well as spots with stunted plant growth. Also, regions with lighter soils, such as […] Read more

This is what the asparagus patch looked like on October 10, 2017. Obviously still accessing enough water. It can root to 12 feet or more, so capillary rise from the water table is keeping it going.

Columns, Crops

Finally, the well went dry

Do you know where your water table is,  and what it will offer this year?

By Les Henry May 10, 2018

At my Dundurn farm I now have three years of records of the water table level in my asparagus crop in the yard and at two locations in the annual cropped field. Now, you may wonder why I would bother you with asparagus data. I use my asparagus patch as a surrogate for perennial forage […] Read more

The photo shows this old scribe in his young kid days giving advice to a farmer by phone — a very efficient way to do business back in the day when phones were answered. But, I was only able to help because the #12 Soils Map was right beside my phone. My first question was always, “Where are you from?” Then I could take a quick peek at the map and give a much better answer. Many thought I had the soils map in my head —  but now the truth comes out.

Columns, Crops

Precision ag Step 1: soil maps

The most important part of precision agriculture is the soil maps of your fields 

By Les Henry April 12, 2018

My first work on precision agriculture was actually in the 1960s and colleagues had been doing work on the idea before that. Back then it was all about identifying specific soil profile types in a field and trying to determine if their variable properties could be managed differently. Some things were clear: 1. Leached (white […] Read more

Machinery

Väderstad widens its planter line

Tempo L series now includes  an 18-row version

By Scott Garvey April 11, 2018

Väderstad has been increased the working widths of its Tempo L planter line to accommodate North American market demand. Now, it has added to the 12- and 16-row units currently available with the new Tempo L 18, 18-row model, which begins production in June. It can be configured to row spacing as narrow as 20 […] Read more

Crops

Four ways to increase your organic matter

By Kevin Elmy April 10, 2018

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

Crops, Wheat & Chaff

Soil temperature and crop emergence

Q & A with CPS

By Brianna Lummerding April 3, 2018

Q: What’s the impact of soil temperature on crop emergence? A: Seeding into warm soils ensures the best start for the crop. Proper crop emergence is the fundamental start to reaching the crop’s yield potential. Seeding into cold soils may result in slower emergence. This places crops at risk of infection by soil pathogens. Pathogens […] Read more

Crops

Six factors to consider if your soil moisture level is low

By Angela Lovell March 27, 2018

To date, all indications are pointing to a dry spring, given the below-average precipitation received in many areas of the Prairies this winter. There are exceptions to every rule of course, but a lot of farmers had relatively dry soils going into winter, so we asked some agronomists and provincial crop experts what factors could […] Read more

Crops, Wheat & Chaff

Water Use Efficiency (WUE) and your crop

Q & A with CPS

By Scott Anderson March 21, 2018

Q: While we have little control over available moisture for crop production, how can it impact the final result? What is meant by the term “Water Use Efficiency (WUE)?” A: When we consider inputs that are essential for crop growth we tend to think of fertility. However, there is one ingredient that every single cropping […] Read more

There’s a perception in the farming community that soil erosion and degradation are in the past, but that simply isn't the case.

Crops, Features, Soybeans

Don’t forget lessons of the Dirty 30s

Although there’s a perception that dust is past, tillage erosion is on the rise in Manitoba

By Julienne Isaacs March 19, 2018

It seemed like the beginning of the end of the world: friends and neighbours dying of “dust pneumonia” and massive dust storms sweeping the land. These are some of the recollections of people who were alive in the “Dirty 30s,” recorded for an oral history project by Daryl Ritchison, interim director of the North Dakota […] Read more

GFM Network News

Canadian agriculture must be seen as growth sector: Blois

Chicken, eggs benefit from demand for economical protein

Spain detects first swine fever cases outside initial Barcelona outbreak zone

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