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soil
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Diagnosing your own sodic soils

Do you have sodic soils on your farm? Here's how to find out for sure

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Sodic soils have a high level of exchangeable sodium (Na+) which can have a negative effect on soil quality, crop growth and yield. These soils often develop on naturally occurring high-sodium glacial till parent materials. Soil enrichment of sodium by groundwater movement can also cause sodic soil development. Sodic soils often have very poor soil […] Read more
Buffer strips are not that efficient
Crops, Features

Buffer strips are not that efficient

Riparian buffer strips’ reputation for filtering nutrient runoff may be overblown

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Buffer strips around cropland are typically viewed as “filters,” taking up excess nutrients before they can reach waterways. Some provincial governments are considering legislation requiring farmers to leave buffer strips. However, new work from the University of Manitoba questions their effectiveness. Dr. David Lobb, senior research chair for the Watershed Systems Research Program and a […] Read more
Cutaway of Plant and Roots in Dirt
Crops, Features

Studying soil responses to sulphur

U of S researchers look at responses to sulphur fertilizer in different soil zones

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Will farmers see a yield bump from sulphur, given that most soils aren’t severely depleted? How tolerant are crops to sulphur fertilizer in the seed-row? How long does it take for plants to use sulphur? Those were a few of the questions Dr. Jeff Schoenau, University of Saskatchewan soil scientist, set out to answer at […] Read more
Tile drainage in progress south of Melfort, October 2014. The water table was high and tiles were running as soon as installed. The drain outlet is Melfort Creek. This project is on the Alan Hurd farm. Mark Gordon of Agri-Trend provided the soil EC mapping of the site and Stu Brandt of NARF (Northeast Agricultural Research Foundation) installed the observation wells and is monitoring the site.
Columns, Crops

Soil salinity: causes, cures, coping

After recent wet years, we’re seeing salinity again. Learn to cure it or cope with it

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A few years back we predicted that the super wet years would lead to a marked increase in soil salinity. It is now happening. In this piece I am not going to talk about Solonetzic soils or true Alkali (high pH , low salts) soils. I’m talking only about saline soils — soils that have […] Read more
soil
Columns, Crops

Diagnosing and managing acid soils

Acidic soils can restrict plant growth. Learn how to recognize and manage these soils on your farm

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Soils with a pH ranging between 6.0 and 8.0 are suitable for most crops on the Prairies. Soils with a pH range between 6.5 to 7.5 are considered to be near neutral. Soil pH between 6.0 to 5.6, 5.5 to 5.1 and < 5.0 are considered to be moderately acidic, strongly acidic and very strongly […] Read more
Farmers ahead of carbon curve
Crops, Features

Farmers ahead of carbon curve

Farmers practise soil management, and play an active part in carbon sequestration

By
Carbon sequestration” is a term with plenty of traction these days. Technically speaking, it refers to long-term storage of carbon dioxide or other forms of carbon to help mitigate the fallout from climate change — a subject that increasingly figures on Canada’s agendas. In agriculture, carbon sequestration finds a home in discussions about soil management […] Read more
Summer Landscape with a field of yellow flowers. Sunset
Canola, Wheat & Chaff

2015 weather affects 2016 agronomy

Agronomy tips... from the field

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Now that 2015 is pretty much under our belts, I think we can say, in general, that weather conditions got off to a fairly good start and then turned unusually dry for the balance of the season. And when the rains eventually did come, they came at the wrong time — creating challenging conditions at […] Read more
Zero tillage can increase P loss
Crops, Features

Zero tillage can increase P loss

Phosphorus can drain off the soil during snowmelt. Periodic tillage may reduce the losses

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The latest soil-management recommendation will come as a surprise: In some cases, producers should consider periodic tillage to reduce the risk of phosphorus (P) loss from conservation tillage systems. According to Don Flaten, a professor in the University of Manitoba’s Department of Soil Science, zero tillage actually increases P loading from soils to surface water […] Read more
Crops, Pulses

Manage root rot before seeding

Saskatchewan plant disease specialist recommends good agronomy to reduce root rot

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Lentil and pea growers struggling with root rot need to manage the disease before the seed is in the ground, according to Saskatchewan Agriculture’s plant disease specialist. Fusarium, pythium, and rhizoctonia are root rot pathogens long familiar to farmers. But aphanomyces is a relatively new problem, only detected in Saskatchewan in 2012. “It probably was […] Read more
Many wheat plants in Rodney’s field had turned pale green. The colouration wasn’t consistent throughout the fields and a regular pattern was evident.
Cereals, Crops

Crop Advisor’s Casebook: Paling wheat plants a puzzle

A Crop Advisor's Solution from the November 11, 2014 issue of Grainews

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Early one morning back in mid-June, Rodney came by my office to share his concerns about his wheat crop at his 4,500-acre mixed grain farm near Carrot River, Sask. His wheat fields had all displayed a lush green colour just a day or two earlier, but now the crop had taken a decided turn for […] Read more

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