soil Archives - Page 6 of 27

Stuart Chutter, product coordinator for Alberta’s Agriculture Financial Services Corporation (AFSC), says research has shown the leading factor to reducing the risk of yield loss on the farm is high soil organic matter. One day, crop insurance rates may reflect that.

What’s the relationship between soil organic matter and crop insurance?

Adjusting insurance premiums based on soil quality factors is an idea now being discussed

By Lee Hart August 25, 2022

This is all just in the thinking stage right now, but the day may come when farms that can demonstrate production practices that maintain high levels of soil organic matter may qualify for reduced crop insurance premiums. It is a concept being pondered right now by Alberta’s crop insurance agency, the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation […] Read more

Maintaining and improving soil organic matter is vital to crop production and soil health. I consider the soil micro-organisms much like a feedlot — I have to think about feeding the soil biology.” – Tim Nerbas.

Crops

Sask. farmer’s soil health approach results in ‘soil armour’

Farmer Tim Nerbas protects his soil with a layer of organic material he calls “soil armour.” He says that and other conservation farming practices to improve soil health on his farm may take time — but it’s worth the wait

By Lee Hart August 23, 2022

Northwest Saskatchewan farmer Tim Nerbas knows if he does the best job of managing crop production above ground, it is probably providing the most benefit to all activity going on below ground. He doesn’t test to measure the amount of organic matter in the soil on his 4,000-acre grain, oilseed and pulse crop operation near […] Read more

This map shows the soil zones of the Canadian Prairies and the corresponding wheat yields and water use.

Columns, Crops

Les Henry: Palliser’s famous triangle and soil zones of the Prairie provinces

Let's get back to basics

By Les Henry August 17, 2022

The map, “Soil Zones of the Canadian Prairies,” in this article is the fold-out frontispiece of Henry’s Handbook of Soil and Water. The soil zones are actually soil climatic zones. The long-term climate is written in the topsoil of the various soil zones. The soil zones have been the framework within which agronomic recommendations have […] Read more

A field with the typical very red clay in Rollo Bay West, P.E.I.

Columns, Crops

Les Henry: Thank you to my readers

Your letters and book orders are excellent learning opportunities and inspiration for my scribbles

By Les Henry June 7, 2022

We have received many letters and book orders with kind words, which is a great inspiration to keep scribbling, but it’s often also a chance for learning. In today’s world, it is a simple matter to use Google Earth and take a flyover. In many cases, one can also drop down via street view and […] Read more

The plant species Arabidopsis thaliana is seen sprouting at a University of Florida laboratory in a small amount of lunar regolith — soil from the moon — on May 5, 2021. (Photo: Tyler Jones, UF/IFAS Lunar Plants Research Documentation/Handout via Reuters)

Crops, Reuters

In one giant leap for Earth plants, seeds are grown in moon soil

By Will Dunham, GFM Network News May 13, 2022

Washington | Reuters — Scientists for the first time have grown seeds in soil from the moon — samples retrieved during NASA missions in 1969 and 1972 — in an achievement that heralds the promise of using earthly plants to support human outposts on other worlds. Researchers said on Thursday they planted seeds of a […] Read more

File photo of a P.E.I. potato field against the backdrop of the Confederation Bridge. (Onepony/iStock/Getty Images)

Crops, Potatoes

P.E.I. table stock potato exports to U.S. now allowed

New U.S. order replaces previous requirements; seed potatoes still blocked

By Dave Bedard, GFM Network News April 2, 2022

Exports of Prince Edward Island table stock potatoes are again officially allowed to enter the mainland United States, after new U.S. entry rules regarding potato wart were published Friday. Canada’s federal Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau said on Twitter that officials with the Canadian Food Inspection Agency (CFIA) are now preparing to certify exports of eligible […] Read more

Columns, Crops

How to develop sulphur fertilizer recommendations

Here’s how to take samples, interpret soil test results and more

By Ross H. McKenzie March 10, 2022

In recent Grainews issues, I have discussed developing nitrogen (N), phosphorus (P) and potassium (K) fertilizer recommendations. I will continue with this theme and discuss developing sulphur (S) fertilizer recommendations in this column. Sulphur deficiency was first observed in Alberta more than 90 years ago on grey wooded soils. Over the past 30 years, sulphur […] Read more

Columns, Crops

Les Henry: A look at soil nitrate-nitrogen

Is there enough residual nitrate-nitrogen in the soil to feed 2022 crops?

By Les Henry February 28, 2022

The drought of 2021 and the poor crops as a result have left us wondering what residual nitrate-nitrogen might be present in the soil to feed the 2022 crops. Nitrate in the environment The first thing we must realize is nitrate in the environment is, for the most part, a function of human activity in […] Read more

An autosampler is one of the devices used to analyze soils.

Crops, News

Soil tests more valuable than ever

This is the year you might see a big payback from spring soil sampling

By Mark Halsall February 9, 2022

Oftentimes, finding the right formula for applying fertilizer can be a delicate balancing act for farmers. Apply too much or in the wrong place, you’ve wasted some money. Apply too little or not where it’ll benefit most, and you can lose money by failing to maximize your yield potential. And as soil fertility expert Don […] Read more

Manitoba Ag soil management specialist Marla Riekman says soil compaction can limit yields and have an indirect effect on crop development.

Crops, News

Soil compaction could squeeze your yields

A look at the direct and indirect effects of compaction in your fields

By Mark Halsall November 2, 2021

For years, soil compaction wasn’t something Jeff Hamblin gave a lot of thought to. The Manitoba producer had heard about how the seasonal freeze-thaw cycle in the Red River Valley and elsewhere in the Prairies acted to naturally alleviate farmland soil compaction, but it wasn’t until he started investigating some problem areas in his fields […] Read more

U.S. grains: Soybean futures edge up as Argentina ends export tax waiver

U.S. livestock: Hog futures hit contract high, herd falls short of estimates

Eastern wheat to be included in Cereals Canada’s harvest assessment

GFM Network News

U.S. grains: Soybean futures edge up as Argentina ends export tax waiver

U.S. livestock: Hog futures hit contract high, herd falls short of estimates

Eastern wheat to be included in Cereals Canada’s harvest assessment

Tag Archives soil

What’s the relationship between soil organic matter and crop insurance?

Sask. farmer’s soil health approach results in ‘soil armour’

Les Henry: Palliser’s famous triangle and soil zones of the Prairie provinces

Les Henry: Thank you to my readers

In one giant leap for Earth plants, seeds are grown in moon soil

P.E.I. table stock potato exports to U.S. now allowed

How to develop sulphur fertilizer recommendations

Les Henry: A look at soil nitrate-nitrogen

Soil tests more valuable than ever

Soil compaction could squeeze your yields

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