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Tag Archives Soils and Crops

The famous Great Wall of China, near Beijing, September 1980. At that time, it was a pleasure to visit the Great Wall with a few locals — all still dressed in Mao suits. Any colour you want as long as it is blue or grey! Current pictures of the Great Wall are like looking inside a crowded subway train with “wall-to-wall” people. Pardon the pun. The Wall is actually many separate walls some of which date back about 2,500 years.
Columns

Les Henry: My 1980 visit to China and an outlook for China’s future

Forty years of change in China is nothing compared to the country’s long history

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China has been very much in the farm media in Western Canada in the past months. In September 1980 it was my good fortune to be part of a mission to China from Saskatchewan. Our team of four was charged with the task of determining the feasibility of establishing a dryland demonstration farm in China to display Saskatchewan […] Read more
This Google Earth image taken on August 23, 2015, shows the location of the three sloughs referenced in Table 1, as well as the fourth slough (dugout), referenced in Table 2.
Columns, Livestock

Les Henry: Is your slough water safe for cattle?

If you’re looking to sloughs for water, screen them with an EC meter to be safe 


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As the drought drags in many parts of the Prairies, there is great concern about crops. Many areas started the season with little subsoil moisture reserve and most areas have had too little rain. In some cases it is almost none — at my Dundurn farm, the total rainfall for the year to date as […] Read more
From left to right, these photos show plots were the water hardness is 120 ppm, 400 ppm, then 1200 ppm. Glyphosate has been applied at 2/3 of label rate. Water hardness can take the edge off weed control.
Columns, Crops

Les Henry: Water quality and herbicides

You know your herbicides. But what’s in the other 999 gallons you put in the tank?

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As we gear up to fill the sprayer and begin killing weeds maybe we should take another look at what is in the other 999 gallons in the sprayer. It is well known that the water should be clean with no silt or debris present, but this piece deals with the dissolved “goodies” you cannot […] Read more
There is much ado about warming that is going to fry our crops and leave us begging for a cold day. But, I have news for the global warmers. – Les Henry
Columns, Crops, Weather

Les Henry: CO2, global climate and crop yields

It’s not all bad news: research shows higher yields from higher levels of CO2

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About one year ago I began searching the scientific literature to determine the impact of increased carbon dioxide in our atmosphere on crop yields. It was a frustrating experience. Most of the articles seemed to have the pre-determined conclusion that CO2 was a villain rather than the major nutrient in all of our crops. A […] Read more
Anhydrous Ammonia tanks
Columns, Crops

Les Henry: Anhydrous ammonia and the 4Rs

Time to bring back what should be the cheapest form of nitrogen fertilizer

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Almost all farm press of late that talks about fertilizer use emphasizes the 4R concept. That means that we will take each nutrient and decide what is the “right” source to use, what is the “right” application rate, what is the “right” placement and what is the “right” time to apply that nutrient. The nutrient […] Read more
Les Henry: Mourning the loss of the International Plant Nutrition Institute
Columns, Crops

Les Henry: Mourning the loss of the International Plant Nutrition Institute

Information will be lost with the end of this valuable organization

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To my great disappointment I recently learned of the impending demise of the International Plant Nutrition Institute (IPNI), an organization funded by primary producers of fertilizer products. IPNI was involved in a wide array of activities to further the efficient and effective use of fertilizers to keep farms profitable and to feed the people of […] Read more
The profile shown here is of a black soil where moisture conditions were more favourable and the depths of topsoil were greater. Many of the thick black soils were able to accumulate that level of organic matter because they often have sub irrigation from high water tables.
Columns, Crops

Les Henry: Soils, grassland and bush

Manage your soils based on what’s going on underneath the soil

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I penned a piece with this same title in 1989. Since then, we have learned some new things about how grassland and bush soils function. In the old days the actual 35 mm slides of the soil profiles had to be sent by snail mail to Winnipeg and the captions were in the paper copy […] Read more
The pretty little slough, circled in red, on August 31, 2006.
Columns, Crops

Les Henry: A pretty little slough, a picture story

Sloughs are affected by the underground as well as surface features

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Be patient. This piece does have a punch line and it does relate to farming — but it comes at the end. Carry on and read. No peeking! In 2007 I was involved in a hydrogeology study of a new subdivision in southeast Saskatoon. The real work was done by an engineering firm who hired […] Read more
Columns, Crops

Les Henry: Peanut scrambles or problem solving?

We need agricultural research, but we also need to fund the right agricultural research

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The need for ongoing programs of agricultural research to keep our industry functioning and profitable is without question. But how it is organized, how the money is spent and on what basis the money is allocated needs some discussion. Recently I have spent some time perusing the websites of various agricultural research funding organizations — […] Read more
This graphic shows salty patches on my Blackstrap farm. The main actor is the aquifer underneath the water runways. 
A neighbour’s flowing well in a runway about a mile away is the evidence for the artesian condition.
Columns, Crops

Les Henry: How does ground get salty?

What causes salty ground, and a two-step process to fix the problem in your fields

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After scribbling for this many years, it is no surprise that I’ll repeat the same song several times. Perhaps if I sing the song in a different tune it will resonate with more people. Salty ground is one such topic and this time I’ll try a new approach. A few years back this column predicted […] Read more

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