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Tag Archives sustainable agriculture

One of the Brown Bear Manufacturing front-mounted compost turner/aerators.
Cattleman’s Corner, Livestock

Composting is a manure-handling option

Reduces volume, conserves nitrogen and increases soil organic matter

By
A few years ago I was introduced to composting, the process of using the billions of bacteria around us to convert raw organic mixtures to soil. Advice I have received says the organic matter needs a 20:1 (optimum) carbon-to-nitrogen ratio. Compost can be made with as low as 17:1 and as high as 27:1, but […] Read more
This soil is repairing and building, and looks like cottage cheese.
Crops, Features

Balancing the soil biology

Helping Mother Nature with the fungi:bacteria ratio can keep our soils more productive

By
Soil health. Sounds like a good target we should be aiming at. Where do we start? What do we measure? How do we know when we get there? The first thing we need to find out is where are we? Nicole Masers is an agro-ecologist with Integrity Soils. For her three-day course in regenerative soil […] Read more
Columns, Crops

Highlights from the Crop Production Show

Annual farm shows are a chance to catch up — with friends and technology


By
Early January is a special time for me. In Saskatoon we are favoured with the Crop Production Show and Crop Week. The Show has exhibitors showing the latest in big and fancy equipment and all manner of crop inputs and advisers. Crop Week is the annual meetings of farm groups and commissions with speakers on […] Read more
Derek and Tannis Axten with their children Kate, 13, and Brock, 11, know if they look after the soil it will produce.
Crops, Features

Canada’s OYF: Nominees from Saskatchewan

Derek and Tannis Axten focus on encouraging soil biology

By
Daring to be different may enrich your spirit, but it can also leave you cash poor. If you’re Derek and Tannis Axten, however, you wind up having your fungicide-free cake and eating it too. While the 2017 Outstanding Young Farmer (OYF) Award winners for Saskatchewan began their farming career on a well-trodden path, the route […] Read more
Farming through the drought cycles
Columns, Crops

Farming through the drought cycles

Soils and Crops: Even with modern ag technology, we’re still reliant on rain or soil moisture

By
As the combines started to roll this fall, many were very surprised at how hard the truckers had to work. While not a barn burner, the 2017 crop will go in the books for many as good, and considering the lack of rainfall some will say it is great. We all like to point out […] Read more
Farm it like you’re ‘just’ renting it?
Features

Farm it like you’re ‘just’ renting it?

Do farmers look after rented farmland differently than land they own? Should they?

By
We’ve all heard the term “drive it like a rental” but could that also apply to farmland? Is a farmer more likely to use conservation practices like no-till or variable rate technology, or apply more fertilizer and/or manure to improve the fertility on land he or she owns than on rented land? In April 2013, […] Read more
Blackleg in canola.
Crops, Features

Helping our plants to help themselves

One day, farmers may be able to use natural products to fight blackleg and other diseases

By
New research that could lead to a biological alternative to chemical fungicides began with work into food safety. “We were interested in whether food-fermenting lactobacilli would produce molecules that prevent fungal growth,” says Dr. Michael Gaenzle, who is leading the research into antifungal lipids at the University of Alberta. Gaenzle’s team came across some molecules […] Read more
This grass cage with rain gauge is on a multi-species pasture with 
three species of legumes and three grass species.
Cattleman’s Corner, Forages, Livestock

Multi-benefits of multi-species pastures

Collecting plenty of solar rays above ground benefits soil health below ground

By
I am a big fan of diversity in both perennial and annual grazing situations. In some ways multiple species are more difficult to manage than less-diverse plant communities. In a multi-species scenario every action and in particular its timing will favour one species over another and shift the balance of power in the pasture. The […] Read more
Lentils
Crops, Features

Should you be planting green manure?

Researchers see planting and terminating ‘green manure’ as an alternative to summerfallow

By
Researchers at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada as well as the Saskatchewan Ministry of Agriculture have published two recent studies about the effects of green manure on farmland in the Prairies. In one study specifically, the researchers looked at using green manure as an alternative to summerfallowing. Green manure “is a crop that is specifically planted in order to be terminated, […] Read more
Kevin Elmy of Saltcoats, Sask., uses a wide variety of plant species in his cover crop mix.
Columns, Crops

Planning fertilizer for forage crops

Some food for thought on fertilization to establish forage crops in your fields

By
Forage crops are sometimes treated as the neglected child. Once it is established, come along with a haybine if there is enough rain to make a crop. If it continues to rain after the bales are off maybe even come in to get a small second cut. Grass hay crops are often left to wither […] Read more

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