Reading Time: 6 minutes In the midst of a renaissance in soil health, researchers, agronomists and extension personnel have been pushing the message that everything a grower does in a field is connected to everything else. Fertility is linked to planting depth, just as mycorrhizal fungi are connected to weed management. Nothing happens on its own without some effect […] Read more
New directions in cover crops
Today, factors like microbial interactions and soil quality are influencing choices and practices
Salty business
Canada might hope climate change will force Europe to import more food. European farmers say we shouldn’t hold our breath
Reading Time: 5 minutes Here in Canada, we’re used to talking about the rise in extreme weather that comes with climate change, and we debate how it will affect crop and livestock production. In Europe, the debate has another twist. There, farmers are also worried about rising ocean levels. Why? According to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) […] Read more
Call in a nurse. A “nurse” crop that is
A second crop planted along with potatoes protects the soil and boosts yields
Reading Time: 3 minutes Recent years have seen increased attention on the health of the soil used in potato production, and attempts to bring potatoes into longer rotations with other crops. In the Maritimes, seed companies are promoting soybeans or corn as rotational options and McCain has developed one- and two-year multi-species cover crop blends to help boost organic […] Read more
Timmerman trains the Tiger Hills of Treherne
A Manitoba farmer has seen major yield improvement by recapping his hills with topsoil from his lower land
Reading Time: 5 minutes Dallas Timmerman farms in the Tiger Hills around Treherne, Man., and sometimes those tigers need training. “We have a lot of hills and sometimes you need to be aggressive with them,” he says. Timmerman’s chair and whip are a Leon scraper and Versatile 4WD. He started training his hills over a decade ago, working on […] Read more
The next green revolution
In this Ontario lab, bacteria are working to drive nutrient uptake and accelerate crop growth
Reading Time: 4 minutes Scientists are delving deeper into the soil in hope of finding that next innovation to boost yields while enhancing soil health and reducing pollution concerns. And it seems they’re onto something. Or, better yet, some things. In particular, a scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) has looked inside decomposing corn roots in southern Ontario […] Read more
Putting a value on crop diversity
Economists and agronomists are getting together to compare the benefits of short and long rotations
Reading Time: 3 minutes Have you ever stared at your crop plan and wished that it didn’t rely so heavily on canola? Or wheat? Or peas? Or any crop that is too often called on for cash flow at the expense of proper rotation? Agronomists have been beating the drum of crop diversity for years and farmers understand that […] Read more
Field imagery much more just a pretty picture
Overhead imagery can transform how you farm, but it’s essential to choose the right technology — and commit to it
Reading Time: 8 minutes Precision agriculture has had a rough go since it was first conceptualized in the mid-1990s with the advent of the yield monitor. At that point, “variable rate” became part of agriculture’s vocabulary, followed by zone mapping, aerial imagery and a growing list of technologies now available to growers. Yet there’s still reluctance to rely too […] Read more
Finding the value of cover crops for Western Canada
Cover crops are now standard practice farther south in the U.S., but do they have the same results on the shorter-season Prairies?
Reading Time: 3 minutes When Yvonne Lawley wrote her research proposal for a study of cover crops, she was specific about the wording of the title: Testing the cover crop hypothesis across Prairie Canada. It’s the word “hypothesis” that grabs you. What could be theoretical about cover crops? Some farmers have been using them for decades to help build […] Read more
Conservation tillage driving Brazil’s corn and soybean explosion
No-till farm group says no-till is the key to long-term sustainable agriculture
Reading Time: 4 minutes Crop production in Brazil has made dramatic gains in recent decades — and there’s potential for plenty more, say advocates of no till and conservation tillage in the country. In fact, members of the Brazilian Federation of No-Till Farming say no till is the key to achieving a long-term sustainable agriculture without additional deforestation. Soybean […] Read more
Zone-by-zone nitrogen application may not pay
A three-year study finds surprisingly little response to extra nitrogen in both high- and low-producing areas
Reading Time: 3 minutes A new Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada study suggests producers should take soil test nitrogen prescriptions by management zone with a grain of salt. They don’t necessarily reflect what researcher Alan Moulin calls the “supplying power” of the soil, and since fields vary, there’s no one-size-fits-all prescription to meet crop nutrient demands. This doesn’t mean producers […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
