Reading Time: 5 minutes We need to hit the “easy button” on variable rate fertilizer and move away from the default blanket application. But for that to happen, the variable rate (VR) system must become as seamless and easy as the blanket application. And more profitable. One can envision an on-the-go system like optical weed spraying, except in this […] Read more
The slow evolution toward real-time variable rate fertilizer
Variable rate fertilizer to apply the best rate for each acre has merit, but the cost and the hassle to make it work does not appeal to many farmers. The return does not seem to justify the work required. Can we change that with a real-time on-the-go system?
Off the ‘slightly muddier’ beaten path at Discovery Farm
Reading Time: < 1 minute The "Off the Beaten Path" demonstration tour presented by BMO at the Ag in Motion farm show July 16-18, highlighted the multi-year research underway by several companies at the 610-acre site, with the improved moisture levels in 2024 helping provide new data for the ongoing projects.
Prairie soil scientist and author Les Henry, 83
Henry's outreach to farmers spanned more than half a century
Reading Time: 2 minutes Glacier FarmMedia — Saskatchewan soil scientist Les Henry, well known for his work on improving Prairie farmland and his outreach to Prairie farmers in the pages of Grainews, has died. Ending a long fight with congestive heart failure, Henry died Friday in Saskatoon at age 83, having continued to write until very shortly before his […] Read more
Soil should be a strategic national asset: Senate committee
The two-year study of Canada’s soils is now complete and recognizes that while conservation efforts over recent decades have been tremendous there is still more to be done
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Critical Ground: Why Soil is Essential to Canada’s Economic, Environmental, Human and Social Health report said Canada requires an overarching strategy to collect better data. It says a national soils institute database that shares information with provinces, academics and producers should be established.
Organic farmers invited to soil health benchmarking study
Reading Time: < 1 minute Organic farmers across the country are invited to measure the benefits of soil management practices on their farms as part of a study led by Prairie organic organizations.
At Ag in Motion: New ‘Soil Champions’ team to promote soil health
'Societies live and die by soil'
Reading Time: < 1 minute A new group of “Soil Champions” has been formed to promote the benefits of soil health. This new committee — announced Wednesday at the Ag in Motion farm show at Langham, Sask. — will work to ensure the care and protection of Canada’s agricultural soil through education, knowledge transfer, forums for collaboration and other activities. […] Read more
A potato producer’s commitment to change
Embracing soil health and new technologies helped Peter VanderZaag build a successful potato business. Like most farmers these days, he’s faced with having to do more with less
Reading Time: 4 minutes Every farmer knows that change is inevitable. New markets beckon, new technologies emerge, end-user tastes, preferences and opportunities shift, and it’s often the primary producer who’s one of the first to react. Peter VanderZaag has spent much of his farming career investing wisely in new equipment, securing contracts and growing his Sunrise Potato Storage business […] Read more
Sampling plant tissue for a mid-season boost
Precision ag technology provides an opportunity to determine if applications are effective
Reading Time: 5 minutes Growers are challenged to achieve the highest yields with the least inputs, and more agronomists, advisors, technicians and researchers are interested helping them focus on specific soil and plant needs such as what macronutrients and micronutrients are needed, and when and where is best to use them. The 2022 growing season was the first year […] Read more
Beyond N, P and K fertilizer
A Saskatchewan-developed system will give an overall score for soil health
Reading Time: 3 minutes What do soil-health testing systems have in common? Obvious answers aside, most weren’t developed in — or for — the Canadian Prairies. Two University of Saskatchewan researchers aim to change that with the first Saskatchewan-based soil health scoring framework. “Soil health is defined as the capacity of the soil to function,” says Qianyi (Athena) Wu, […] Read more
Multi-million-dollar fund greenlights soil health projects
Eight projects to push soil health practices will get funding for the next five years
Reading Time: 2 minutes Eight soil health projects across Canada will be getting a multi-million-dollar boost in private funding over the next five years. The Weston Family Foundation — the philanthropic arm of the Weston business empire — has slated $10 million for those eight projects through the organization’s soil health initiative, it was announced Feb. 13. The initiative […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
