Reading Time: 5 minutes While there may be short-term costs of improving soil health through longer rotations, the past growing season in Ontario has demonstrated that they can be a good investment. “It’s one of those messages — especially in a year like 2022 — where there are growing seasons that bring it to the fore,” says Jake Munroe, […] Read more
Longer crop rotations can pay
The past season illustrated the benefits of building resilience through diversity
An ounce (or more) of prevention…
Preparation is the best strategy for reducing the effects of climate change on agriculture
Reading Time: 5 minutes A growing contingent from research, agronomy and extension insists that rather than waiting for climate change to happen, agriculture should begin preparing for any contingencies of extreme weather now. The list of stakeholders is extensive, from university researchers, plant breeders, meteorologists to land-use planners, government bureaucrats, entomologists and plant pathologists. Some are interested in breeding […] Read more
Feds open up consultations for sustainable ag strategy
Producer groups to have reps on advisory committee
Reading Time: 3 minutes The federal government has enlisted farm groups on the ground floor of consultations toward development of a long-term strategy to “amplify” the adoption and use of sustainable practices in agriculture over the next year. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Dec. 12 announced the launch of public consultations on strategy development, running from now through March […] Read more
An alternative cover crop for soybeans
Broadcast rye provides more management options and improves soil health
Reading Time: 5 minutes Agriculture has its share of innovators who set their own pace and adopt practices that initially have others shaking their heads. But then the new practice works, and they’re happy to share their experiences. That applies to Reuben Stone. Operating a farm value-added business near Cobden, Ont., Stone grows several specialty crops, including Daikon radish, […] Read more
Strip till catching on
Residue management and improved soil health are among the benefits
Reading Time: 4 minutes In theory, strip till should boost yields, especially in corn, where the practice is most usually used. Clearing residue from a seed zone and berming the soil so it warms faster in preparation for spring planting sounds like an obvious benefit. More equipment manufacturers have adapted systems to enable “multitasking” such as combining strip till […] Read more
Indigo Ag to roll out first tranche of farm soil carbon credits
Reading Time: < 1 minute Chicago | Reuters – U.S. farm technology firm Indigo Agriculture on Wednesday said its carbon farming program has produced 20,000 tonnes in soil carbon credits that it will sell as emissions offsets to buyers including JPMorgan Chase JPM.N, Barclays BARC.L and The North Face. They are the first agricultural soil carbon credits to be verified […] Read more
Cereal crop characteristics seen as another biofumigation prospect
Buckwheat has been shown to suppress wireworm, and might also be a marketable crop
Reading Time: 4 minutes Chemical controls have reached a point where “more of the same” may not work, so the search is on for new or alternative methods. If you want to control wireworms, one of those methods might be buckwheat. It’s an approach discovered by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada researchers on Prince Edward Island, where Christine Noronha and […] Read more
More biologicals for pest control on the way
Herbicides are a challenge, but non-chemical insecticides and fungicides may be a cheaper and quicker solution
Reading Time: 4 minutes Whether the problem was weeds, insects or diseases, for the past several decades the solution has usually been a chemical one. But with growing problems of resistance and customer opposition to chemicals, researchers and manufacturers are turning their attention to biological solutions. It’s not as though biologicals are new. For decades, growers have been using […] Read more
P.E.I. seed potato producers backed for ‘soil-building’
Province puts up $3 million for BMP program
Reading Time: 2 minutes In an attempt to support its potato farmers following trade suspensions with the U.S. over potato wart, the government of Prince Edward Island plans to put up $3 million in new funding for a program that will help farmers shift to “soil-building crops.” “In our meetings with industry and the P.E.I. Potato Board, the need […] Read more
Soybeans early signal of soil issues
Most affected spots frequently in high-traffic areas in fields
Reading Time: 4 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – It was just over 10 years ago that Marla Riekman started getting the phone calls on a new soil issue. The provincial soil specialist with Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development suddenly started to hear from growers in the Red River Valley who were alarmed at the appearance of salinity in places they’d never seen it […] Read more
A message from April Stewart, Country Guide's Associate Editor
