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An example of a cover crop seed mixture in the U.S., where some producers are using cocktails of 20 or more species. However the U of M’s Yvonne Lawley warns about brassicas such as tillage radish, which might contribute to diseases including clubroot in canola.
Crops

Season too short for cover crops? Maybe not

They could have a fit for Western Canada, but they require just as much planning as any other crop choice

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Reading Time: 5 minutes Open just about any U.S. farming publication and you won’t read for long before seeing the words “cover crop.” There’s been an explosion of interest in the practice of sowing a cheap mixture of seed to cover the soil after harvest, and then seeding directly into it the following year. The benefits go beyond soil […] Read more
The Breton Classical Plots were established in 1930, just east of the town of Breton and 100 km southwest of Edmonton.
Cereals, Crops

Some old ways aren’t better, but…

Long-term rotation study underlines that summerfallow harms soil health, but the old mixed farming model looks pretty good

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Reading Time: 4 minutes You might think that a long-term crop test might mean five years. A decade would be remarkable. But what could plots tell you about soil health if they’ve been going on for 87 years? They would tell you that Prairie farmers were right to stop keeping fields in fallow as part of a rotation and […] Read more
Matthias Stettler.
Crops, News

VIDEO: Taking action on soil compaction

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Reading Time: < 1 minute Swiss researcher Matthias Stettler set up his soil compaction sensors for a unique live show for farmers at the recent Compaction Action field day in Ontario. In this video Stettler talks about the impact of compaction and some of the options producers have to help counteract it.
Bob Sandford of the United Nations University says agriculture productivity needs to be increased, but with limited impact on earth systems. (John Greig photo)
Crops, Weather

Canada’s soils still degrading, albeit more slowly

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Reading Time: 4 minutes The rate of degradation of soils in Canada has slowed, but it still is happening at a significant rate and there is still a lot to learn. There are no soil-perfect systems yet for crop production, attendees at the Summit on Canadian Soil Health held recently in Guelph heard repeatedly. No-till farming has declined in […] Read more
Manitoba Agriculture soil specialist is working with a Canadian Foodgrains Bank conservation agriculture (CA) project in Kenya. The hand at top is holding soil from a CA field while the soil in hand at bottom is from a non-CA field immediately adjacent. The CA field has been in CA practice for three years, or six cropping cycles. The CA soil has more aggregation and is darker, indicating more organic matter.
Crops

Going beyond NPK in your fertilizer program

New tests get closer to helping producers build soil health

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Reading Time: 5 minutes What’s involved in a soil health assessment? And what makes soil “healthy” in the first place? Researchers at the Chinook Applied Research Association (CARA) in Oyen, Alta., are keen to answer these questions for western Canadian producers. The association is launching a new lab in the CARA facilities that will collect and analyze soil samples […] Read more
The use of cover crops such as radish has spread rapidly in Ontario in the past five years. Ontario’s environmental commissioner wants to see that continue. (John Greig photo)
Crops

OMAFRA seen needing a soil health ‘tuneup’

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Reading Time: 3 minutes Ontario’s environmental commissioner is calling on the provincial ag ministry to rebuild its soil health expertise and find ways to encourage farmers to adopt soil-friendly production practices, to deal with what she calls a “catastrophic” loss in soil organic matter levels. The report recommends better soil carbon level monitoring and 10-year programs to financially encourage […] Read more
The project may look simple from above ground, but underground many sensors and scales take complex soil measures.
Crops

Soil health sensor project largest in North America

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Reading Time: 3 minutes A new $2-million soil health research project aims to figure out the impact of different cropping systems on the environment. Research will also be conducted on crop productivity relating to soil health. The result should be new knowledge on productivity of traditional cropping systems versus those with cover crops. The project, at the new Soil […] Read more
The SoilOne Report adds the means to determine biological activity in soil and to relate that to physical and chemical components.
Crops

Getting down to biology

Finally there may be a soil test to help you see your soil the way that your crop’s roots see it

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Reading Time: 8 minutes Soil health is on everyone’s mind these days. Perhaps it’s tied to volatility in the commodity markets, or to the risk of consumer and government scrutiny. Or maybe more growers are interested in “doing things right.” No matter the cause, there’s a long list of farm professionals welcoming the trend with open arms. “Ultimately, the […] Read more
Tile drainage is an effective tool at managing water quality and subsequently improving management of soil health and related issues.
Crops, Production

Where water leaves the farm

Improve your productivity by starting where water leaves your farm, and then work backwards

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Reading Time: 4 minutes In the chase for higher yields and improved production, farmers have tapped into everything from precision ag systems to a return to cover crops. Now comes a concept that might not only boost yields and enhance soil health, it might also alleviate some of the pressure on farmers that starts with surface run-off heading into […] Read more

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