Not only are there environmental benefits to improved soil biology, but there are economic incentives as well, says a farmer from Ohio who spoke about cover crops and a systems approach to microbiology at the SoilSmart conference in Waterloo, Ont., in late January. Jeff Rasawehr joined Bernard Tobin to discuss six steps for establishing healthy... Read More
Category: Soil
A joint federal-provincial funding announcement has pledged $250,000 in research funding and $969,000 for equipment for a Manitoba lab aimed at identifying and addressing problems caused by canola diseases and pests. Research funding is provided under Growing Forward 2 - Growing Actions and will be used to take samples from across the province to determine... Read More
The Saskatchewan Forage Council (SFC) recently completed a study to investigate the status of trace mineral across the province. Pastures were sampled in 2012 and 2013, looking at four soil zones and various forage species in spring and fall. In general, the study found copper and zinc decreased from spring to fall, while iron, manganese... Read More
Concerned about soil compaction? You’re not alone. Soil structure and health is increasingly on farmers’ radars for very good reason — the more researchers uncover about soil, the more links we have connecting soil quality to everything from crop yield, to nutrient run-off risks and erosion problems. The unfortunate thing about compaction, says Jodi DeJong-Hughes,... Read More
Want to do a health check up on your topsoil, but not a soil expert? Easy! Get digging in the fence row or nearby woodlot for a good gauge on how different the fields are from what they were before being farmed. Anne Verhallen, soil management specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and... Read More
If you've noticed soil getting a whole lot more attention lately, it's for good reason. Not only are scientists beginning to unlock many of the mysteries of what lies beneath, but agriculture has also started to wake up to the importance and potential of soil management on yield. Farmers have always known that soil is... Read More
The first thing Jeff Schoenau likes to do when assessing soil is dig. Schoenau is Ministry of Agriculture Strategic Research Chair and professor at the University of Saskatchewan and he believes digging a soil pit can give a good indication of the vertical distribution of nutrients in a given area. But, as tiring as digging... Read More
The soybean harvest is likely behind by about two weeks for much of Ontario and parts of the U.S. For those who may want to get wheat or cover crops in, time is of the essence, and that can mean that waiting for ideal soil conditions before planting or working the ground doesn't happen. But... Read More
A staggering 80% of contaminants found in water bodies trace back to on-farm activities, according to government figures. Similar concerns in the United Kingdom have meant the early adoption of biobeds, contained areas specifically intended to capture and degrade pesticides. “We can take a lot from the existing models in Europe, but we have to... Read More
Can deep-tilling soybean residue be justified? A researcher from the University of Manitoba is looking at whether tillage practices need to change as farmers in Western Canada grow more soybeans. Despite leaving less plant matter behind than most crops, it's not uncommon to see soybean ground cultivated to leave a dark surface that warms up... Read More