Reading Time: 2 minutes If you want to make your soil better, you need to start with earthworms. Healthy soils have strong earthworm populations and you can gauge their numbers by the presence of middens, little piles of residue, says Quebec researcher Odette Menard. “When I see a lot of middens, I know it’s a healthy field. If I […] Read more
Humble earthworms are a benefit to your soil
Earthworm activity can make your soil a better place
Funding available for swine biocontainment plans
Alberta Pork’s biocontainment plan will help the swine industry control disease in an outbreak situation
Reading Time: 3 minutes To minimize the impact of serious disease on the swine industry, Alberta Pork has a new biocontainment plan that is available for all swine producers. The biocontainment program was launched in conjunction with Growing Forward 2 last month and provides Alberta swine producers with $600 to develop a biocontainment plan with the help of their […] Read more
Pig producers warned to be on the lookout
Seneca Valley virus is a concern because its symptoms are the same as those for foot-and-mouth
Reading Time: 2 minutes If you see blisters around the mouth, hoof, or nose of your pigs, you need to call your veterinarian immediately. Seneca Valley virus, which causes these blisters, is a swine disease that has recently become more prevalent in the U.S. “Seneca Valley virus is a concern because you can’t distinguish it from the really scary […] Read more
Say hello to the creatures that live in your soil
There are just four basic types of soil organisms, but the diversity and sheer numbers of them are breathtakingly large
Reading Time: 3 minutes When you’re standing on your land, you’re atop an ecosystem with a diversity rivalling that of a coral reef. “Soil organisms are abundant and varied — you can find anywhere from 100 to 100,000 individuals in a single square metre of soil,” soil ecologist Jeff Battigelli told attendees at the recent Western Canada Soil Health […] Read more
What happens above changes the world below
Tilling, spraying, fertilizing, and even grazing can have big impacts on the microbial world
Reading Time: 2 minutes Many conventional agricultural practices generate a homogenous soil habitat — and that’s not a good thing, says soil ecologist Jeff Battigelli. “Basically, you just keep knocking things down. It’s not allowed to get very complex; there is a simplified community structure, with very few species,” said Battigelli. Homogenous soils need constant human intervention and resources […] Read more
Living large — and eating only local — in a land of bounty
It’s a huge shift to eat only foods produced in Alberta, but the members of the Ruzicka family consider themselves ‘so lucky’
Reading Time: 3 minutes In a season where most people spend more, the Ruzicka family is learning to live with less. Shannon and Danny Ruzicka and children Madalynne, Joshua and Molly have been living on local foods since August. “Our experiment is to live off the Albertan land for a year — we live off what we grow, raise […] Read more
International Year of Soils ends with a bang in Alberta
Attendees at sold-out conference say it was a thrill to gather with people who ‘get’ soil health
Reading Time: 3 minutes If the International Year of Soils didn’t seem like a big deal — then you weren’t at the Western Canada Conference On Soil Health earlier this month. That is, if you could get in. “We originally planned for 250 people, and we had room for 300,” said conference co-chair Tom Fromme. “The facility was able […] Read more
Team Canada a hit with foreign wheat buyers
Buyers want to know about this year’s crop, talk about what matters most to them, and get to know the farmers who grow the wheat
Reading Time: 4 minutes It was a whirlwind visit — seven Asian nations in just 18 days — and an eye-opener for Willingdon farmer Greg Porozni. “It was a gruelling trip, but it was good,” Porozni said after his recent Team Canada mission. “All we did was travel and present and we kept moving.” The chair of Cereals Canada […] Read more
Composting fastest and cheapest way to deal with deadstock
Reading Time: 2 minutes One of the fastest and cheapest ways to dispose of deadstock is to compost them — and you can even do it in winter. “As soon as your compost heats up to 40 C, it doesn’t smell like a carcass anymore… it’s not,” said Kim Stanford, a beef research scientist with Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. […] Read more
Sheep producers wanted as demand for lamb outstrips supply
Canada already imports 60 per cent of its lamb but consumers will pay more for local lamb
Reading Time: 3 minutes The want ad isn’t officially posted, but the notice is given: There’s a “great opportunity” for Albertans interested in becoming sheep producers. “Right now, we only produce 40 per cent of the demand for lamb in Canada — there’s a huge market there,” said Lorna Gibson, a sheep producer from Tees. “There’s a real demand […] Read more
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