Reading Time: 5 minutes Shorty Fensky first found his passion for soil health when he went to the 2015 Western Canada Conference on Soil Health. Seven years later, he was back – sharing that passion on a producer panel. “At the 2015 conference, the very first presenter was Dr. Yamily Zavala and her presentation was called ‘What is Soil […] Read more
At this sold-out conference, it’s the attendees who are the big draw
Networking is the first order of business for the 500 soil health devotees at the highly popular event
Take time to learn the ins and outs of grazing brassicas
Toxicity can be an issue, and so can fussy eating, but brassicas can benefit the soil and extend the grazing season
Reading Time: 4 minutes With their ability to suppress weeds and break up compacted soil, brassica plants have become widely known as a good cover crop option. Many producers graze their cover crops, but brassicas can also serve as a grazing crop. “The brassicas are super watery and highly digestible,” said Jillian Bainard, a forage research scientist at Ag […] Read more
Make environmental changes on your farm, but without the risk
OFCAF will cover up to 85 per cent of costs such as nitrogen management, rotational grazing and cover cropping
Reading Time: 3 minutes Producer applications are open for the On-farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF), a program that will offset a large portion of costs as farmers try a new management practice such as rotational grazing, cover cropping or nitrogen management. “This is a program that will deliver directly to the farm gate, so farmers will receive a direct […] Read more
Dairy farmers explore new path forward with cover crops
Taking the plunge can be scary but there are multiple benefits that can be gained, they say
Reading Time: 4 minutes Dairy farmers Dieter Gagelmans and Geoff Volkman decided to take the plunge into cover crops last year for a simple reason — to improve the farm’s productivity Gagelmans, originally from Belgium, is taking over Volkman’s farm in a non-familial succession. “I knew I was going to take on tremendous debt and the only way to […] Read more
Give cover crops a shot and have some fun, says soil health expert
Despite challenges in our climate, there are ways to profit from this much- discussed practice
Reading Time: 4 minutes Cover crops aren’t a magic bullet but they’re worth a try. That was the message an American expert delivered to a group of Alberta producers who considered whether the much-hyped soil health practice can work during the short growing season. “Cover crops don’t solve everything,” said soil scientist Abbey Wick. “It’s not all puppies and […] Read more
Incentives and research tempting more to try cover crops
Many farmers are interested in cover crops but don’t know if they will work ton the Prairies
Reading Time: 3 minutes Glacier FarmMedia – Regenerative ag advocates have an evocative term for ground cover: soil armour. It means crop residue or living plants that hold the soil together and protect it from erosion. The soil in many parts of Manitoba could’ve used some armour this spring, as heavy spring rains, strong winds and flooding have all […] Read more
German seed company buys Prairie forage seed firm
DSV to take up full control of Northstar Seed
A Prairie company producing and selling forage, turf and grass seed for international and domestic markets is set to be an early foothold for a German seed firm in North America. DSV (Deutsche Saatveredelung) announced last week it has reached a deal in early April to buy up all shares of Northstar Seed, which is […] Read more
Are cover crops a fit for Alberta conditions?
There are producers making it work here but they warn it’s not easy and comes with lots of unknowns
Reading Time: 5 minutes A decade ago, Brady Valgardson knew he had to do something about wind erosion on his farm. Cover cropping was the solution. “As we started doing that, I just read more and more about the benefits to the soil from those same cover crops, how they can hold on to your nutrients and improve water filtration,” […] Read more
Cover cropping program looks to encourage innovation
The program is quite flexible, says head of the provincial agency administering funding
Reading Time: 2 minutes The feds are putting up $33 million to encourage Alberta farmers to adopt three practices that can lower greenhouse gas emissions: rotational grazing, 4R fertilizer practices, and cover cropping. Alberta’s share of the $183-million On-Farm Climate Action Fund program is being administered by Results Driven Agriculture Research, the provincial research funding agency. Although details are […] Read more
U.S. farm co-op CHS to pay members to enrol in Bayer carbon farming program
Reuters – Agricultural seeds and chemicals supplier Bayer AG is expanding its carbon farming program to members of U.S. farm cooperative CHS Inc, boosting incentives for members to participate in the program, the companies said on Wednesday. The agreement will make it easier for CHS’s 75,000 farmer-members to enrol in Bayer’s Carbon Program, an early […] Read more
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