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
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
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
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
We need to dig deep and better understand our soils
Healthy soil is our greatest asset, and farm practices focused on just the short term undermine our competitive advantage
Reading Time: 3 minutes I believe that at some point in history, we will fully appreciate and understand that healthy soil is our greatest competitive advantage and the most valuable asset on Earth. As agriculture is the foundation of all civilization, we cannot ignore the evolution of food production. We have gone from gathering food to industrialized agriculture and […] Read more
Boosting the bottom line through better pasture management
It’s about more sunlight, rain, and forage types — and never overgrazing
Reading Time: 3 minutes If farming these days is all about managing inputs, then grazing comes down to managing the land itself — the sunlight, water, minerals, and biodiversity that make pasture lands grow. “We can’t control the price of oil; we can’t control the cost of steel for making farming equipment; but we can manage and control these […] Read more
The downside of an option-to-purchase land agreement
This type of agreement doesn’t oblige an energy or utility company to buy the land
Reading Time: < 1 minute The Farmers’ Advocate Office has received numerous inquiries on option-to-purchase agreements between landowners and the energy and utility sectors. “It’s important that landowners are aware of the risks of option-to-purchase agreements,” said Jeana Les, research and communications specialist for the advocate office. “An option-to-purchase agreement locks a landowner into selling to a certain company at […] Read more
Fall is a good time to empty a catch basin
But take care not to overapply liquids on fields and cause run-off
Reading Time: < 1 minute Fall is an excellent time to empty a catch basin. “Maintaining an empty catch basin will help to reduce the risk of overflow next spring,” said Cody Metheral, a provincial extension specialist in confined feeding operations. “During pump-out, it is important to remember that overapplication of catch basin contents could result in run-off from the […] Read more
Crop 2015: Parched to soaked
From super dry to super wet — it’s been quite a year
Reading Time: 3 minutes It’s been anything but a normal year — and Justin Bell is just one of hundreds of Alberta farmers who can attest to that. The Rosebud producer was praying for rain in June and praying for it to stop in September. “We were ready to start on Sept. 7, but then we got two inches […] Read more
American farmland titan eyes Canada
Farmers National manages two million acres in the U.S.
Reading Time: 4 minutes One of America’s largest farm management and real estate brokerages has expanded into the Canadian Prairies — starting with Alberta. Through a joint partnership with Edmonton-based consulting firm Serecon, Farmers National Company is now “open for business” in Canada. “It seemed like the right fit for the right timing going into the Canadian market,” said […] Read more
Database for gauging soils available
Reading Time: < 1 minute Alberta Agriculture and Forestry’s Soil Information Viewer can help with an understanding of soils in the province. “The viewer accesses soil information stored in database tables called the Agricultural Regions of Alberta Soil Inventory Database,” said David Speiss, geographical information systems engineer. The online tool looks at the ability of Alberta soils to grow grains […] Read more
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