Reading Time: 5 minutes Alberta producers say compost is reducing their dependence on synthetic fertilizer while improving soil resilience.
Alberta farmers cut fertilizer costs by turning to compost
Producers at an Alberta Living Lab webinar say compost builds soil health, cuts input costs and keeps nutrients out of landfills
Federal government funds Quebec organic fertilizer company
Québec-based Solugen, which makes organic nitrogen fertilizer from hog manure, has recieved $20 million in federal funding.
Digestate can now be stored and applied as an organic fertilizer
Offers a lower-cost nutrient feedstock for organic producers, says Alberta Agriculture
Reading Time: 3 minutes Amendments to Alberta’s Agricultural Operation Practices Act (AOPA) now permit digestate and “select organic material” from non-agricultural businesses to be stored or composted in manure storage facilities before being applied to land.
More precious than gold
Manure could boom when industry outgrows commercial fertilizer
Reading Time: 4 minutes When commercial fertilizers no longer meet the needs of the world’s farmers, the value of manure will grow, says Alberta Farmer columnist Brenda Schoepp.
U of M study looks into sources of water nutrient loads
Soil and vegetation may play a larger role in excess nutrient runoff
Reading Time: 3 minutes A new study is giving more insight into where nutrients running off into Prairie waterways are coming from — and pasture manure may not be the biggest culprit. The study, led by soil scientist David Lobb and Marcos Cordeiro of the University of Manitoba’s department of animal science, sought to model nitrogen and phosphorus levels in […] Read more
Winter manure management
Reading Time: < 1 minute Preparing for winter manure spreading, even if it is not needed, will save time, money and stress if the need arises. Trevor Wallace, provincial nutrient management specialist with the Alberta government, says extreme weather events, full manure storages, delayed harvest or contractor availability may be some of the most common reasons a farm operator may […] Read more
Schoepp: Misconceptions about manure fly in face of common sense
It is a valuable commodity and using it as an energy source offers a host of benefits
Reading Time: 3 minutes Last month, the Guardian had an article on biogas titled ‘Brown gold: The great American manure rush begins.’ It seems I am not the only one to believe our regenerative future rests in water and manure. The story was about California dairy farmers entering into long-term contracts to sell their manure to the energy industry […] Read more
Venture capitalists urged to check out Alberta ag tech
Hempalta and Livestock Water Recycling are two companies featured on influential Top 50 list
Reading Time: 3 minutes Two Alberta companies — one making hemp products and the other recycling livestock manure — are among the most investable clean tech ventures in the country. Hempalta Inc. and Livestock Water Recycling, both headquartered in Calgary, are two of eight ag-focused technology companies on the 2022 Foresight 50 list. The list is compiled annually by […] Read more
Canada launches offset credits to help tackle emissions
Landfill gas protocols now launched; ag-related protocols soon to follow
Reuters — Canada on Wednesday launched a credit system for greenhouse gas offsets, a major part of its plan to cut carbon emissions, starting with a set of rules stipulating how projects can generate tradeable credits by capturing gas from landfills. The government said protocols for four other sectors including agriculture and forest management are […] Read more
No poop for you: Manure supplies run short as fertilizer prices soar
Ontario honeywagon maker all sold out
Chicago | Reuters — For nearly two decades, Abe Sandquist has used every marketing tool he can think of to sell the back end of a cow. Poop, after all, needs to go somewhere. The Midwestern entrepreneur has worked hard to woo farmers on its benefits for their crops. Now, facing a global shortage of […] Read more