Reading Time: 4 minutes Being a pioneer isn’t easy, but sometimes it can pay off. Or at least that’s what John Kolk hopes. Over the past few years the southern Alberta farmer has been using strip tillage on row crops such as dry beans, corn and soybeans. Although the system hasn’t been a big earner in terms of dollars […] Read more
STRIP TILL: It’s new, it’s tricky and you can’t ask the neighbours for advice
On paper, strip-till is an excellent way to reduce erosion and improve soil health, but there’s a learning curve
Multi-million-dollar fund greenlights soil health projects
Eight projects to push soil health practices will get funding for the next five years
Eight soil health projects across Canada will be getting a multi-million-dollar boost in private funding over the next five years. The Weston Family Foundation — the philanthropic arm of the Weston business empire — has slated $10 million for those eight projects through the organization’s soil health initiative, it was announced Feb. 13. The initiative […] 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
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
Feds open up consultations for sustainable ag strategy
Producer groups to have reps on advisory committee
The federal government has enlisted farm groups on the ground floor of consultations toward development of a long-term strategy to “amplify” the adoption and use of sustainable practices in agriculture over the next year. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Dec. 12 announced the launch of public consultations on strategy development, running from now through March […] Read more
Regenerative agriculture is all the rage, but what is it exactly?
There’s no simple answer, but experts say soil health is at the heart of this approach
Reading Time: 4 minutes It seems as though everyone is talking about regenerative agriculture these days. But nailing down exactly what it is can be a challenge. “I completely agree that there are a lot of issues with being able to define what regenerative agriculture is,” said Kris Nichols, a Calgary soil microbiologist and well-known expert on soil health. […] Read more
Should soil organic matter be a factor in insurance premiums?
Research, including a study here, has found higher organic matter reduces drought impact
Reading Time: 4 minutes Farmers may one day see lower crop insurance premiums if they have high levels of organic matter in their soil. A study by the Agriculture Financial Services Corporation found that farms with higher soil organic matter have better yields and lower crop insurance claims. In the region between Edmonton and Red Deer, AFSC researchers divided fields according […] Read more
GETTING THE DIRT ON DIRT: Big hopes for soil database app
U of A researcher wants app to be ‘soil carbon central’ for producers and carbon credit market
Reading Time: 3 minutes There’s no easy way to know whether management practices are putting carbon back into the soil, or how much. But Alberta producers may soon have an app that measures soil carbon, shows what management practices work best in their area, and allows them to trade carbon credits with high emitters. “Theoretically the app would help […] Read more
N may be making your soils more acidic
N fertilizer changes the soil microbiology and that affects how tightly phosphorus is bound
Reading Time: 3 minutes The Prairies have millions of acres of acidic soils, which can cause a host of problems, so no producer wants to make it worse. But many say nitrogen fertilizer does just that, so an expert with Agriculture Canada is trying to find out if that’s true and if so, to put some numbers on the […] 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
Indigo Ag to roll out first tranche of farm soil carbon credits
Chicago | Reuters – U.S. farm technology firm Indigo Agriculture on Wednesday said its carbon farming program has produced 20,000 tonnes in soil carbon credits that it will sell as emissions offsets to buyers including JPMorgan Chase JPM.N, Barclays BARC.L and The North Face. They are the first agricultural soil carbon credits to be verified […] Read more
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