Reading Time: 4 minutes Nora Paulovich developed a passion for soil health during her years leading the North Peace Applied Research Association. Her legacy is that so many other Alberta farmers now share her belief that building soil health needs to be Job 1 on their farms. Cover crops, integrating livestock into crop production, and regenerative agriculture were among […] Read more
Research leader’s passion for soil health proves infectious
AGI to buy into soil microbe breeding firm
Machinery maker to take minority stake in MyLand
A U.S. company ramping up a system to harvest, reproduce and restore beneficial microbes from a field’s own soils, as a way to restore peak fertility, expects to get backing soon from a Canadian farm equipment maker. Winnipeg-based Ag Growth International (AGI) said Monday it has signed a conditional letter of intent with Phoenix-based MyLand […] Read more
Federal NDP introduces soil health bill
Proposal calls for a National Soil Health Advocate
The federal New Democrats propose to set up a plan they say could help build up Canadian agriculture from the ground down. The NDP’s agriculture critic, British Columbia MP Alistair MacGregor, on Monday introduced a private member’s bill in the Commons to create a national soil health strategy for Canada. The strategy as proposed in […] Read more
Improving soil is a long process involving lots of trial and error
Soil health principles are well known but putting them into practice takes time and patience
Reading Time: 4 minutes Everyone is in favour of improving soil health and there are a lot of recommended practices for doing that. But it’s when the rubber meets the road that things get complicated — and change takes time and patience. That was a major theme of Alberta producer Andy Kirschenman’s virtual presentation at the recent Farm Forum […] Read more
Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show looks to lock in land base
GFM plans to buy research land for eastern Discovery Farm
As Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show goes digital this week, its operator is preparing to secure its real-world footprint in southern Ontario and put that real estate to year-round work. Glacier FarmMedia and the Ontario government on Tuesday announced their intent to work toward a land deal with the Agricultural Research Institute of Ontario (ARIO), which […] Read more
Soil testing should be a cornerstone of your farm, says agronomist
Develop management zones, consider mobile nutrients, and don’t neglect phosphorus, says Matt Gosling
Reading Time: 4 minutes When you talk to Matt Gosling about soil — even if it’s over the phone — you can picture his eyes getting wider as his voice becomes more animated. He considers soil the cornerstone of crop agriculture: A living organism that is constantly shifting, changing and moving. By that logic, then, soil testing must be […] Read more
Everyone wants healthy soil… even if they can’t define it
Different farms have different needs, but all fall under the five principles for improving soil health
Reading Time: 2 minutes Soil health has been defined as “the continued capacity of soil to function as a vital living system, within ecosystem and land-use boundaries, to sustain biological productivity, maintain the quality of air and water environments, and promote plant, animal, and human health.” The challenge with this poetic definition is that, while it does describe the functional abilities […] Read more
Soil health is a whole meal deal, says researcher
The properties of healthy soils are interlinked and good management addresses all of them, says Gurbir Dhillon
Reading Time: 2 minutes Your soil is a little like a supply chain — an interconnected series of chemical, physical, and biological interactions that help make your lands productive and your crops profitable. But just one weak link in that chain can cause problems on your farm. “Soil is irreplaceable, so it has to be sustainable,” said Gurbir Dhillon, […] Read more
‘Report card’ aims to raise awareness of soil health
Handing out marks on topics such as organic matter and cover cropping is meant to raise awareness
Reading Time: 2 minutes Farmers in Western Canada received good marks for increasing organic matter in their soil but a grade of D when it comes to cover cropping. The Soil Conservation Council of Canada released its first national soil health report card this spring — the first attempt to evaluate the state of Canada’s soil since the 1980s. The grades […] Read more
Cooking up a successful recipe for improved soil health
Brendon Rockey’s farm is far different than most, but his winning formula has lessons for other growers
Reading Time: 4 minutes In some ways, soil health conferences are like recipe swaps — with attendees always on the lookout for a mix of ingredients that will produce better results. One of those recipes presented at the sold-out Western Canada Conference on Soil Health & Grazing last month came from a Colorado potato grower who farms in high-elevation, near-desert conditions and no […] Read more
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