Global giant buys Alberta company

Reading Time: < 1 minute Global seed-testing company SGS has purchased BioVision Seed Research of Sherwood Park. BioVision, which also has additional facilities in Winnipeg and Grande Prairie, is a leading seed, grain, and soil-testing laboratory in Western Canada. Founded in 1996 and privately owned, BioVision has 20 employees and revenues of more than $3.4 million. SGS is the world’s […] Read more

Five Q and As on soil testing

Five Q and As on soil testing

Here’s what you need to know to make sure your plants have all the right nutrients

Soil testing will help you give your crop the best possible start. Dr. Jeff Schoenau, soil fertility expert at the University of Saskatchewan, delivered a free webinar on soil earlier this winter. Schoenau had answers to five common questions about soil testing and fertility.


Though there are several ways to test soil, the most common is the zero- to six-inch representative sample.

Choosing the best procedures for soil testing

An Alberta Agriculture and Forestry specialist outlines the basics of the important annual procedure

Reading Time: 3 minutes There are ways to maximize your investment in soil testing, says Harry Brook, crop specialist at Alberta Agriculture and Forestry. “Most producers test their soils routinely every fall, after harvest or early in the spring. Information from these tests gives you the knowledge to plan the following crop’s fertilizer plan,” he says. Though there are[...]
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man standing beside tractor

Skipping soil tests could cost you big time

You have to know how to interpret it, but not soil sampling and using 'the usual retail blends' can be a costly mistake

Reading Time: 5 minutes Not very many hands go up when Mark Cutts asks a room full of producers how many of them test their soil every year. “I don’t think the majority is doing soil testing,” said the crop specialist with Alberta Agriculture and Rural Development. “If a producer is happy with his yields and he’s not soil[...]
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