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
Database for gauging soils available
Tapping into nutrients and tackling compaction with tillage radishes
The forage brassica has big-time potential for rejuvenating tired, compacted pastures — but there’s a learning curve
Reading Time: 3 minutes How effective are tillage radishes in rejuvenating poor soil and pastures? Staff at Clearwater County have been experimenting with tillage radishes to see if their theoretical benefits hold up in the real world. The fast-growing brassica can be used in forages as a cover crop and as feed for cattle; its long taproot can open […] Read more
Soil health conference bringing in leading experts
Reading Time: < 1 minute Ten leading experts will present current information on concepts for improving soil health at the Western Canada Conference on Soil Health in Edmonton on Dec. 8-10. Among the speakers are Gabe Brown, Jill Clapperton, and Martin Entz. The topics include building healthier soils through grazing, cover crops, soil health assessment, and ecological farm management. The […] Read more
Wet weather continues to stall harvest, pastures, hay rate poor
Alberta crop conditions as of September 15, 2015
Reading Time: 2 minutes Following a brief dry spell to the middle of last week, wet weather over the weekend slowed down or completely halted harvesting operations across the province. Most of the province received rain, from less than 5 mm in northern areas of Peace and North East Regions and small areas in South Region, to over 30 […] Read more
Manage crop residue with next year in mind
Reading Time: < 1 minute How you harvest, what you are using to harvest, and what you do with the residue will have a huge effect on what happens next spring. “Crop residue isn’t trash as it has a significant amount of fertilizer value,” said provincial crop specialist Harry Brook. “The straw has probably the lion’s share of this, as […] Read more
Bitter weed a common sight in Alberta
Noxious grassland invader: Tall buttercup
Reading Time: < 1 minute Tall buttercup is often found in Alberta, including in the MD of Lesser Slave River as well as Big Lakes, Yellowhead, Clearwater, and Mountain View counties. This plant contains a bitter, irritating oil that is toxic and can harm grazing livestock, especially cattle. This weed is an invader of wet areas, preferring humus soils, but […] Read more
Soil scientist offers recipe for better soil health
More earthworm slime and protozoa excretions? You betcha!
Reading Time: 3 minutes You can’t control Mother Nature, but you can have some control over the health of your soil. At a recent workshop, soil scientist Jill Clapperton outlined some visible indicators of soil health, and described a few things producers could do to improve their soil. “If you have healthy plants, you have an excellent indicator that […] Read more
Farmer-led research groups shine spotlight on soil health
Improving soil is the key to successful farming, say groups behind the Soil Health Applied Research Alliance
Reading Time: 2 minutes Declaring ‘soil is bigger than oil,’ two Alberta farmer-led research organizations are teaming up to increase the focus on soil health. “Soil health is the foundation of successful farming — if we can maintain and improve the health of our soils, we will be successful farmers,” said Ian Murray, an Acme rancher and chair of […] Read more
Soil carbon challenge coming to Alberta
The Soil Carbon Coalition Challenge is a North American-wide initiative founded on the premise that carbon is key to soil health
Reading Time: 3 minutes Measuring your soil carbon is the ticket to improving soil health and can usher in dramatic productivity gains. That’s the message that Peter Donovan is bringing to Alberta this month — part of the American expert’s efforts to promote the Soil Carbon Coalition Challenge, a North American-wide initiative to show how you can improve your […] Read more
Soil Carbon Challenge tour coming soon
Competition aims to see how fast land managers can turn atmospheric carbon into soil
Reading Time: < 1 minute Peter Donovan’s Soil Carbon Challenge tour is coming to Alberta. The former rancher from Oregon will be touring in his school bus and visiting six locations to conduct soil carbon workshops. Donovan establishes baseline measurements for soil carbon in dedicated plots in the U.S., Canada, and Mexico for the challenge described as “a competition to […] Read more
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