Reading Time: < 1 minute While some parts of northern Alberta have had too much rain, more than 85 per cent of the province had a surface soil moisture rating of good or excellent at the start of June, according to a provincial crop report. “A late-spring snowmelt and ample moisture during the growing season has resulted in near- or […] Read more
Surface soil moisture is good this year
Soil moisture a mixed bag in 2020
Reading Time: < 1 minute Soil moisture reserves remain extremely variable across the province, Alberta Agriculture and Forestry said in its latest update. These range “from one in 12- to 25-year lows through small areas in the central and northeast regions, to one in 50-year highs through the Fox Creek/Edson area and also around Hawk Hills in the northern Peace […] Read more
Farm season well set up if there’s a normal spring
A warm, dry spring should allow most areas to get off to a good start, says provincial forecast
Reading Time: 2 minutes It will — as usual — all depend on Mother Nature’s mood over the next couple of months, but much of Alberta is in a “desirable condition” when it comes to soil moisture reserves, says the latest provincial soil moisture update. “The greatest reserves are found throughout much of the southern Peace region and along […] 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
Preserving highly productive soil is critical for tomorrow
In my hometown, across the province and around the world, top-quality soil is being lost to development
Reading Time: 3 minutes My hometown is Stony Plain. It is a great town, progressive, beautiful and welcoming: A place that honours the past and has no fear of the future. I love to go back to visit with my family and friends. I can stand in one spot for hours and simply talk to folks as they pass […] Read more
The Year That Was: Clubroot continued its deadly march in 2019
The disease didn't make the headlines in 2019 but its assault on Alberta continued
Reading Time: 5 minutes The rapid spread of clubroot in the last decade will continue in the coming one if canola growers don’t start to get ahead of the disease. “The resistance is being overcome already, and some of those cases are pretty significant and serious infestations,” said Dan Orchard, agronomy specialist with the Canola Council of Canada. “In […] Read more
New farmland trust aims to preserve good soil
Tax treatment key to saving cropland
Reading Time: 3 minutes [UPDATED: Nov. 26, 2019] A new and innovative effort to save prime Alberta cropland from being turned into another suburb or industrial site is close to becoming a reality. Grain farmer Kim Good and lawyer-rancher Stan Carscallen say the Alberta Farmland Trust should be a registered charity by early in the coming year. And they’re […] Read more
There is a Canadian advantage when it comes to producing food
Clean air and water and productive soils give us an edge — but they must be used wisely
Reading Time: 3 minutes I was visiting my friends who are new to Canada on a rainy autumn afternoon. As often happens when we get together, the discussion weaves its way toward food and in particular the nutrient richness in Canadian food. “It is the soil, the air and the water that make such a difference,” my friend said. […] Read more
Willing to share a little dirt? Samples wanted
Reading Time: < 1 minute Farming Smarter needs 10 more farms in southern Alberta willing to share a little dirt for the Alberta Soil Health Benchmark Monitoring Project. The project will document soil health indicators at 200 locations in Alberta. Twenty fields were sampled in early summer and another 20 will be sampled this fall. The fields will be re-sampled […] Read more
Soil degradation the forgotten issue
Reducing tillage and summerfallow hasn’t fixed a problem that is costing farmers billions every year
Reading Time: 3 minutes Soil degradation in Canada is causing a huge economic loss — but few people are paying attention. That includes farmers, even though degraded soil is significantly reducing their yields, according to University of Manitoba soil scientist David Lobb. “Soil erosion accounts for a loss of about 10 per cent,” he said. “Farmers are only getting […] Read more
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