Conservation not a hippie delusion

Small-scale farmers can implement conservation agriculture and improve soil health 
in developing areas, often by using a mix of science and local knowledge

The damaging effects of tillage on soils is well documented on Europe and North American soils. So why is that approach still being exported to developing nations, proponents of conservation agriculture asked the recent World Conference on Conservation Agriculture. “We’re taking that paradigm to developing countries, so one has to ask, what is actually going

Looking below the surface

Some of the world’s top soil scientists and conservation agriculture exponents convened for the sixth World Congress on Conservation Agriculture in Winnipeg last week. The message from speakers was on one hand sobering, if not frightening — massive soil erosion continues around the world, and in both developed and undeveloped countries. The good news is


From upper left: Steve Groff, Jodi DeJong-Hughes, David Montgomery, Amir Kassam.

Conservation agriculture gaining ground

But breaking through 
tradition is difficult

It’s common to rebel against your parents, except it seems, when deciding how best to farm. “Never underestimate tradition,” Jodi DeJong-Hughes told those gathered in Winnipeg for the sixth World Congress on Conservation Agriculture last week. The Minnesota-based extension educator and tillage specialist said there is one thing she hears more often than not when

Tests showed tillage took out 69 per cent of the weeds, but the rate was the same for both high and low densities.

Many ‘little hammers’ best for organic weed control, says Maine expert

If tillage kill rate averages only 69 per cent, 
that still leaves plenty for next year

Controlling weeds in organic systems is a bit like balancing your chequebook, except that the goal is to get the (seed) bank account as low as possible. “When managing annual weeds, the important thing is the seed bank,” said Eric Gallandt, a weed ecologist in the latest webinar of this spring’s Western Canadian Organic Webinar


Soil scientist Jon Stika demonstrates the erosion-resistant qualities of a “living” soil aggregate (r) compared to an ordinary clump of “dead” dirt.

Healthy soil the key to healthy profits

Look beyond ‘bench-top chemistry’ in evaluating soil health, urges soil microbiologist

Jon Stika says farmers always give the same answers when asked what they want from their soil. “They want it to grow crops, infiltrate water and supply nutrients,” the USDA soil scientist told last week’s annual workshop of the Manitoba-North Dakota Zero Tillage Farmers Association. “But what if we managed it to its fullest potential,

Manitobans helping North Korean farmers

Manitobans with expertise in zero till and soil health are helping farmers increase productivity in the isolated nation

When it comes to North Korea, agriculture may not be the first thing that pops into people’s minds. But for the Mennonite Central Committee (MCC) it’s been front and centre for the last five years. The Winnipeg-based organization has been providing farmers in the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea with assistance with soil conservation and


Researchers praise the many benefits of cover crops

University of Manitoba plant science researcher says farmers need to think more about what happens below a field’s surface and how they can improve soil health

It’s time for farmers to stop treating soil like dirt. “The role of a farmer is to manage a complex ecosystem to produce food, feed, fibre and fuel,” University of Manitoba plant science researcher Yvonne Lawley said at the recent Ecological and Organic Farming conference. “Millions of ‘moving parts’ need to work together, both above

Hairy vetch opens up opportunities

Hairy vetch has long suffered snickers and quizzical looks at the very mention of its name, but new research shows the legume has potential in Manitoba. Scott Chalmers, a diversification technician with Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives, told producers at the annual Special Crops Symposium in Winnipeg that plant is a possible cover crop


Work with nature or pay the price, says ex-grain farmer

Holistic management instructor calls for adoption of farming methods 
that restore soil health and make farmers prosperous

Don’t talk to Blain Hjertaas about “sustainability.” The farmer and holistic management instructor from Redvers, Sask., can’t stand that word. “I hate the word ‘sustainable,’” Hjertaas told the recent Western Canada Holistic Management conference. “If we’re in the toilet bowl, and we keep sustaining it, we aren’t ever getting out.” Hjertaas’s presentation juxtaposed the decline