Environmental soil science Archives

A flooded field in the Interlake in 2013.

North Interlake drainage issues to be addressed

Pilot program aims to improve water management in the RM of Bifrost-Riverton

By Shannon VanRaes July 26, 2016

A recent announcement is a watershed moment for a largely producer-led group seeking to reduce flooding and increase agricultural productivity in Manitoba’s Interlake region. The federal and provincial governments have announced $1 million in Growing Forward 2 funding for a pilot project in the Rural Municipality of Bifrost-Riverton, which aims to improve drainage and address

The state of Minnesota has made buffer zones mandatory as a way of protecting streams from nutrient run-off. But a Manitoba researcher says they may not be as effective as first believed.

Crops

New research raises red flag over buffer strips

A University of Manitoba researcher says riparian buffer  strips may not be the answer to preventing nutrient run-off

By Julienne Isaacs April 5, 2016

New research from the University of Manitoba raises questions over the effectiveness of buffer strips often used around cropland to filter out nutrients before they reach waterways in run-off. David Lobb, senior research chair for the Watershed Systems Research Program and a University of Manitoba soil science professor, says riparian buffer strips are “highly inefficient”

Crops, Local news

VIDEO: Tillage erosion and how you can avoid it

Soil science professor says it can be the most damaging type of soil erosion

By Allan Dawson February 12, 2016

You’ve heard of wind and water erosion, but how about tillage erosion? It’s often the worse of the three, says University of Manitoba soil science professor David Lobb, who spoke to Manitoba Co-operator reporter Allan Dawson Feb. 4 at the Manitoba Soil Science Society’s 59th annual meeting in Winnipeg.

Country Crossroads, News

Pump your septic tank before winter

Don’t wait — fixing a problem during the winter is difficult and expensive

By North Dakota State University November 24, 2015

If a few years have passed since your septic tank was pumped, now would be a good time to contact a licensed pumper and have it emptied, according to a North Dakota State University Extension Service agricultural engineer. “Cleaning the accumulated solids — sludge — from the septic tank is the most common, routine maintenance

Crops, Local news

VIDEO: Soil Conservation Week — the job is not over

By Manitoba Co-operator Staff April 23, 2015

April 19-25 is National Soil Conservation Week, an annual event to remind everyone of the need to protect the soil resource from some of the damage it suffered during the “Dirty Thirties.” Unfortunately, some scenes of that time were repeated in parts of Manitoba last week when south winds gusting as high as 88 km/h

Crops, Opinion

Dirt’s big year

The FAO has designated 2015 as the International Year of Soil

By Alan Guebert January 12, 2015

Last year may have been a lot of things to a lot of people but one thing it surely wasn’t was predictable. I mean who foresaw last year’s record-setting high in the U.S. stock market, the plunge in global crude oil prices, Russia’s naked grab of Ukraine’s sovereign territory or the Obama administration’s reaching out

Opinion

Saline soils, plant growth problems linked to tillage practices

Research on saline soils underway, but at least one cause points to over-tilling

By Red River Basin Commission November 4, 2014

Here in the Red River basin, most fields in crop production are tilled one or more times each year, whether with cultivators, disks or deep tillers. The resulting fields look well cared for — good farming is often associated with well-tilled fields. In many places in the basin, however, farmers are noticing areas of fields

Other

VIDEO: Touring the ebbs and flows on the Manitoba Escarpment, Part One

Deerwood Soil and Water Management Association studying effects of soil erosion, flooding

By Allan Dawson August 13, 2014

The Deerwood Soil and Water Management Association is known for its innovative conservation work on the Manitoba Escarpment’s south Tobacco Creek watershed, a little over 110 km southwest of Winnipeg. Provided with funding from all levels of government and farmer-land owners, the association has built small dams to slow runoff and reduce soil erosion and

Crops

Shelterbelt nursery’s future in doubt, says Indian Head reeve

By Daniel Winters November 14, 2013

Millions of tree seedlings at the AAFC Indian Head Agroforestry Centre are likely to remain in the ground this fall after all proposals to ensure continuity of operations at the shelterbelt nursery were rejected by the federal government. Norm Hall, president of the Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan, who also serves as the spokesman for

Local news

National soil science meeting meets Manitoba mud

A look back in time on Manitoba's escarpment — and a vision of what the future could be

By Allan Dawson July 31, 2013

Dale and Caroline Steppler’s farm on the Manitoba Escarpment was shaped by glaciers,  but today the challenge is keeping nutrients from running down to Lake Winnipeg

In an abandoned shale pit a busload of muddied-shoed soil scientists from across Canada and beyond peer back millions of years into the geological history of this part of the Manitoba Escarpment west of Miami. Marine dinosaur fossils are routinely discovered nearby in the bentonite clay formed from prehistoric volcanic ash. They once swam in

Daily Network News

U.S. livestock: Cattle strengthen Tuesday

Larkin to step down as Grain Growers of Canada Executive Director

Calling for bigger crops ahead of StatCan report

Tag Archives Environmental soil science