Field day attendees check out soil health gains at the Robins farm in western Manitoba in 2019.

Soil: the great unifier

Senate soil report highlights shifting focus on core issues

Senate report, "Critical Ground: why soil is essential to Canada's economic, environmental, human and social health," marks a pivotal shift in how we value soil and soil health.


Les Henry. (University of Saskatchewan video screengrab)

Prairie soil scientist and author Les Henry, 83

Henry's outreach to farmers spanned more than half a century

Glacier FarmMedia — Saskatchewan soil scientist Les Henry, well known for his work on improving Prairie farmland and his outreach to Prairie farmers in the pages of Grainews, has died. Ending a long fight with congestive heart failure, Henry died Friday in Saskatoon at age 83, having continued to write until very shortly before his

Photo: Thinkstock

Soil should be a strategic national asset: Senate committee 

The two-year study of Canada’s soils is now complete and recognizes that while conservation efforts over recent decades have been tremendous there is still more to be done 

The Critical Ground: Why Soil is Essential to Canada’s Economic, Environmental, Human and Social Health report said Canada requires an overarching strategy to collect better data. It says a national soils institute database that shares information with provinces, academics and producers should be established.



Canola stubble pokes out of the hills in Chad Berry’s direct-seeded potato demonstration plot in 2021.

Making potatoes friendly to soil health

Soil health tactics are not out of reach for the spud sector

Potatoes are a high-value crop and one of the world’s most important dietary staples. But when it comes to sustainability, they’ve got a hurdle to clear because there’s no escaping some level of soil disturbance when growing and harvesting. Why it matters: Soil health and minimized soil disturbance are major pillars in the push toward

Know your soil, right down to the DNA

Know your soil, right down to the DNA

Tech called a ‘game changer’ for farm agronomic decisions

If this was a police procedural, DNA taken from the scene of a crime would help lock away the bad guy. Here, the scene is a field, the farmer is the hero, and the bad guy might be a hidden crop disease that the farmer can arrest because DNA samples warned him it was there.

Ted Poyser was instrumental in bridging the gap between agriculture and conservation in Manitoba. Photo: University of Manitoba

Soil science pioneer honoured with lecture series

The first Ted Poyser Lecture in Soil Health launched at University of Manitoba is imminent

The University of Manitoba is about to launch a new lectureship named in honour of a man who helped bridge the divide between conservation and agriculture. The Ted Poyser Lecture in Soil Health will be hosted annually by the soil science department, and the inaugural event is scheduled March 13. Each year a speaker will be invited who


Francis Zvomuya, a professor in the University of Manitoba’s soil science department, speaks about his research on pipeline right-of-ways during a lecture on Jan. 31, 2024.

Pipelines and prolonged yield disturbance

Pipelines disrupt yields longer than expected: researcher

B.C. farmers with pipelines running under their land have complained that compensation after the construction runs out long before yields return to normal. New findings from a University of Manitoba researcher suggest they may be right. “Farmers believe … they are really being shortchanged,” said Francis Zvomuya, a professor of soil science at the university.

The LCEF aims to reduce greenhouse gas emissions and transition the province from fossil fuels to renewable energy.

Comment: Agricultural soils are enormous carbon sink

Research shows combining a handful of techniques gives best results

It’s right under our feet. We barely notice as we go about our lives, yet it is nothing less than the largest carbon repository among all of Earth’s ecosystems. This distinction is awarded neither to forests nor to the atmosphere, but to our soils. There are around 2,400 billion tons of carbon in the first two