u of alberta research plots

Long-term plot experiment yields new insights

RESEARCH Ninety-year-old rotations show compounding nature of systemic production changes

When one part of an agricultural system is changed, the effects are frequently found in unexpected places. For example, the earliest no-till farmers were hoping for soil conservation benefits. Research now shows fields in long-term no-till require less fertilizer. Miles Dyck, a University of Alberta soil scientist, provided that information at the Manitoba Agronomists’ Conference

John Heard leads a discussion at a past Crop Diagnostic School event in Carman, Man.

Comment: Provincial soil specialist left lasting mark

A few weeks ago, award-winning soil fertility extension specialist John Heard said his goodbyes to colleagues as he moved into retirement. His stalwart presence on the agriculture scene had a huge impact as I began my career with the Co-operator and entered the fray of agriculture writing. When I started the job in May 2022,


A corn field in Alberta is managed with strip tillage.

Strip till: It’s new, it’s tricky and you can’t ask the neighbours for advice

On paper, strip-till is an excellent way to reduce erosion and improve soil health, but there’s a learning curve

Glacier FarmMedia – Being a pioneer isn’t easy, but sometimes it can pay off. Or at least that’s what John Kolk hopes. Over the past few years, the southern Alberta farmer has been using strip tillage on row crops such as dry beans, corn and soybeans. Although the system hasn’t been a big earner in

Yvonne Lawley of the University of Manitoba is leading a three-year study into the use of cover crops.

Soil health main focus of cover-croppers

Largest look into practice across Prairies at the farm level shows early adopters satisfied with results

Early adopters of various farm practices often provide valuable information. It was farmers like these that, through trial and error, perfected the zero-till system and direct seeding, for example. But they’re all working in isolation, and maybe swapping a few ideas over the internet or at the occasional conference. The University of Manitoba’s Yvonne Lawley

A handful of soil health projects have secured funding for the next five years in the hope of kick-starting soil health practices in the field.

College’s net positive network reels in funding

The project will receive almost $1.7 million over the next five years

A new project pushing soil management hopes to throw like-minded farmers a collective lifeline. Assiniboine Community College (ACC) — along with Farm Management Canada, the Manitoba Association of Watersheds, Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association, Manitoba Pulse and Soybean Growers, and Minto-area Rourke Farms — will spend the next five years building a peer-to-peer network with an eye to improving


A handful of soil health projects have secured funding for the next five years in the hope of kick starting soil health practices in the field. (Assiniboine Community College photo)

Multi-million-dollar fund greenlights soil health projects

Eight projects to push soil health practices will get funding for the next five years

Eight soil health projects across Canada will be getting a multi-million-dollar boost in private funding over the next five years. The Weston Family Foundation — the philanthropic arm of the Weston business empire — has slated $10 million for those eight projects through the organization’s soil health initiative, it was announced Feb. 13. The initiative

There seems to be some correlation between certain zero-till practices and soil acidification.

Soil acidity a growing issue

Over time a natural chemical reaction to nitrogen can cause an acidic band to develop

Most of Manitoba’s soils are considered to be neutral, with pH around 7.0 and being neither acid nor alkaline. If anything there’s a tendency towards the alkaline. That’s why North Dakota State University cropping systems specialist Ryan Buetow’s warning at the recent Manitoba Agronomists’ Conference was unexpected. He says there are pockets of acidity showing

How much diversity in a cover crop is too much?

The making of a cover crop mix

How ‘multi-species’ should a multi-species mix get?

Michael Thiele wants farmers to design their cover crops for whatever they don’t have in their system. The soil health presenter said during an early January workshop in Minnedosa that for some farmers, that might be soil carbon. For others, it might be nitrogen or soil structure or other soil health traits. On the business


Canada thistles pop through on one of the fields 
still under recovery at Green Beach Farm & Food.

Selling the system

Managing with an eye to soil health makes fertile ground for direct marketing

The Koscielny family farm near Strathclair doesn’t have many acres to work with but it makes a big impression. The farm, Green Beach Farm & Food, covers five quarters, about 200 acres of which grow grain. Much of the land base is perennial forage, feeding the Koscielny’s herd of grass-fed beef. The family finishes animals

Systems clash

Regen ag, consumer messaging and an agricultural schism

The point of marketing is to stand out from the crowd. Emphasizing the environmental angle of agricultural direct marketing is one way to do it. Agriculture’s environmental track record is under greater pressure from its customers and government. A recent example is the controversy over the federal government goal to reduce nitrogen fertilizer emissions by