soil health Archives - Page 8 of 13

Systems clash

Regen ag, consumer messaging and an agricultural schism

By Alexis Stockford January 4, 2023

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

Weather

Feds open up consultations for sustainable ag strategy

Producer groups to have reps on advisory committee

By Dave Bedard, GFM Network News December 20, 2022

The federal government has enlisted farm groups on the ground floor of consultations toward development of a long-term strategy to “amplify” the adoption and use of sustainable practices in agriculture over the next year. Agriculture Minister Marie-Claude Bibeau on Dec. 12 announced the launch of public consultations on strategy development, running from now through March

Regenerative ag conference hears grazing is vital to environmental outcomes, but that most grain growers don’t want livestock.

News

Cows for crops? Searching for the low-hanging fruit on carbon

Building soil carbon must make sense at the bank and in the work day

By Alexis Stockford November 24, 2022

There are easy starting points to build soil carbon. Getting them to make sense on the balance sheet is another matter. That was one message heard by a panel of grain producers, livestock producers and production experts who gathered at the recent Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association regenerative agriculture conference in Brandon. Why it matters:

Through soil degradation and increased urbanization, we lose an area the size of Scotland every year. Just two per cent of the world’s land area produces 40 per cent of the world’s food.

Comment, Op/Ed

Comment: Soil matters – charting a path forward

Action is needed to preserve and improve soil health, but it must be judicious

By Don Lobb November 2, 2022

The following is an excerpt from a statement made by the author to the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture and Forestry (Status on Soil Health in Canada) meeting, Sept. 22. Since the Senate of Canada “Soil At Risk” report was conceived by Senator Herb Sparrow four decades ago, generally soil management has improved and crop

“I’m seeing nitrogen deficiencies from the bottom leaves right up to the cob," says Manitoba Agriculture soil fertility specialist John Heard.

Crops, News

Soil sampling shows depleted fields

High yields, soil leaching and less N applications due to high prices drew down soil nitrogen this season

By Don Norman October 21, 2022

Early soil testing across much of Manitoba shows that most samples have low to very low nitrogen levels. “That is basically informing growers that for next year’s crop, a healthy high rate of nitrogen may be required,” says Manitoba Agriculture soil fertility specialist John Heard. “It’s a far cry from last year when many samples were testing more

Research so far has suggested microplastics play havoc with soil structure, release contaminants and harm the soil biosphere.

Comment, Op/Ed, Other

Comment: The problem of microplastics

Natural fertilizers contain them, yet we know next to nothing about their environmental and health impacts

By Martin Henseler October 4, 2022

Fertilizer, especially nitrogen, uses a lot of energy in its production, particularly natural gas. That means higher prices as natural gas prices rise, something that’s been kicked into overdrive with the war in Ukraine and Russia’s attempt to blackmail Europe by shutting down its Nord Stream 1 pipeline. It’s caused many to wonder if there

Running equipment on the same tracks all the time is the essence of controlled traffic farming — and while the practice only has a few adherents in Alberta, they are passionate about its benefits.

News

Controlled traffic farming is proving its worth, say advocates

The system ‘shines’ during droughts and lets farmers seed and harvest sooner when it’s wet, they say

By Don Norman, James Snell September 21, 2022

Controlled traffic farming has yet to catch on in a big way in Western Canada, but the extreme conditions over the past two years have shown its worth to two long-term practitioners on opposite ends of the Prairies. “I grew canola and barley last year and we had 28-bushel canola on four and a half

Jim Warren, a soil scientist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs, delineates the earth’s upper soil layers in a pit during the Harnessing the Power of Soil Health at the Grand River Raceway event where Senator Rob Black announced the national soil health study launching in the fall.

News, Other

National soil health study set to launch

It’s been decades since the last study was completed in 1984

By Diana Martin August 17, 2022

Glacier FarmMedia – The Canadian Senate plans to launch a new national soil health study this autumn. “The last study was done in 1984, chaired by Senator Herbert Sparrow,” said Senator Rob Black. “When I got into the chamber four and a half years ago, I set my sights on another Senate study.” Black announced

A field tour at the Gemstone Cattle Company gave attendees, many of them long-time practitioners of progressive grazing methods, a chance to get hands-on in examining soil health of this irrigated and rotationally grazed pasture.

Crops

COVER CROPS: Give ’em a shot and have some fun, says soil health expert

The short season here is a challenge, but there are ways to profit from this much-discussed practice

By James Snell July 27, 2022

Glacier FarmMedia – Cover crops aren’t a magic bullet but they’re worth a try. That was the message an American expert delivered to a group of Canadian producers who considered whether the much-hyped soil health practice can work during the short growing season. “Cover crops don’t solve everything,” said soil scientist Abbey Wick. “It’s not

Markets, Other

Indigo Ag to roll out first tranche of farm soil carbon credits

By GFM Network News, Karl Plume June 29, 2022

Chicago | Reuters – U.S. farm technology firm Indigo Agriculture on Wednesday said its carbon farming program has produced 20,000 tonnes in soil carbon credits that it will sell as emissions offsets to buyers including JPMorgan Chase JPM.N, Barclays BARC.L and The North Face. They are the first agricultural soil carbon credits to be verified

Daily Network News

U.S. livestock: ‘Relentless’ fund selling knocks down CME cattle futures

U.S. grains: Soy futures slide as traders worry China may miss US buying target

Pulse Weekly: Steady prices, high production for chickpeas

Tag Archives soil health