Soil science Archives - Page 11 of 16

Farmers want an exemption

By Allan Dawson March 23, 2012

A warm, dry spring has the Manitoba government reconsidering its new nutrient application rules that prevent fertilizer applications before April 10, a provincial official said March 15. “If the warm weather conditions continue and soils across the province are fully thawed, then the department (Conservation and Water Stewardship) will consider a blanket variation for all

Cereals, Crops, News

Aiming for the “sweet spot” with phosphorus

By Daniel Winters February 15, 2012

Using low rates of phosphorus fertilizer is good for the environment and the farmer’s bottom line. But cutting corners too much can affect yields and impact long-term soil fertility, said John Heard, a soil fertility specialist with the crops branch of Manitoba Agriculture, Food and Rural Initiatives. “There’s really only four rates of phosphorus application:

Crops, News

The real dirt on variable-rate technology

By Alexis Kienlen February 15, 2012

Variable-rate technology is based on a simple premise. “Basically, we’re aiming for the right rate at the right place in the field,” Ross McKenzie, a soil scientist with Alberta Agriculture, told attendees at the Agronomy Update event in Red Deer. That starts with knowing your soil, but that’s a lot harder than most people think,

Crops

Fall Tillage: Downsides Outweigh The Positives

November 10, 2011

Canola Council of Canada Growers have made great strides in advancing no-tillage and conservation-tillage practices. General benefits include reduced fuel use, reduced soil erosion, higher soil moisture reserves (which are welcome most years), and a general increase in profitability. Any return to tillage, even if only one field or across the whole farm for only

Crops

Chasing High Corn Prices, U.S. Farmers Skip Rotations

By Michael Hirtzer October 6, 2011

Farmer Brian Schaumburg has planted corn for five straight years in some of the thousands of acres he tends in central Illinois. Farmers who eschew crop rotations that help to replenish the soil with nutrients take a risk that yields will decline. But corn prices soared to a record earlier this year, making so-called corn-on-corn

Crops, News

Soil Testing Should Be A Priority This Fall

By Allan Dawson September 8, 2011

Don’t guess, soil test. That’s John Heard’s message to farmers this fall, especially in fields that didn’t get seeded or were flooded this spring. “In 2010, it looks like the average soil nitrogen level on fallow was about 60 pounds per acre, but that’s of no value to the individual farmer because he doesn’t know

News

Assistance Available For Restoring Eroded Land

By Allan Dawson September 8, 2011

Before some Manitoba farmers seed next spring they have weeds to work down, others have ruts to smooth out, while some have big washouts to repair in the wake of spring flooding. Farmers can apply for financial assistance to restore farmland scarred by water erosion, an official with Manitoba’s cabinet communications said last week. Each

Crops, Opinion

Unearthing The Potential

August 25, 2011

As I looked down at the thick mat of rotting vegetation PhD student Caroline Halde was holding up for me to peruse, it was hard to fathom – at first – why anyone but the most devoted of researchers would find this exciting. I was at the University of Manitoba’s Ian N. Morrison Research Farm

Opinion

Taking A Position On Agriculture And Climate Change

July 28, 2011

At its 66th annual international conference in July, the Soil and Water Conservation Society released this position statement on climate change and soil and water conservation. SWCS is a scientific organization with chapters throughout the U.S. and Canada, and which has over 5,000 members around the world. The Soil and Water Conservation Society finds that

Crops, Opinion

Simple Solutions To The Food Challenge

By John Morriss July 7, 2011

Last month a milestone was marked in the history of world agriculture when the bovine disease rinderpest was officially declared eradicated. Though unknown in North America, rinderpest or “cattle plague” has been a devastating killer of cattle and wildlife for millennia in Europe, Africa and Asia. After smallpox, it’s only the second disease in history

Daily Network News

U.S. livestock: Cattle, hog futures rise on first WASDE since September

U.S. export sales include only small soybean business to China

U.S. corn and soybean yields revised down by USDA

Tag Archives Soil science