Soil science Archives - Page 15 of 16

Cutting Fertilizer Rates In Canola Can Cut Profits

By Canola Council Of Canada May 7, 2009

Think twice before cutting back on fertilizer rates this spring. “With canola prices having backed off of last spring’s highs and fertilizer prices remaining relatively high, growers might be tempted to shave fertilizer rates in order to reduce costs,” says Canola Council of Canada senior agronomy specialist John Mayko. “But canola growers who cut fertilizer

News

Celebrating Ongoing Progress In Soil Conservation

April 23, 2009

soil conservation council of canada release Most Canadians have seen severe soil erosion. It might be the dramatic images of the dust bowl of the Canadian Prairies replayed as a reminder of the “Dirty Thirties.” Or it might be images of water erosion of severely flooded lands in Eastern Canada. Other than the odd reference

Crops, News

Summerfallow Was An Accident Of History

By Laura Rance-Unger April 9, 2009

Historians have dutifully chronicled the 1885 Battle of Batoche in Saskatchewan for its role quashing the Métis uprising led by Louis Riel. But less well known is how it caused the newly arrived agrarian settlers to take a wrong turn in soil management – one that would prove devastating to future generations and take more

Opinion

Innovation Capacity

By Laura Rance-Unger April 2, 2009

You could say mad scientists and farmers operating on the lunatic fringe brought about one of the greatest innovations of 20th century agriculture. Some might go so far as to suggest it has saved Prairie farming – from plowing itself into a dusty oblivion. Zero tillage or no-till farming, as it has come to be

Forages, Livestock

Manage Winter Feeding Areas To Reduce Mudholes

By North Dakota State University March 26, 2009

Winter cattle feeding areas are a recipe for mud. These high-traffic areas show the impact of cattle hooves that loosen the topsoil and compact the soil below. When water and manure are added to the loose soil, a mudhole forms. These areas eventually become terrible places to feed cattle. “A solution to mudholes during winter

Crops

How Old Is Our Dirt?

By Daniel Winters March 19, 2009

What’s older than dirt? Lots of things, if you’re talking about Manitoba soils. In our province, the story began 10,000 to 12,000 years ago, after massive glaciers bulldozed the uppermost layers away, then melted to create the ancient Lake Agassiz. In terms of world history, that’s not a long time. Egyptian civilization goes back almost

Crops, Livestock

Cover Crops Go Beyond Nitrogen

By Glen Nicoll March 19, 2009

Like spending money to make money, some North Dakota grain producers are using soil nutrients to grow a soil-building cover crop. They have found seeding a diverse plant community or “cocktail” as a cover crop can do much more than put nitrogen into the soil. At a soil health workshop in Plumas sponsored by Mani

News

Soil Test For Success

By Daniel Winters March 5, 2009

“Maybe your banker sets soil fertility rates for your farm.” – JOHN HEARD If 80 per cent of Manitoba farmers aren’t soil testing their fields, how do they know how much nutrients to apply at the start of every growing season? That’s anybody’s guess, according to a MAFRI soil fertility specialist. “The last survey done

Crops, News

Universe In A Clump Of Dirt

By Daniel Winters February 26, 2009

“If you build it, they will come.” – KRIS NICHOLS Uproot a plant in healthy soil, and you’ll see tiny pellets clinging to the roots. To most people, that’s just dirt. But to farmers in the know, those hard little clumps represent whole towns and cities of soil biota that work together night and day

Opinion

Towards A Sustainable Future

By Laura Rance-Unger February 19, 2009

It is purely coincidental, but it seems somehow fitting that this year’s Manitoba North Dakota Zero-Tillage Farmers Association annual workshop is taking place in Brandon during Manitoba’s first-ever Organic Week. At first glance, it would seem these two production systems are polar opposites. One aims to reduce or eliminate tillage, usually replacing it with chemical

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

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