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"The main factor in residual nitrogen is always crop uptake, so when we have high yields of cereals and canola, as many have, the soil’s N is generally depleted." – John Heard.
Crops, Local news

Getting a jump on fall fertilizer

Recent rain may alter farmers’ plans, just like a dry year to date has

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Recent rains in Manitoba will be welcomed by agronomists taking soil samples and farmers looking to do fall tillage work and fertilizing, according to one provincial soil specialist. John Heard, of Manitoba Agriculture, says fall soil tests remain the gold standard, in determining fertilizer needs for the crop. Agronomists often like to get a jump
Mitchell Timmmerman, agri-ecosystems specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, highlights root difference between crops during the Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives Brookdale tour August 30.
Crops, Local news

Soils are not made equally when it comes to soaking up moisture

Mitchell Timmerman’s rainfall simulation emphasized the role of 
perennial forages in increasing infiltration during the August 30 
Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives Brookdale site tour

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Which one will soak it up first? That was the question a recent demonstration at the Manitoba Beef and Forage Initiatives (MBFI) Brookdale site tried to answer. It was a head-to-head comparison of the ability of fields to soak up surface moisture by Mitchell Timmerman, the province’s agri-ecosystems specialist, using a rainfall simulator that made
soil
Comment, Opinion

Farmers’ focus must shift from yields to soil health

But looking after the land doesn’t have to result in a ‘yield penalty’

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A funny thing happens whenever talk turns to how to make farming more sustainable. As various options for improving how agriculture treats the natural environment are discussed, someone inevitably brings up the “yield penalty” farmers and society would pay. That penalty is seen as the gap between conventional methods using tillage and high rates of
Bob McIntosh, who farms in Perth County, says it can take a lifetime or longer to repair degraded soils.
Crops

Degraded soils cost farmers billions annually

Yet soil care remains a low priority for policy-makers as well as farmers

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Farmers have reduced the amount of soil they lose through annual cropping practices, but they continue to carry a costly legacy of degraded soils, a University of Manitoba soil scientist says. David Lobb used crop production data and computer models to estimate how much lost productivity has occurred over the past four decades due to
VIDEO: Getting down to your roots
Crops, Local news

VIDEO: Getting down to your roots

Crop Diagnostic School offered a cutaway view of how crop roots move through soil

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Along with her colleagues, Marla Riekman, land management specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, took up a shovel last month at Crop Diagnostic School to help show what’s going on underground with roots. Allan Dawson met up with Riekman to learn about the types of root systems in crops, how they extract nutrients from the soil, the effects of
Delegates discuss soil health issues, solutions and what should be included in a hypothetical soil health kit during a breakout session of the Global 4-H Summit.
Crops

4-H’ers dig into soil health policy and education

Soil health was a repeat topic as 4-H members from around the world turned their attention to sustainable agriculture and food security

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It’s time to think about what lies below our feet. That was the message delegates from 35 countries received from multiple speakers at the recent Global 4-H Summit in Ottawa. Soil health emerged from several workshops during the third day of the July 11-14 conference, themed around sustainable agriculture and food security. Syngenta Canada, also
Dr. Yvonne Lawley of the University of Manitoba presents initial data in front of her newest line of plots evaluating the impact of tillage on soybeans.
Crops, Oilseeds

To till or not to till? For soybeans that’s the question

The Westman Agricultural Diversification Organization is testing out planting dates and 
pre-seed tillage systems in its latest round of soybean experiments

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Conventional wisdom says to break out the harrow before planting soybeans, the better to expose black earth and warm the soil, but new research is putting that assumption to the test. Dr. Yvonne Lawley of the Unive­rsity of Manitoba is measuring the effect of seeding date and different tillage systems on soybeans through several regions

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