Soil-stored carbon is easily released due to warmer temperatures or drought, a recent discussion paper claims.

Sequestering carbon won’t solve climate change

Some farmers say they’ve already done their bit for climate change through reduced tillage, but it’s a dubious argument, according to the National Farmers Union (NFU). “We should not become confused by claims that we can somehow fix the climate crisis by pulling carbon out of the atmosphere and ‘sequestering’ it in soils,” says an

Robert (Bob) McNabb, with wife Elaine, was inducted into the Canadian Conservation 
Hall of Fame on November 13.

Manitoba zero-till pioneer inducted into conservation hall of fame

Robert (Bob) McNabb called for greater passion for soil, aligning profit with ecology

Manitoba farmer Robert (Bob) McNabb called for greater passion for soil as he was inducted into the Canadian Conservation Hall of Fame in Winnipeg, November 13. In his acceptance address, McNabb called on those gathered to approach soil conservation with the same passion as teenage, Swedish climate activist Greta Thunberg. “If we could get on


How a radish cover crop interseeded into soybeans planted in August looked on Sept. 27, 2019.

Calling all cover croppers!

A survey is looking for hard numbers on the practice and what it looks like on Prairie farms

The University of Manitoba is looking for numbers on local cover crop use, and it’s turning to producers to get them. Yvonne Lawley of the University of Manitoba is spearheading the Prairie Cover Crop Survey, which hopes to gauge how widely and in what form cover crops are taking root across the Prairies. The survey

Questions over the sustainability of crop production are increasing.

Roundtable to form code of sustainable crop practices

This program will help producers tell the story of crop sustainability 
in Canada, something Cam Dahl says isn’t done enough

A sustainable crop code of conduct will help farmers tell the good story of agriculture in Canada, say members of the Canadian Roundtable for Sustainable Crops (CRSC). “We need to do a better job of telling (these stories),” said Cam Dahl, who is president of Cereals Canada and chair of the steering committee for the


Fall is the time when you can see what’s survived your crop season’s control efforts.

Fall management key to weed resistance

It’s in the fall you see what worked and what you can change up for next year

When it comes to weed control, fall is often one of your best windows to find out how it’s going and what issues are on the horizon. Tammy Jones, Manitoba Agriculture weed specialist, says the fall season offers a planning window for next year and lets farmers evaluate what went right or wrong this season.

Ryan Pritchard and Yvonne Lawley point out the features of his strip tiller, which Pritchard modified himself.

Soil is complicated… so are people

Soil Council of Canada's summit on soil health explored diverse issues of soil health across Canada and how to win people to the cause

It used to take six or seven passes over Ryan Pritchard’s fields to get them ready for spring — harrow, cultivate, harrow, deep till, fertilize. Pritchard, who works full time off farm, was looking for a way to save time. “Can’t go no till. It’s too cold a climate,” he told a tour group during


Yvonne Lawley talks cover crops during Crops-A-Palooza in Carberry in July.  
photos: Alexis Stockford

Calculating a good cover crop plan

Set yourself up for success when it comes to cover crops

Farmers will need more than a cursory plan to reap the benefit of cover crops in the Keystone province. Cover crops have gained their champions in Manitoba. The practice is cited among other alternative grazing strategies like bale or swath grazing to extend the grazing season and, arguably, improve soil, according to livestock and forage

People climb a dike formed by wind soil erosion during a field tour at the Global Forum on Soil Stewardship.

Soil degradation a costly global issue

About a third of the world’s soil is degraded, which has economic and food security implications

When Prairie-dwellers think of soil erosion, they may think of iconic photos from the Dirty ’30s: towering clouds of black soil blowing across desolate land, teacups turned upside down against drifting grit. But as Francis Zvomuya told the classroom of farmers and agronomists at the Global Forum on Soil Stewardship, soil degradation is far from


A blend of cover crop species is a tasty blend for cattle, but make sure they aren’t yours.

Mixed farmers need not apply for cover crop funding

The province says cover crop funding under Ag Action Manitoba only allows grazing on ‘stockless farms’

You can graze cattle on cover crops planted with help from Ag Action Manitoba — as long as they’re not your cattle, that is. Ag Action Manitoba is the province’s vehicle for funding under the Canadian Agricultural Partnership (CAP) program. Cover crops are among the beneficial management practices (BMPs) it promotes to improve the environment.

Farmers, agronomists, and people with an interest in global soil health met in Carman July 25 and 26 to discuss the challenges of protecting soil.

Carman event serves up common ground on soil health practices

Canadian and African agronomists shared perspectives on conservation agriculture at a recent Canadian Foodgrains Bank forum

Jocelyn Velestuk stood in front of the research station classroom filled with people and confessed to an addiction of sorts. “I am obsessed with soil,” the Saskatchewan farmer and agronomist told her audience. “I even had a mud-themed birthday party when I was young,” she said in a later interview. “The first soil science class