The topic of soil health has gained a tremendous amount of followers over the last ten years. There’s a large, dynamic community devoted to the topic, too — from farmers and researchers, to consultants and extension specialists. Dr. Abbey Wick, extension soil health specialist and associate professor at North Dakota State University (NDSU), recently presented… Read More
Category: Soil School
What type of return on investment do farmers realize when they make a long-term commitment to planting cover crops on their farm? That question can be tough to answer. In many cases, the payback can’t be calculated using only dollars and cents; better soil heath, the benefits of increased water-holding capacity, and a soil’s ability… Read More
Today is World Soil Day, and the Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Nations has dedicated this year’s celebration to soil biodiversity. The slogan for this year: “Keep soil alive, protect soil biodiversity.” Closer to home, the Canadian Society of Soil Science’s goals for today’s celebrations are to draw attention to the importance of… Read More
Keep your soil covered, do as little tillage as possible, maintain a living root system 365 days a year, and fit it all into an economic model that makes money: this is sustainable soil health. It’s a challenge, for sure, but it’s one Dresden, Ont., farmer Woody Van Arkel is happy to tackle. On this… Read More
A land and cattle operation that includes consistent cover crops in a diverse cropping mix can offer several benefits, including improved soil fitness, better equipment and water holding capacity, and a decreased diesel fuel bill. In this episode of the Soil School, Bernard Tobin is joined by Elmwood, Ont.-based Ken Schaus from Schaus Land and… Read More
As combines roll across Ontario, growers are harvesting impressive crops that in many cases are producing record yields. But with all that excitement, it’s important to remember the impact those huge yields will have on nutrient removal and what they take out of your soil bank account. On this episode of RealAgriculture’s Soil School, Brussels… Read More
Farmers are taking a closer look at their soil’s health lately, and measuring the impact of cover crops or different types of strip-tillage. In this episode of Soil School, we’re talking about overall soil health and nutrition and we’ve got a great example of what you can achieve when you combine soil health and balanced… Read More
Finding soil fertility recommendations for different crops can be time-consuming and hard to pin down. A new app that is simple and quick to use provides tremendous value by bringing soil fertility recommendations for different crops — both field and vegetable — all to one place. “In terms of the Soil Test Manager app, it’s… Read More
After the primary macronutrients, nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium, come secondary macronutrients, sulphur, calcium, and magnesium. These secondary nutrients are needed in lower quantities, but just because sulphur is qualified as a secondary macronutrient does not mean it’s not as important as those primaries. Sulphur deficiency can be diagnosed in wheat and corn for example, by… Read More
Are Ontario farmers doing a better job of getting phosphorus to stay put on their farms? Over the past decade, farmers, agronomists, researchers and governments have ramped up efforts to reduce the amount of phosphorus leaving farm fields and creating environmental challenges in areas such as the Lake Erie and Sainte-Claire watersheds. University of Waterloo… Read More
The McBlain family farm, located southeast of Brantford in Ontario’s Brant County, hasn’t seen a plow in a generation. Tyler McBlain’s grandfather started no-tilling back in the 1980s. Since that time the farm has gradually moved to a no-till system for soybeans and wheat while all corn is now produced in a strip till system…. Read More
Mark Burnham is doing his best to promote more wheat acres in Ontario. It can be a tough sell, but there’s no disputing the soil health benefits of having wheat in the rotation. The Cobourg, Ont.- farmer, who runs a mixed farm with his family, believes a corn-soy-wheat rotation, with some hay and cover crops,… Read More
When Bloomfield, Ont. farmer Tyler Lester started planting cover crops, the goal was to help keep livestock out of pea crops to address food safety concerns raised by vegetable crop customers. With a healthy deer and wild turkey population that too often ventured into the crops, Lester and his family hatched a strategy to plant… Read More
Knowing your soil and accepting your climatic challenges for what they are is key to choosing the right crops, cover crops, and soil amendments that will perform best. That said, sometimes it takes a major event to push for significant changes to the current status quo. Jenn Doelman farms at Douglas, Ont., and is a… Read More
For years, Tim Williams has dutifully planted crops to the edge of the trees and bush that line the fields he farms near Petrolia, Ont. Every year, he looks at his yield maps to see the same red line indicating no crop yield in these areas that hug the bush and woodlots. But today there… Read More