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
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
Claire Coombs’ first agronomy love might be soil, but teaching and extension work are likely a close second. Coombs is currently teaching at Algonquin College at Perth, Ont., in the Business Agriculture diploma program. Since March, it’s been an adventure in adaptability, as programs shifted from in-person to online nearly overnight. That change alone would… Read More
Sixty-inch spacing for corn is sure not for everyone, but the math and soil conservation rewards can work for farmers who have limited rotations and can benefit from extended grazing for livestock on well-established cover crops. That’s Sunderland, Ontario, farmer Ed Hanson’s takeaway from the first year of growing corn in 60-inch rows on his… 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
Some of the earliest adopters in Western Canada have been growing cover crops for a long time, but interest has ramped up over the last few years, and so has the need for information and data to inform farmers, agronomists, and researchers in their decisions related to cover cropping. Callum Morrison, a PhD student at… 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
Did September feel a little cool? Well, that’s because it was. Not that the month was that cold, but it was cool enough, and cool enough on consecutive days that the Ontario corn crop is taking for-ev-er to dry down. In this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson tackles some recent questions, offers encouragement,… Read More
Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson talks a mile a minute in this one folks, buckle up! In this week’s episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson answers all the agronomy questions about wheat seeding, cover crops, and weed control, in a Farmer Rapid Fire style. We see what you did there, Johnson, trying to be… Read More
From the dreaded aphanomyces (hard to say, harder to control), to the potential of soybeans, fall weed control options, and on to delicious sounding diseases of fabas, Sherrilyn Phelps, agronomy lead for Saskatchewan Pulse Growers, has so much to cover in this week’s RealAg LIVE! segment. Host Shaun Haney and Phelps also discuss some of… Read More
They don’t call him Wheat Pete for nothing. It’s September and that means it’s time to talk about wheat, wheat, wheat. In this week’s episode of Wheat Pete’s Word, host Peter Johnson is answering the most timely questions regarding the winter wheat crop, choosing seeding rates, the importance of seed treatments, and so much more…. Read More
Does southern Alberta ever get wind? Hmm, is rain wet? Leaving bare ground exposed to wind erosion in southern Alberta just doesn’t seem like a good idea, says Peter Johnson, host of “Wheat Pete’s Word.” Johnson and RealAg Radio host Shaun Haney talked through an agronomy problem sent in by a listener earlier this week…. Read More
It’s time for Day 4 of the virtual Ontario Diagnostic Days! This week we focus on soil snippets — a series of soil management insights delivered by a host of Ontario soil researchers, agronomists, and extension specialists. The lineup includes Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs soil management specialists Anne Verhallen and Sebastian… Read More
Who wants to learn a new weather term? Get on in here for this week’s Wheat Pete’s Word where — unfortunately — we learn there is a specific term for an inland hurricane. Also in this week’s episode, host Peter Johnson is talking cover crop adoption and cover crop options well into the fall, where… Read More
The wheat is coming off, and the number of drills out in Ontario fields planting cover crops is astonishing. There are clouds of dust everywhere — from a twenty-foot drill seeding oats, to a floater broadcasting cover crop seed with the fertilizer, Ontario farmers are adopting cover crops in a big way. Many think every… Read More
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