For anyone that’s ever done an agriculture diploma or degree, there’s likely a course that elicited groans when you’d see it on the schedule. For some it’s likely communications, for others maybe statistics, but for many it’s soil science. That was the case for Marla Riekman, which is ironic, given that she now serves as… Read More
North Carolina farmer Russell Hedrick is trying to make money in agriculture. That’s one of the reason’s why the first-generation farmer, who started with just 30 acres in 2012, believes in farming for profit, not max yield. Fast forward to 2018, and Hedrick’s operation has grown to more than 800 acres while his crop inputs… Read More
Jim Denys, a Middlesex County farmer, and Anne Verhallen, a long-time provincial government soil specialist, have been named recipients of the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA)’s Soil Champion Award. The award recognizes leaders in sustainable soil management. This is the first time the association has presented its award to multiple recipients. “We are… Read More
The Ontario Soil Network (OSN), a farmer-led extension effort, now has a second group of 40 farmers from across the province who will work to adopt and promote soil-building best management practices. The group kicked off the two-year peer-to-peer knowledge exchange in Kingston last month. Framed as a leadership challenge, the participants seek to increase the adoption… Read More
A collection of 110 soil monoliths dating back to the 1950s was recently donated by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) to Lethbridge College. The donation, said to be worth more than $240,000, will be used as a resource and teaching tool by the college. The history behind the collection is quite mysterious, according to Dr. Francois Eudes, Alberta director… Read More
The theoretical yield of soybeans varies depending on who you talk to, but by all accounts the oilseed should be able to top 300 bushels per acre. For growers who deal with the reality of growing the crop in Ontario, a more realistic target is 80 bu/ac, says Syngenta agronomist Eric Richter. With the 2018… Read More
What’s the most important agronomic resource Ontario farmers could hold in their possession? How about the new Soil Fertility Handbook? You’ll hear all about it on this episode of the RealAg Bookclub podcast as handbook editor, Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs soil fertility specialist Jake Munroe, tells us why there should be… Read More
Improvement of soil moisture conditions were not widespread as some would like it to be, but the good news is there was increased precipitation for much of Western Canada, according to the latest report via the Canadian Drought Monitor. Looking at the latest report (see below), producers will see a big change in southern Saskatchewan… Read More
Much has changed on the Ontario soil conservation front since 1987. No-till farming has been firmly entrenched, most farms in the province now proudly tout their own Environmental Farm Plan, and soil health is recognized as key to a $13 billion food economy that fuels 800,000 jobs. It’s a 30-year journey that Harold Rudy captures… Read More
It’s not often a company opens the doors to its multi-million dollar seed research centre, so when you get the chance for a tour, you take it. Last month, Syngenta held its media summit which wrapped up by taking both Canadian and American agricultural journalists on a trip to Stanton, Minnesota, to check out their… Read More
This month, the University of Saskatchewan awarded more than $8 million towards research projects. Large amounts to the tune of $200K, even $375K surely grabbed most peoples attention, but my eyes shifted more towards Jacqueline Toews’s research. Toews has been awarded $17,500 in scholarship money to continue her research on the efficacy of grazing cattle on… Read More
When it comes to testing seed, you’re after many answers, but the bottom line is always “Is this seed fit for use?” When it comes to soil, you don’t have the choice on whether or not to use it — but you can use soil sampling and testing to inform your management and put a… Read More
Unwanted snow that blanketed parts of Alberta and Saskatchewan in the month of September has left many farmers at a standstill near the more-than-halfway point of harvest for the year. According to Karin Lindquist, forage and beef specialist with Alberta Agriculture, the frost could be also be a concern for nitrate accumulation. “What happens is,… Read More
Landscape restoration: do you do it? You might want to think about doing it, because chances are you’re losing yield if you don’t, according to Marla Riekman, land management specialist with Manitoba Agriculture. In the simplest terms, landscape restoration is moving soil back from where it came from. When growers use tillage year after year,… Read More
Adaptable is perhaps the best word to describe John Deere’s new variable-intensity tillage tool. Farmers hovered around the 2660VT at the Farm Progress Show in Boone, Iowa, this week as Jarred Karnei, Deere’s tactical marketing manager for tillage equipment, demonstrated many of the the tillage tool’s features. In the video below, Karnei explains that the key to the… Read More