In spring 2021, Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada (AAFC) announced funding to expand its Living Labs initiative to every province. Today, organizations tasked with connecting farmers, scientists, and other stakeholders to advance sustainable, environmentally friendly on-farm practices and technologies are starting to see preliminary results. One such organization is Food Water Wellness Foundation in Alberta. Kim… Read More
Category: Soil Health
The microbiomes of animals, on and in crops, and in soil and water are incredibly complex that are intricately interconnected, with each influencing the others in various ways. Dr. Tim McAllister, principal research scientist with Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada, has spent nearly a decade studying microbiomes, referring to them as the one health microbiome or… Read More
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Agribusiness (OMAFA) is getting ready to update its soil management recommendations for farmers in the province. That job will be in the hands of the Ontario Soil Management Committee (OSMC), a group that’s been around since the late 1980s, and has acted as a gatekeeper of guidelines published… Read More
Could everyday consumer waste be an effective soil amendment that promotes a healthy microbial soil community and contribute to productive and profitable crops? There’s a growing body of scientific evidence that supports the practice and research being conducted by the University of Alberta’s Dr. Derek MacKenzie is poised to share new understanding of how waste… Read More
New information is continually emerging about the interactions occurring beneath our feet. The science of soil is constantly evolving, with new insights into how billions of bacteria, fungi, nematodes, and protozoa interact with plants, the nutrients available in the soil, and the potential amount of carbon that can be sequestered. While soil sampling is a… Read More
Over the decades, attitudes, thoughts and ideas within the forage and grazing community have shifted; however, the passion that ranchers have for the land and their lifelong commitment to learning have not. While at the Western Canada Conference on Soil Health and Grazing (WCCSHG) at Edmonton, Alta., last week, Grant Lastiwka of Renovo Seed spoke… Read More
It’s World Soil Day. December 5, the international day to celebrate soil, was first recommended by the International Union of Soil Sciences in 2002. This year, the theme is ‘Caring for soils: measure, monitor, manage.’ With over 95 per cent of our food coming from the soil and soil supplying 15 of the 18 naturally… Read More
Cover crops are everywhere on Prince Edward Island. In recent years, growers looking to help manage the Island’s light-textured soils have rapidly ramped up cover crop planting to improve soil health and fight erosion. Syngenta Canada agronomist Eric Richter says he noticed a big change since he moved to PEI five years ago. In this… Read More
There isn’t any one thing that creates a healthy soil. Instead, building soil health and resiliency takes a combination of plant growth, nutrient additions, and careful management. Turns out, it’s not just building organic matter that adds to this dynamic — growing high yielding crops is also key part of nutrient cycling and productive soil…. Read More
Soil type, water availability, hybrid choice, plant population and crop nutrients are just some of the factors growers have to consider when pursuing a high-yielding corn crop on their farm. On this episode of RealAgriculture’s Soil School, we catch up with Aaron Stevanus as he shares how these factors are evaluated at the Stevanus Family… Read More