Cereals Canada has published a new series of sustainability reports for the Canadian cereals value chain. The reports cover Canadian non-durum wheat, durum wheat, barley, and oats. Six environmental indicators were used as markers of sustainability in the reports — carbon footprint, soil organic carbon, fertilizer use, irrigation, pesticide use, and soil erosion. These same... Read More
Category: Soil Organic Carbon
The Canadian Alliance for Net-Zero Agri-food (CANZA) views itself as an organization that sits somewhere in the matrix of quantifying soil carbon, working with farmers, and connecting supply chain players. Nick Betts, managing director of CANZA, says that the alliance emerged out of a need to connect different points in the value chain. It aims... Read More
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
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
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
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
How does commercial nitrogen fertilizer impact soil organic matter? Does adding nitrogen burn up organic matter or does it actually enhance organic matter levels in farm soils? Earlier this year, Syngenta soil health assessment lead Jordan Wade and Washington State University agronomist Andrew McGuire teamed up to answer that question. After reviewing decades of academic... 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 fertility is the powerhouse that drives crop yield — and this episode of The Agronomists is an absolute powerhouse of soil fertility knowledge in order to learn more about soil pH. When too high or too low, the pH of soil can create huge issues in nutrient availability, nitrogen fixing capability, and soil microbe... Read More