Long-term field research, conducted by the University of Guelph, has confirmed Solvita Soil Tests as valuable testing tools for evaluating soil health. Research results show that Solvita tests enabled a high level of certainty in “useful” cropping comparisons and correlated with soil carbon levels and total soil nitrogen. Solvita tests have the ability to capture… Read More
Category: Soil Organic Carbon
Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau has announced $2.6 million in federal funding for the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association (CFGA) to support three projects that will assess and improve alfalfa growth using artificial intelligence and develop a carbon offset system for grasslands. Some of the funding announced July 19 will also be used… Read More
The Global Roundtable for Sustainable Beef (GRSB) has announced its plan and commitment to sustainability goals by 2030. Focused on three areas — climate, land use, and animal health and welfare — the plan outlines the roundtable’s “commitments to advance and improve the sustainability of the global beef value chain.” Specifically, GRSB aims to globally reduce by… Read More
Regeneration Canada is a not-for-profit organization whose mission is to raise awareness and catalyze systems of change towards regenerative land stewardship in the country. Through workshops, online education, and information materials available to the general public, farmers, ranchers, and land stewards, Regeneration Canada hopes to engage with all stakeholders involved in decision-making regarding land. But… Read More
Weather is the ultimate source for small talk, and rainfall is perhaps the most talked about — from how much, to when, to not enough, and on too much. For this episode of the Corn School, Bernard Tobin asks Dale Cowan, senior agronomist at AGRIS C0-operative, about how much rain a corn crop needs throughout… Read More
In the uncertainty of a national carbon strategy and how a carbon offset system will work, farmers’ contributions to sequestration and carbon emission mitigation efforts are frequently minimized. It seems the more knowledge there is about the exact amount of carbon sequestered in agricultural land, the more power farmers may have in lobbying for exemptions… Read More
What does it take to be a soil champion? If you’re Laura Van Eerd, professor at University of Guelph, Ridgetown campus, it means being curious about soil biology and crop production and constantly fascinated about what we have yet to learn about nutrient cycles, microbes, and more. Van Eerd considers herself lucky to be able… Read More
A series of three meetings were jointly held last week led by the Canadian Cattlemen’s Association (CCA) and Nature Conservancy of Canada (NCC). The purpose of the meetings was to discuss grazing livestock and their role in building a sustainable food supply system. The meetings and consultations were held in preparation for the United Nations… Read More
Plant Response, Inc., a biologicals focused company headquartered at Raleigh, N.C., recently announced its acquisition of WISErg. WISErg is a Seattle-area startup that has created a system for upcycling nutrients from food scraps. The nutrients can then be used in fertilizer and nutrient efficiency products that can enhance plant and soil health. The company has… Read More
For decades, soybean acreage has increased in Canada and has been internationally fuelled by growing world demand for the oilseed crop. Soybeans have also proven to be a friend to farmers, making a profitable contribution to the bottom line and adding another cropping option to diversify and extend rotations. But what happens when farmers plant… Read More
A word that continues to surface when carbon offsets come up is permanence. The idea that longevity in the practices implemented in order to generate or claim carbon offsets needs to be defined. Dr. Mario Tenuta, professor of applied soil ecology in the department of soil science at University of Manitoba, says that it’s a… Read More
A two-year pilot project that will demonstrate grasslands’ carbon-storing power was announced last week by the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association. The project is a follow-up to a previous one, run through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s Agriculture Greenhouse Gases program. “We developed the first carbon offsets protocol applicable to Canadian grasslands,” says Cedric MacLeod, executive… Read More
Saskatchewan farm organizations, the Soil Conservation Council of Canada, and Saskatchewan Soil Conservation Association (SSCA) are encouraging farmers to participate and provide feedback on the federal government’s proposed Greenhouse Gas Offset Credit System regulations. A coalition of farm groups are uniting to have Saskatchewan farmers are recognized and compensated for their carbon sequestration efforts, including… Read More
The federal government announced its draft regulations for a national carbon offset framework, and while the kinks still need to be worked out, the first protocol that is intended to proceed is for soil organic carbon. As such, I’ve been working to lay out what this may entail and why carbon sequestration may not be… Read More
With the federal government releasing details on its planned carbon offset system soon, soil organic carbon will be a key measurement, and one to pay close attention to going forward. So far, Minister of Agriculture and Agri-Food Marie-Claude Bibeau sees the planned carbon offset system creating an opportunity for farmers to receive credit — and… Read More