Her twitter handle is @MBsoilsleuth for a reason. Our guest for today’s RealAg LIVE! is a soil management specialist with Manitoba Agriculture and Resource Development. Marla Riekman joins our host Kara Oosterhuis to talk about all things soil compaction, what happens if a downpour arrives at a super dry soil, fertility in a dry year,… Read More

For many, December is a time to reflect, to really sit back and look at what the previous months looked like. What were the highs? What were the lows? Despite 2020 being the year it was — and one I certainly won’t forget in my lifetime — it was also a whole lot of fun… Read More

This Monday edition of RealAg Radio features a lot of agronomic info. We appreciate you tuning in! On the show you’ll hear: Don Flaten, professor emeritus of soil science at University of Manitoba, featured in an episode of Agronomy Geeks with Lyndsey Smith; Nate Ort of the Canola Council of Canada, on how to select… Read More

It’s time for our premiere episode of The Agronomists! This hour long, prime-time live show will run every Monday evening and be full of commentary, insight, and likely a few laughs. For this first episode, we kick things off with Peter “Wheat Pete” Johnson, RealAgriculture agronomist, and Marla Riekman, soil specialist with Manitoba Agriculture and… Read More

Soil moisture extremes over the last few years have caused soil salinity patches to expand in many fields. “Salinity is a water problem, not a salt problem,” stresses Marla Riekman, soil management specialist with Manitoba Agriculture and Rural Development, in the video below. While kochia, foxtail barley, and other saline-tolerant weeds are often the symptoms,… Read More

It’s Agronomy Monday, which means we’re talking crops and soils. In this episode, recorded by a jet-setting host Shaun Haney, you’ll hear: Deb Campbell, Agronomy Advantage, on spring cereals and their management in Ontario; Soil nutrient levels after a wet fall, with Cristie Preston, senior agronomist with Nutrien; Soil health and nutrient planning decisions coming… Read More

Unless you’re someone who has a soil pit dug on the farm, it’s rare to see more than the top few inches of soil. But what exists below has a significant impact on what happens above, and the better we understand the characteristics of our soil, the better we can manage its potential and limitations…. Read More

Did you know tillage erosion is the most significant erosive effect that’s seen on the Canadian prairies? Marla Riekman, soil management specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, says that often the focus is around wind and water erosion when really, it should be tillage erosion. However, it’s not just how much you are tilling your land —… Read More

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