Lee Briese’s soil health principles build upon five pillars: soil armour, minimizing disturbance, diversity, continuous living roots, and livestock integration. “I don’t find these to be laws, commandments or requirements for soil health management,” he said. “These are nice guidelines to help guide some of the practices.” During a July webinar, the North Dakota crop […] Read more
Tag Archives cover crops
Assessing strength, building on foundation key to soil health
Crop advisor says soil health options will vary by farm and by economics
Learning to read and react to biostrip till
Growers who use it do their best to make it work, especially for corn
Nick Stokman and Ian McDonald have more than 80 years of combined experience in farming, research and extension. Yet they’re relative newcomers to the practice of biostrip tilling, a means of replacing tillage implements with plants. It’s a complex regimen requiring constant adjustments and monitoring, but it definitely has its benefits, mostly when corn is […] Read more
Extension program shuttered amid Conservation Act changes
Essex Region Conservation Authority forced to close Amherstburg demonstration farm
A last hurrah for the Essex Region Conservation Authority’s demonstration farm took place Aug. 1, where visitors could explore the use of cover crops and the intricacies of managing them on heavy clay soils. The shuttering of the farm, located in Amherstburg and in operation since 1996, is in part due to changes implemented by […] Read more
A soil health investigation
It took old and new technology to diagnose compaction as the culprit
The soil on Ken Mitchell’s alfalfa and corn fields looked good on paper but the reality was less than stellar in terms of production. The 100-acre block was the focus of the Grey County Soil and Crop Improvement Association crop tour in late July. It looked at how marrying new technology with tried-and-true soil assessment […] Read more
Farmers show success in marketing sustainability
Making sure consumers understand the language around farming improvements is key
Farmers and the food industry have roles to play as greater emphasis is placed on sustainable farming practices. Representatives from across the food supply chain recently discussed the producer/industry relationship at Valley Bio Farms near Cobden, hosted by Foodbridge’s Beth Hunter and Valley Bio owner Reuben Stone. Valley Bio produces, cleans and sells seeds for […] Read more
Boosting soil health with cover-crop combination of soybean and rye
Brigden farm sees benefits to planting winter cover into standing crop of beans
A Brigden-area farmer’s field-to-field comparison during this year’s dry conditions for soybean planting supports the long-term benefit of no-till and cover crop strategies. Aubrey Lang spoke about his family’s soybean-soybean-soybean-wheat rotation, with a rye cover crop almost yearly, during a grower open house hosted by Petrolia-based Field Farms Marketing on June 22. Lang’s late grandfather […] Read more
Ontario On-Farm Climate Action Fund supports projects on over 130,000 acres of farmland
The Ontario On-Farm Climate Action Fund (OFCAF) allocated over $22 million in cost-share funding to successful applications during the 2022 and 2023 intake periods. The OFCAF provides cost-share funding to farmers to support the implementation of best management practices (BMPs) that tackle climate change through reducing greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions and supporting increased carbon […] Read more
Cover crop benefits clear, but hard to identify with data
Researchers say Roots Not Iron project shows value of cover crops to soil health, despite no immediate increase in organic matter
Farmers plant cover crops for a variety of reasons from weed suppression to erosion control and better soil structure. The increasing interest has seen researchers and growers partner to put data behind in-field observations. Roots Not Iron is one such initiative, designed to measure changes in soil health indicators in cover crop and cover crop-free […] Read more
Maximizing nitrogen availability with manure and cover crops
Considerations for nitrogen availability timing in corn
Combining cover crops with manure can get the most value from soil nitrogen — sort of. How significantly a manure-cover crop combination affects nitrogen availability can vary based on manure type and rate, cover crop type, weather, and other factors. Still, Christine Brown, field crop sustainability specialist with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and […] Read more
Temporary fencing for grazing cover crops
How two Ontario producers use fencing strategies to tackle rising feed costs
Grazing livestock on rented land or on cover crops presents challenges but a number of Ontario producers are proving it’s worth a try to combine the two strategies. One of them, beef farmer Tom Aikins of Ravenna, was recently named the 2023 recipient of the Beef Farmers of Ontario Mapleseed Pasture Award. Why it matters: […] Read more
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