There’s always room for improvement when it comes to equipment design and setup, according to grain growers Warren Schneckenburger, Mark Burnham, and Chuck Baresich. Speaking during the 2022 Innovative Farmers […] Read more
Tag Archives soil health
Grain growers share the best equipment changes they’ve made on-farm
Three farmers reveal top agronomic and efficiency improvements on their operations at IFAO conference
Farmers test microbes to nourish crops as climate pressure grows, costs rise
Soil biologicals are getting a lot of attention and research money
Tech companies are raising hundreds of millions of dollars, including backing from agriculture heavyweights like Bayer AG, to develop farm products that use living things like microbes and seaweed to […] Read more
Watershed studies trickle down, but slowly
Vermont researchers testing flows from tens of thousands of acres in on-farm research program
Joshua Faulkner is a firm believer in the power of on-farm research to influence policymakers and agricultural practices. As program co-ordinator for the University of Vermont Extension Center for Sustainable […] Read more
ONFARM launches new data dashboard for Ontario soils
Project brings together extensive on-farm research data
A new online data dashboard launched by ONFARM allows the agriculture sector access to results from 25 trial sites across Ontario. The On-Farm Applied Research and Monitoring (ONFARM) applied research […] Read more
Root symbiosis regulated through plant nutrient status
Science Notes: Discovery offers potential to help achieve sustainable agriculture goals
Plants absorb phosphate better when they collaborate with certain soil fungi, research has found. Arbuscular mycorrhiza (AM), a symbiosis with such fungi, is used by more than 80 per cent […] Read more
Study clarifies nitrogen impact on carbon sequestration
Science Notes: Why soil organic carbon fails to build in high-input corn fields
Soil organic carbon is a cornerstone of soil health. It improves soil structure while enhancing water- and nutrient-holding capacity. To build it up, farmers incorporate crop residues into soil. So […] Read more
Ontario cover crop survey garners most respondents ever
Survey pinpoints potential solutions to encourage cover crop adoption
The recently released 2020 Ontario Cover Crop Feedback report has delivered insight into the benefits of cover cropping and the barriers that limit adoption. The main benefits identified include better […] Read more
Canadian company brings carbon-friendly sulphate alternative to market
Byproduct from oil and gas industry offers sustainable fertilizer input
A Canadian company has launched a product that could help farmers meet sustainability demands without comprising yield – and provide a cost advantage over conventional products. SulGro is a non-synthetic, […] Read more
Long-term Ontario studies show value of cover crops
Boosting organic matter in soils proved to boost profit margins and reduce yield variation year to year
A series of long-term studies in southern Ontario are showing the value of cover crops and boosting soil organic matter. When combining data across experiments and research stations, University of […] Read more
Livestock antibiotics, rising temperatures disrupt soil microbial communities
Science Notes: Conditions see soil bacteria collapse, microbial efficiency reduced
Soils are home to diverse microbial communities that cycle nutrients, support agriculture and trap carbon, an important service for climate mitigation. Globally, around 80 per cent of Earth’s terrestrial carbon […] Read more
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