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
Tag Archives soils
Extension program shuttered amid Conservation Act changes
Essex Region Conservation Authority forced to close Amherstburg demonstration farm
At Ag in Motion: Soybean proponents still eye western expansion
Crop seen as a good add to rotations -- if conditions are right
While canola is king of the Canadian oilseed market, the same can be said of soybeans in the United States. However, the big pulse crop south of the border has made inroads in the western provinces. Manitoba has seen the biggest growth in soybean acres with well over a million planted annually in recent years, […] Read more
At Ag in Motion: New ‘Soil Champions’ team to promote soil health
'Societies live and die by soil'
A new group of “Soil Champions” has been formed to promote the benefits of soil health. This new committee — announced Wednesday at the Ag in Motion farm show at Langham, Sask. — will work to ensure the care and protection of Canada’s agricultural soil through education, knowledge transfer, forums for collaboration and other activities. […] Read more
Images of root chemicals offer new insights on plant growth
Science Notes: “Roadmap” lays out where key molecules are distributed along stem cells of corn plant roots
Applying an advanced imaging technology used in cancer treatment to plant roots, researchers at the University of California San Diego and Stanford University have developed a new understanding of essential root chemicals responsible for plant growth. Using a type of mass spectrometer, a study led by UC San Diego Biological Sciences postdoctoral scholar Tao Zhang […] Read more
Multi-million-dollar fund greenlights soil health projects
Eight projects to push soil health practices will get funding for the next five years
Eight soil health projects across Canada will be getting a multi-million-dollar boost in private funding over the next five years. The Weston Family Foundation — the philanthropic arm of the Weston business empire — has slated $10 million for those eight projects through the organization’s soil health initiative, it was announced Feb. 13. The initiative […] Read more
Mobile Soil Technology Suite hits the road to farm events
OSCIA offers use of unit and technicians to organizations
A pair of trailers packed with state-of-the-art soil science and audio-visual equipment had what was referred to by Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association (OSCIA) officials as a “kick-off” on July 13 in Bothwell. Based on the rave reviews received there and at later events in Elora and Rostock, they’re confident the Mobile Soil Technology […] Read more
How the Ice Age’s impact on subsoils guides topsoil management today
To reach the soil’s geology, you need to dig deep, but its impact on production is closer to the surface. For farmers, soil specialists or people in between, there was nothing more intriguing than the soil pit at the Harnessing the Power of Soil Health at the Grand River Raceway in July. Why it matters: […] Read more
Dust storm, hurricane-force winds tear across U.S. upper Midwest
Chicago | Reuters — Hurricane-force winds tore across the U.S. upper Midwest Thursday evening, sending walls of dust across cities and rural towns, causing widespread property damage and killing at least two people. Straight-line winds up to 170 km/h reached from Kansas to Wisconsin, pushing waves of farmland topsoil across the horizon and plunging communities […] Read more
Looking for carbon sequestration answers
U.S. farmers could soon be paid for sequestering carbon, which could put Canadian farmers at another subsidy disadvantage
Canadian farmers are worried their American neighbours are on the cusp of getting yet another competitive advantage, this time over carbon management. Farmers in this country are not only paying carbon taxes on many of their farm inputs, they are not receiving any credits for the carbon sequestered in their soils. Meanwhile, American legislators are […] Read more
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