July 27, 2022
How variable is your soil?
Grid soil sampling has historically been the gold standard to measure nutrient variability in soils. But is grid sampling good enough? Or can we do better with newer technology?
April 20, 2022
Fertilizer Stabilizers: How Do We Use Them?
Often called by many names in the marketplace — nitrogen stabilizers, controlled release products or nitrogen inhibitors — fertilizer stabilizers are used to increase the efficiency of applied nitrogen when conditions for loss exist. Inhibitors are classified as urease inhibitors, nitrification inhibitors, or polymer coatings. What do these products do and how can we use them to increase nitrogen efficiency?
October 4, 2021
Using SWAT MAPS in Potato Production
Here in Prince Edward Island, our agricultural landscape is dominated by potato production. Rather than looking to Western Canada for solutions, we often turned to Western Europe and places like Belgium and Holland.
September 3, 2021
Managing pH Variability with SWAT MAPS
Many areas of the world have problems with low soil pH, which can reduce phosphate availability and increase potential for toxicities from micronutrients such as aluminum (Al) and manganese (Mn).
June 23, 2021
Knoll Management with SWAT MAPS
For every knoll that has been taken out of production altogether, there must be many acres that are somewhere in between… not fully productive, but not to the point where we would consider taking them out of production.
June 3, 2021
The Role of SWAT MAPS in Environmental Stewardship
A SWAT map allows a farmer or agronomist to manage spatial variability across a landscape in several ways, including variable rate fertility, seed, soil amendments, or soil applied herbicides – all of which have responses based on soil and water variability.
May 11, 2021
Putting Nitrogen in the Crop, Not the Air
There’s a lot of talk of greenhouse gas emissions and environmental impacts of everything we do. From “carbon footprint” to surface water pollution, agriculture is no stranger to negative attention. But there’s one topic that hasn’t received as much attention but likely will soon – nitrous oxide (N2O).
May 4, 2021
SWAT MAPS and Herbicide Degradation
Herbicides are a critical tool on any farm but we need to utilize them carefully as resistance builds and options are limited. While ensuring we are killing target weeds, we also need to be conscious about rates and potential carry over issues.