Farm groups are urged to decide how they can best use the Senate’s new soil study to encourage adoption of the recommendations, perhaps in existing programs. | File photo

Farmers encouraged to keep Senate soil study prominent

Senator Rob Black says committee will seek more details on government’s response to Critical Ground in the new year

REGINA — The senator who led the Canadian soils study says farmers have to hold the government’s feet to the fire if they want the recommendations implemented. Rob Black told a recent Agricultural Producers Association of Saskatchewan meeting that the Senate’s agriculture committee was “less than happy” with some of the government’s response, which offered […] Read more

Yukon Senator Pat Duncan, under the watchful eye of Heather White, pours water into cover-cropped soil as part of a rain run-off demonstration during a Senate agriculture committee national soil study fact-finding mission at the University of Guelph’s Soil Health Interpretive Centre in Elora earlier this year.  |  Diana Martin photo

Senate soil study highlights need for research

In their Critical Ground report, senators call for the protection of soil and its designation as a national resource

Glacier FarmMedia – Under a blazing sun, Senator Rob Black shared insights from the recently released soil study entitled “Critical Ground.” “Soil is critical and essential to life; we must do all we can to preserve it,” Black stated. The senator spoke metres away from the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association’s soil pit, which […] Read more

Senator Rob Black discusses the important role the recently released Critical Ground report could play for soil health and protection at Canada's Outdoor Farm Show, Sept. 11, 2024. | Diana Martin photo

Critical Ground highlights the need for research during Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show

Report advocates for soil to be designated and protected as a national resource

Glacier FarmMedia – Under a blazing sun, Senator Rob Black shared insights from the recently released soil study “Critical Ground.” The senator spoke metres from the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement Association’s soil pit, displaying the challenges and benefits of soil health during Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show on Sept. 11. Related stories: The Latest News […] Read more


Rob O'Connor kicks off the 2024 Canada's Outdoor Farm Show

Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show kicks off 2024 event

Glacier FarmMedia — The 2024 edition of Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show (COFS) kicked off near Woodstock this morning, with a celebration of agriculture. Rob O’Connor, COFS show director, said the show’s dynamic nature is on display this year. Related stories: The Latest News and Stories from Canada’s Outdoor Farm Show “There’s nothing ‘always the same’ […] Read more



Senate soil report supports valued asset

Senate soil report supports valued asset

Quick, what one thing is essential to any farming operation? If you had to think for a minute to come up with soil, it’s understandable. Land, or more specifically soil, is much like water for a fish or air for land animals. We are oblivious to its presence until it is gone or degraded. This […] Read more

The committee on agriculture and forestry released a report on the state of the nation’s soil that includes 25 recommendations designed to prevent soil degradation and loss of agricultural land.  |  Getty Images

Senate urges soil strategy

The two-year study of Canada's soils is now complete and recognizes that while conservation efforts over recent decades have been tremendous there is still more to be done

UPDATED: Tuesday June 13, 2024 – 1500 CST – to include comments from government and industry officials. REGINA — Canada requires a long-term overarching soil conservation and protection strategy, a Senate committee says. The committee on agriculture and forestry released its report on the state of the nation’s soil last week after two years of […] Read more

Farmland is cheap to buy and cheap to build upon for those looking to construct new, low-density housing, but at what cost?  |  Getty Images

Losing farmland to urban sprawl receives little attention

Every day, thousands of acres of farmland around the world are converted into urban sprawl as developers build low-density housing projects for people choosing to move out of too-expensive, decayed, highly-taxed, over-regulated and crime-ridden cities. Canada is particularly subject to this with cities like Toronto and Calgary spilling out across hundreds of thousands of acres […] Read more


Farm organizations worry that researchers are turning away from farmer-relevant work because available funding doesn’t support mainstream agronomic projects related to efficiency, productivity or resiliency. |  File photo

Emissions focus worries ag sector

WINNIPEG — Forcing every federally supported agricultural research project to involve climate change mitigation threatens farmers’ vital interests, leading agriculture industry stakeholders say. “That lens is always ‘how is this going to help reduce emissions,’” noted CropLife Canada president Pierre Petelle in an interview during a farm meeting this winter. Other stories in this Special […] Read more

The head of CropLife Canada says that farmers are the best representatives of their own interests, and their interests are best represented when they can talk face to face with decision-makers. | Getty Images

Farmers urged to make sure decision-makers hear them

Farmers need the best lobbyists to get up close and personal with the politicians, regulators, officials, presidents, vice-presidents and regional managers who affect their lives. The good thing is that they’re cheap. As discussed in a story on page 15 in this week’s paper, the head of CropLife Canada says that farmers are the best […] Read more