
Tag Archives Soil carbon

Overgrazing means less carbon and more methane
Research is demonstrating the importance of legumes in a forage system
[UPDATED: April 2] Thirty years ago Dr. Bart Lardner’s research focused on production efficiency. More recently, the researcher and professor at the University of Saskatchewan says his research program has moved toward ways the beef industry benefits the environment. His presentation last November at the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association’s 14th annual conference in Harrison […] Read more

Global study looks at grazing’s effect on drylands
A recent study is untangling the interactions between grazing pressure and climate on soil quality in different sites around the world. Dr. Fernando Maestre Gil, a researcher at the University of Alicante in Spain, was the lead writer of an article published in 2022 in Science magazine called Grazing and Ecosystem Service Delivery in Global […] Read more

The struggle to restore native prairie
Though grassland reclamation can take decades and has many challenges, efforts are underway to renew native prairie ecosystems
On the Northern Great Plains, it’s estimated that one acre of native grass is lost every minute. Though recently there has been increased awareness about this ecosystem being the world’s most endangered, pressures to convert this irreplaceable landscape remain strong. “Unfortunately, there’s always this push and pull between different land uses and intensification of agriculture […] Read more

Tech firm aims to boost regenerative ag through A.I., machine learning
Terramera proposes to cut emissions, sequester carbon through efficiencies
A Vancouver ag tech firm is pitching a proposal to both public- and private-sector investors that would use Microsoft technology to help the ag sector “pull carbon from the air.” Terramera on Monday put forward a $730 million proposal for an initiative it calls the Global Centre for Regenerative Agriculture, which would oversee efforts to […] Read more

Regenerative agriculture as a tool to help limit climate change
From the Ground Up with Steve Kenyon
There sure seems to be a lot of hype about climate change lately. I’m not a scientist but as a producer, a change in weather can affect my business a great deal. The big push seems to be about reducing emissions and removing carbon from the atmosphere. Everyone is blaming everyone else about putting too […] Read more

Putting a value on forages
A new project by the Canadian Forage and Grassland Association will establish protocols for high-performance forage management
With over 70 million acres of dedicated Canadian cropland and a direct economic value of $5.09 billion, forages are the country’s third-largest crop, just behind wheat valued at $5.2 billion and canola at $7.3 billion. There’s no doubt forages are good for the economy. Perennial forages play an environmental role with the ability to reduce […] Read more

The case for carbon storage
Alberta grasslands study to help develop policies
Good-news stories for beef producers are beginning to flow out from a massive dataset collected during a three-year carbon benchmarking study done to evaluate the effects of long-term grazing on native grasslands of Alberta. Some of the findings won’t surprise beef producers who see the positive effects first hand, but this is the first time […] Read more

OMAFRA seen needing a soil health ‘tuneup’
Ontario’s environmental commissioner is calling on the provincial ag ministry to rebuild its soil health expertise and find ways to encourage farmers to adopt soil-friendly production practices, to deal with what she calls a “catastrophic” loss in soil organic matter levels. The report recommends better soil carbon level monitoring and 10-year programs to financially encourage […] Read more