Accelerate Your Soil Health – Learn

Local Advice and Strategies

Cover Crops

id	resource_name	organization	region	commodity	description
1	Four growers who believe in inter-seeding into standing corn	Country Guide	Southern Ontario Western Ontario	Oilseed & Grain	This article discusses the spread of cover cropping and shares the experiences of four farmers who use cover cropping on their farms.Open Resource
2	Doug Johnston: Minimum Tillage and Building Organic Matter for Long-Term Productivity	Farm & Food Care Ontario	Southern Ontario	Dairy Oilseed & Grain	Doug Johnston, a farmer in Perth County, discusses his use of minimum tillage, cover crops and nutrient applications to improve soil health.Open Resource
3	Dan Breen: Minimum Tillage & Building Organic Matter for Long-Term Productivty	Farm & Food Care Ontario	Southern Ontario	Dairy Oilseed & Grain	Dan Breen, a farmer in Middlesex County, discusses his use of crop rotations, no-till, cover crops, and manure applications to improve soil health.Open Resource
4	Scott Mabury: Bringing Health Back to Exhausted Soil	Farm & Food Care Ontario	Central Ontario	Oilseed & Grain	Scott Mabury, a farmer in Northumberland County, discusses his use of crop rotation, cover crops, no-till and soil sampling to promote soil health.Open Resource
5	Tyler McBlain: Improving Soil Health Takes a System Approach	Farm & Food Care Ontario	Southern Ontario	Oilseed & Grain	Tyler McBlain, a farmer in Brant County, discusses his use of no-till/strip-till, cover crops, and variable rate fertilizer applications to support soil health.Open Resource
6	Mark Richards: All Green All the Time to Maintain Soil Structure and Resilience	Farm & Food Care Ontario	Southern Ontario	Oilseed & Grain Vegetable & Melon	Mark Richards, a farmer in Chatham-Kent, discusses his use of no-till, strip-till, cover crops and manure applications to promote soil health.Open Resource
7	Jenn and Mike Doelman: Healthy Soils for Healthy People	Farm & Food Care Ontario	Eastern Ontario	Oilseed & Grain	Jenn and Mike Doelman, farmers in Renfrew County, discuss their use of no-till, crop rotation, cover crops, and organic amendments to promote soil health.Open Resource
8	Gerald Schuller: Getting Better with Less	Farm & Food Care Ontario	Southern Ontario	Oilseed & Grain	Gerald Schuller, a farmer in the Niagara Region, discusses his use of no-till, cover crops, crop rotation, and soil testing to support soil health.Open Resource
9	Carl Brubacher: Less Tillage Will Let Soil Do Its Work	Farm & Food Care Ontario	Southern Ontario	Hog Oilseed & Grain	Carl Brubacher, who farms in Wellington County, discusses his use of targeted tillage, no-till, crop rotations, cover crops and manure applications to promote soil health.Open Resource
10	Ken Nixon: Soil That’s Left Alone is a Powerful, Resilient Tool	Farm & Food Care Ontario	Southern Ontario	Oilseed & Grain	Ken Nixon, a farmer near Longon, discusses his use of cover crops, crop rotation, no-till/strip-till, nutrient use and controlled traffic to promote soil health.Open Resource
11	Gerard Grubb: The Value of Keeping Topsoil in Place	Farm & Food Care Ontario	Southern Ontario	Oilseed & Grain	Gerard Grubb, a farmer in Bruce County, discusses his use of no-till/strip-till, cover crops, nutrient applications, and crop rotation to promote soil health.Open Resource
12	Thinking About Cover Crops?	Grand River Conservation Authority	Southern Ontario	Hog Oilseed & Grain Vegetable & Melon	Three farmers share their stories of how they integrate cover crops into their crop rotations.Open Resource
13	Stories from the Field: Improving Soil Organic Matter	Grand River Conservation Authority	Southern Ontario	Oilseed & Grain	Mike Werbicky, a farmer in the St. George area, discusses the actions he has taken, including the incorporation of cover crops into his rotation, to improve his soil organic matter.Open Resource
14	Stories from the Field: Finding Solutions to Soil Erosion	Grand River Conservation Authority	Southern Ontario	Oilseed & Grain	Owen McIntyre, a farmer in Brant County, shares the strategies – including cover crops – he has used to tackle the problem of erosion in his fields.Open Resource
15	Stories from the Field: Dean and Trish Scott	Grand River Conservation Authority	Southern Ontario	Oilseed & Grain	Dean and Trish Scott, who farm in Wellington County, discuss how they have improved their soil structure and water-holding capacity. Cover crops are part of their solution.Open Resource
16	Stories from the Field: Ted Stroh	Grand River Conservation Authority	Southern Ontario	Beef Oilseed & Grain	Ted and Don Stroh, who farm in the Region of Waterloo, discuss how they have addressed soil erosion on their farm. Cover crops are part of their solution.Open Resource
17	Stories from the Field: Leaving a Legacy on the Farm	Grand River Conservation Authority	Southern Ontario	Beef Oilseed & Grain	Steve Sickle, who farms in Brant County, shares how he uses cover crops to help build the resiliency of his soil.Open Resource
18	Stories from the Field: Conservation on the Farm	Grand River Conservation Authority	Southern Ontario	Oilseed & Grain	Darcy and Lorna Weber, who farm near Elmira, discuss the role of cover crops in their conservation efforts.Open Resource
19	Greenbelt Farmers: Sustaining Soil Health	Greenbelt Foundation	Central Ontario Southern Ontario	Beef Dairy Greenhouse Nursery & Floriculture Oilseed & Grain Poultry & Egg Vegetable & Melon	This report shares stories from 14 farmers in the Greenbelt who are working to improve their soil health. Their strategies include soil testing and cover cropping.Open Resource
20	Canadians See Success with Multispecies Covers, Interseeding	No-Till Farmer	Southern Ontario	Oilseed & Grain	This article tells the story of an Ontario farmer who sells cover crop seed and uses cover crops on his farm.Open Resource
21	Organic No-Till Soybean Production in Ontario: An Overview	OMAFRA	N/A	N/A	Learn about cover crop-based organic no-till soybean production in Ontario. Hear about key details, including cereal rye seeding, roller crimping, and soybean planting, as well as early trial results. Open Resource
22	2020 Ontario Diagnostic Days EP4 Soil Snippets	OMAFRA	N/A	N/A	Anne Verhallen, Soil Management Specialist (Horticulture) with OMAFRA, discusses cover crop options for the fall for immediate soil health and cover benefits throughout the winter. Sebastian Belliard, Soil Management Specialist (Field Crops) with OMAFRA, discusses the visual evaluation of soil structure and how to use it to monitor and maintain soil health. Ian McDonald, Crops Innovation Specialist with OMAFRA, discusses bio-strip till crop production and how growers can plant cover crops in the wheel track area.Open Resources
23	Level Up Your Cover Crops with Grazing	OMAFRA	Central Ontario	Beef Oilseed & Grain	Christine O’Reilly, OMAFRA’s Forage & Grazing Specialist, chats with Steve Sickle, a crop and beef farmer, about his experiences grazing cover crops.Open Resource
24	Early Lessons from a Long-term Cover Crop Trial for Field Crops in Ontario	OMAFRA	Southern Ontario	Oilseed & Grain	Jake Munroe, Soil Management Specialist (Field Crops) with OMAFRA, talks with Dr. Dave Hooker, Associate Professor of Field Crop Agronomy at the University of Guelph-Ridgetown Campus, about Dr. Hooker’s early observations from a newly established long-term cover crop trial for field crops at Ridgetown.Open Resource
25	Strip-Till Speaker Series – Event 2: Strip-Till and Cover Crops	OMAFRA	N/A	Hog Oilseed & Grain Poultry & Eggs Vegetable & Melon	Ontario strip-till farmers Woody Van Arkel, Matt Beischlag, Brad Martin and Warren Schneckenburger share their experiences on how strip-tilling and cover cropping work together.Open Resource
26	The Impact of Cover Crops in a Processing Vegetable-Grain Cropping System in Ontario	OMAFRA	Southern Ontario	Oilseed & Grain Vegetable & Melon	Anne Verhallen, Soil Management Specialist (Horticulture) with OMAFRA, talks with Dr. Laura Van Eerd, Professor of Sustainable Soil Management at the University of Guelph-Ridgetown Campus, about Dr. Van Eerd’s long-term cover crop trial in a processing vegetable-grain cropping system in Ridgetown. The trial was established in 2007 and 2008.Open Resource
27	Cover Crop Grazing: Dollars and Sense 2 – Livestock/Crop Partnerships	OMAFRA	Western Ontario	Beef Sheep & Goat	Sheep and beef producer Mike Swidersky talks about grazing his sheep on his neighbour’s cover crop. Jake Munroe, Soil Management Specialist (Field Crops) with OMAFRA, shares some perceptions of cover crop grazing from a group of crop producers with a soil health focus.Open Resource
28	Cover Crop Grazing: Dollars & Sense 3 – Cost of Production	OMAFRA	Southern Ontario	Beef Oilseed & Grain	Beef and crop producer Mike Buis shares some of his numbers when it comes to grazing cover crops. OMAFRA’s John Molenhuis highlights things to consider when calculating your production costs to determine if grazing cover crops is the right fit for your farm.Open Resource
29	Organic No-Till Soybean Production in Ontario – Farmer Profile: Morris Van De Walle	OMAFRA	Western Ontario	Oilseed & Grain	Morris Van De Walle, a St. Marys area organic cash cropper, shares his extensive experience with roller crimping and cover crop-based organic no-till soybean production. Open Resource
30	Organic No-Till Soybean Production in Ontario – Farmer Profile: Brett Israel	OMAFRA	Western Ontario	Oilseed & Grain	Brett Israel of 3Gen Organics shares his experiences with roller crimping and cover crop-based organic no-till soybean production at his farm near Drayton. Brett, his father Jamie, and grandfather Carl have participated in trials evaluating organic no-till soybean production for two seasons (2019 and 2020).Open Resource
31	Ontario Cover Crop Action Plan	Ontario Cover Crop Steering Committee	N/A	N/A	This committee, comprised of several Ontario agricultural organizations, developed a four-part action plan to encourage cover cropping in Ontario.Open Resource
32	Cover Crops: Agronomy Basics for Better Management	Ontario Grain Farmer Magazine	N/A	N/A	This article provides experience-based recommendations to cover cropping. The article is based on a session at the Ontario Agricultural Conference where various soil health specialists and BMP adopters shared their insights.Open Resource
33	How to be a Cover Cropper	Ontario Grain Farmer Magazine	Eastern Ontario Southern Ontario	Beef Oilseed & Grain	This article shares the stories of five Ontario farmers who have successfully incorporated cover crops into their operations.Open Resource
34	Ontario Soil Network website	Ontario Soil Network	N/A	N/A	The Soil Network is a soil-focused, farmer-to-farmer, social and educational network with a shared goal of improving Ontario?s soils. Open Resource
35	Upper Thames River Conservation Authority – Farmland BMPs: Cover Crops	Upper Thames River Conservation Authority	N/A	N/A	This website provides an overview of cover crop benefits and types, factsheets, and several case studies.Open Resource
id	resource_name	organization	region	commodity	description

Soil Testing

id	resource_name	organization	region	commodity	description
1	A Practical Look at Soil Testing	Certified Crop Adviser – Ontario	N/A	N/A	This article provides a case study of the use of soil testing to shape a fertilizer program.Open Resource
2	Gerald Schuller: Getting Better with Less	Farm & Food Care Ontario	Southern Ontario	Oilseed & Grain	Gerald Schuller, a farmer in the Niagara Region, discusses his use of no-till, cover crops, crop rotation, and soil testing to support soil health.Open Resource
3	Want Profit Boost? Get a Soil Test Say Agronomists	Farmers Forum	N/A	N/A	This article highlights how farmers can use soil testing to ensure they get a good return on investment from their fertilizer programs.Open Resource
4	Usefulness of the Haney Soil Health Test for Ontario Grain Farmers	Grain Farmers of Ontario	N/A	N/A	This webpage provides an overview of the study findings from a project that assessed the validity and applicability of the Haney soil health test in Ontario.Open Resource
5	Greenbelt Farmers: Sustaining Soil Health	Greenbelt Foundation	Central Ontario	Beef Dairy Greenhouse Nursery & Floriculture Oilseed & Grain Poultry & Eggs Vegetable & Melon	This report shares stories from 14 farmers in the Greenbelt who are working to improve their soil health. Their strategies include soil testing and cover cropping.Open Resource
6	2020 Ontario Diagnostic Days EP4 Soil Snippets	OMAFRA	N/A	N/A	Anne Verhallen, Soil Management Specialist (Horticulture) with OMAFRA, discusses cover crop options for the fall for immediate soil health and cover benefits throughout the winter. Sebastian Belliard, Soil Management Specialist (Field Crops) with OMAFRA, discusses the visual evaluation of soil structure and how to use it to monitor and maintain soil health. Ian McDonald, Crops Innovation Specialist with OMAFRA, discusses bio-strip till crop production and how growers can plant cover crops in the wheel track area.Open Resource
7	Soil Sampling: A Foundation of the 4Rs	Ontario Grain Farmer Magazine	N/A	N/A	The article discusses why farmers should soil sample and the timing for soil sampling.Open Resource
8	The Agronomists, Episode 9: Interpreting Soil Test Results	RealAgriculture	N/A	N/A	Ryan Benjamins of Benjamins Agronomy and John Heard of Manitoba Agriculture share their tips for diving into soil test results. The pair discuss what information to review first, and what not to get influenced by.Open Resource
id	resource_name	organization	region	commodity	description