#RealisticRegenAg | The heat has come to southern Alberta! After never making it above 30C we are now in week well over 30C. This is going to be tough on nearly every crop as it’s right at flowering time or early seed fill. In the case of potatoes, the first set has been made and they are deciding how much to keep of their second set. Hopefully they keep them and get bulking! How is it in your area? Reply back to this email if you like. It only comes to me. Below is a small highlight of my business and then some articles that I’ve come across over the past month. In case you’re new here, let m ..read more

#RealisticRegenAg | Cover crops aren’t required in every situation. This is a key theme throughout my book “Practical Regeneration”. In this episode I’m going to talk about the development of no-till and how it might give us some clues on how to think through where cover crops work best. Welcome to the sixth season of Plants Dig Soil, a podcast about #RealisticRegenAg. I’m your host, Scott Gillespie, and I’m an author and independent agronomist from the Western Canadian Prairies specializing in climate-smart agriculture. I discuss scientifically proven practices that benefit the planet and, ju ..read more

Welcome to the sixth season of Plants Dig Soil, a podcast about #RealisticRegenAg. I’m your host, Scott Gillespie, and I’m an agronomist from the Western Canadian Prairies specializing in climate-smart agriculture. I discuss scientifically proven practices that benefit the planet and, just as importantly, farmers' economic sustainability. Be sure to visit my website, www.plantsdigsoil.com, for resources and information about the services I that I offer for farmers and agribusiness. I’ve been watching Mrs. Davis at the recommendation of a new friend*. It’s set in an alternative 2023 where an al ..read more

#RealisticRegenAg | Following up on the episode earlier this season borrowing a movie title (Dude, Where’s my nitrogen?), I’m going to focus on the elusive nutrient, phosphorus. This is an offshoot of a talk I gave this winter on using cover crops for break years between forages. It was delivered in person and to participants online. It was recorded so I’ll put a link to the talk in the description. The high-level summary – you need to replace what you export. No biostimulant or cover crop is going to make new phosphorus for you. Stay tuned as I dive into this topic. Welcome to the sixth seaso ..read more

#RealisticRegenAg | I love reading and staying up to date with agriculture news. I use Feedly, an RSS feed reader, that keeps track of news stories from over 75 agriculture news sites. I also employ an AI bot to help me find relevant information in climate and regenerative news from other sources that I might have missed. With that being said, I’ve been thinking about how to refresh my newsletter. I’ve been sending it out for over five years now. It has changed over the years but lately it has primarily focused on my content and my business. However, I've decided to shift the focus more toward ..read more

#RealisticRegenAg | Surviving another drought means making our plants the most water efficient we can. While some of the things can be done immediately, most of the things require a long-term plan. I’ve heard it said the best time to plan for a drought is when the last one breaks. We might be on the cusp of this one breaking with the recent snowfalls, but it’s too early to tell. In this episode I’ll go over all the ideas I have to make our plants more water efficient in hopes you can apply some of the easy practices now and start planning for the future this season. Welcome to the sixth season ..read more

#RealisticRegenAg | February will be busy out meeting people and learning new things. Hey, what else is there to do in this climate? In this episode I’ll go over the places I’ll be in the upcoming month plus a new speaking engagement that has been added for March. And the book is on track to be ready for sale in March. More details in the March newsletter. Welcome to the sixth season of Plants Dig Soil, a podcast about #RealisticRegenAg. I’m your host, Scott Gillespie, and I’m an agronomist from the western Canadian prairies specializing in climate-smart agriculture. I discuss scientifically p ..read more

#RealisticRegenAg | Nitrogen is a challenging nutrient to rely on. In wet climates, it can easily leach deep into the soil. If tile drains are present, it can even run off into ditches and water bodies. In dry climates, nitrogen usually cannot be lost to depth, but it can become tied up in residue and may not be released until well after the crop needs it. For this month's regenerative agriculture news, I have selected articles that specifically address finding and retaining nitrogen in place. Welcome to the sixth season of Plants Dig Soil, a podcast about #RealisticRegenAg. I’m your host, Sco ..read more

#RealisticRegenAg | It’s conference season so I’m hoping to meet a bunch of you at in person and online events this winter. I’ll be listing off all the places I’ll be later on in the episode. I’ll also be talking about the new WhatsApp channel that I have created, a new Speaking, Teaching, & Workshop Design service plus, for those that go to the site posting or watch the video, you’ll see a sneak peak of my new book cover: Practical Regeneration: Realistic Strategies for Climate Smart Agriculture. I’ll have all of this plus content summaries and information about the services that I offer ..read more

#RealisticRegenAg | In several episodes of this podcast, I've shared my experiences teaching Precision Agriculture to diploma and degree students at Lethbridge College. Teaching is a reciprocal process, and through it, I've gained valuable insights into the future of agriculture and the evolving landscape of agronomy in the upcoming years and decades. Join me in this final episode of the season as we delve into the key takeaways from the past semester. Welcome to Plants Dig Soil, a podcast about #RealisticRegenAg. I’m your host, Scott Gillespie, and I’m an agronomist from the western Canadian ..read more