SUMMER 2023 | 

VOLUME 15 ISSUE 02

FROM URBAN TO RURAL AGRICULTURE... PAGE 4

YOUNG AGRARIANS SUPPORTS NEW FARM

BUSINESSES TO GROW ON THE PRAIRIES... PAGE 6

2025 REVIEW OF THE ORGANIC STANDARDS:

HAVE YOUR SAY!...  PAGE 8

DR. KRIS NICHOLS AT THE 2023

SOIL HEALTH CONFERENCE... PAGE 10

SHOWCASING AND TRIALING REGIONAL SEED

FOR SEED SECURITY IN CANADA... PAGE 15
 SUMMER 2023 VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 02

MISSION: To represent and support

Alberta's entire organic industry.
EXECUTIVE DIRECTOR'S REPORT
VISION: A strong, sustainable and
united organic community in
Alberta. Standards (COS) are always
evolving. All the practices we
promote must comply with the
EDITOR/SUBMISSIONS
COS, it is our guide. But it is not a
Cari Hartt
standard written in stone. Instead,
587-521-2400
cari.hartt@organicalberta.org
it is reviewed every five years so
ADVERTISING that we can incorporate new
Cari Hartt science and new practices. My
587-521-2400 favourite addition to the 2020
cari.hartt@organicalberta.org
standard (the last time we had a
GRAPHIC DESIGNER 
review) was Section 5.2.4
Cari Hartt
587-521-2400 Management practices shall
cari.hartt@organicalberta.org include measures to promote and
protect ecosystem health on the
operation and incorporate one or
BOARD MEMBERS
more of the following features:
Representatives elected by region:
pollinator habitat
(N) North, (S) South, (C) Central,
(M) Member at Large, insectary areas
(CR) Consumer Rep wildlife habitat
President: Tracey Smith (M) maintenance or restoration of
780-802-4073 riparian areas or wetlands; or
northcookinglake@gmail.com
other measures which promote
Vice-President: Becky Doherty (M)
403-332-3898 By Iris Vaisman, Executive Director, biodiversity
info@stonepostfarms.ca Organic Alberta
Secretary: Andrew Mans (S) And the process for the 2025 COS
403-360-5663 Hello everyone! I hope you are doing review has already begun! I really
ahmans@gmail.com
well. encourage you to participate in this
Pierre Fillion (N)
democratic process, and have your
780-837-0679
pjfillion@yahoo.com There are many things that I love say. Learn more on page eight.
Andy Wagman (S) about the organic sector. The farmers,
403-866-4220 of course, are probably number one. We are having a slightly quieter
andywagman@gmail.com Whether we are visiting on a farm or summer this year, with few in-
Greg Wedman (C)
gathering at a conference, there is a person events. But we continue to
780-232-2309
great blend of laughter, learning and work on our multiple programs,
gwedman11@gmail.com
Dylan Joshua Edmiston (CR) connecting. I always feel refreshed including the Bauta Family
403-554-6951 afterwards, and inspired by the hard Initiative on Canadian Seed
dylanjoshuaedmiston@gmail.com work that it takes to produce food Security, Regenerative Alberta
Daniel Wall (N)
and steward the land. The other great Living Lab, and FCS’s Farm
780-926-7609
part about organic farming is how Mentorship Program. Also, keep a
daniel@gopilgrim.ca
much we get to talk about soil, lookout for a launch of the updated
plants, and biodiversity. Three of my Pivot and Grow website. And of
Fall 2023 deadline is September favourite things. How lucky am I that I course, keep a lookout for updates
8th. Please send comments, get to work with people who love on the annual Organic Alberta
suggestions, ads, and/or articles
these things? I also really appreciate Conference, coming up November
to cari.hartt@organicalberta.org. 
the fact that Canadian Organic 3rd and 4th in Sherwood Park.

2 WWW.ORGANICALBERTA.ORG
ORGANIC
ALBERTA
2023 CONFERENCE
COME CELEBRATE

3RD & 4TH AT

SHERWOOD PARK, AB
CLARION CONFERENCE CENTRE

NOVEMBER 2100 PREMIER WAY, SHERWOOD PARK

PRACTICAL TOOLS
EXPERT SPEAKERS
COMMUNITY & SUPPORT

ORGANICALBERTA.ORG/CONFERENCE
 SUMMER 2023
FROM URBAN TO RURAL AGRICULTURE —
RECLAIM ORGANICS, LEDUC COUNTY
Reprinted with permission from Rural
Routes to Climate Solutions. Written by
Trina Moyles.
Ryan Mason, owner of Reclaim Organics, a
certified organic vegetable and herb farm in
Leduc County, spent most of his twenties
traveling the world studying agriculture
and food systems. He travelled across
several continents, working alongside
campesinos in Mexico and wakulimu (small
farmers) in Tanzania.
But Ryan’s roots on the Canadian prairies
travel even deeper. He spent the first
eighteen years of his life on his family’s
farm — a small-scale chicken operation — in
Pigeon Lake, Alberta. Ryan has fond
memories of growing up on the farm,
helping feed the chickens, and picking
raspberries with his brother. After
graduating from high school, Ryan pursued
an undergraduate degree in global
development studies at Augustana
University in Camrose.
“It was there where I rediscovered my
passion for food and food studies,” he says.
Through his studies, Ryan participated in a
global exchange program in rural Mexico,
living and working with a campesino (small
farming) community. In return, Mexican
students also came to Canada to learn
about agriculture on the Albertan prairies.
This opened Ryan’s eyes to learning hands-
on about different food systems and ways of
producing food around the world.
Two years later, Ryan went back to
university to pursue a Master’s in
4 WWW.ORGANICALBERTA.ORG
Environmental Sociology. His thesis
research took him to an arid region in
central Tanzania (East Africa) to study food
systems and food insecurity. He also
traveled to the island nation of Cuba to
learn about urban agriculture and high-
intensive vegetable production. It was
during this time that Ryan met fellow
classmate, Cathryn Sprague, who was also
doing academic research on food security.
“We both wanted to get into farming as a
way to contribute to bettering the food
system,” says Ryan. “Reclaim Urban Farm
was born out of that.”
In 2014, Ryan and Cathryn began searching
for under-utilized land in Edmonton to
reclaim and grow food. Their first plot of
land was located in the heart of the
Garneau neighbourhood. Eventually, they
were growing food on 1-acre of land spread
out on multiple plots throughout the city.
Four years later, Reclaim Urban Farm
produced vegetables and micro-greens for
more than 40 restaurants, to retailers, CSA-
members, and at the City Market
downtown. They even helped lobby to
change city bylaws to make urban farming
more accessible in Edmonton. Ryan and
Cathryn’s work in food security earned
them an Innovation Award at the
University of Alberta.
In 2018, after Cathryn moved on from
Reclaim to pursue other projects, Ryan
began to envision taking the urban
operation back to his family’s farm in
Pigeon Lake. “I was interested to scale up
to practice a model of agriculture that
would grow food for a wider population,”
VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 02
says Ryan. After years of traveling and urban
farming, he’d finally come home to his rural
roots.
Reclaim Urban Farm transformed into
Reclaim Organics.
FIRST YEAR ON THE FARM — HARD LESSONS
IN “SCALING UP”
It wasn’t an easy feat to move an urban
growing operation to a rural one, admits
Ryan. The first year at Pigeon Lake had many
challenges in store for the young agrarian,
related to soil, systems, and access to
amenities, including water, electricity,
garbage disposal — even Wifi. The largest
hurdle in the transition had to do with scaling
up. Ryan’s land base increased from 1-acre’s
worth of scattered plots in Edmonton to 6-
acres, consolidated in one field.
“It was a bit crazy, actually, in the sense that
it gave us so much opportunity to scale up
and maybe too much, too fast, to make it
work well,” says Ryan. “Also, we were starting
from scratch again. All of our systems —
primarily irrigation systems — weren’t
compatible.”
In the city, he’d had access to water
everywhere. But on the farm, the ground well
wasn’t providing enough water to irrigate
crops, so they had to build a dug-out, an
expensive but essential investment that cost
upwards of $30,000. He also had to upgrade
water pumps, as well.
Ryan also faced challenges related to soil and
weed pressures. The land had been used for
conventional grain for decades, and as a
result, some of his first crops were
SUMMER 2023
outcompeted by wild oats. He ended up
having to till under several acres worth of
crops. “Our plan kind of went askew,” says
Ryan. “But any location is going to change
your growing environment.” He and his staff
adapted by covering the wheat with mulch
and laying down plastic culture to suppress
the weeds.
“I had great staff,” says Ryan. He credits their
enthusiasm and support for helping to
overcome the hurdles of the transition from
urban to rural.
In addition to the field crops, Ryan and his
team slowly converted the old chicken barn
into an indoor growing space. This, too,
proved challenging and required financial
investments to seal off the barn and adjust
temperature and humidity levels to get the
growing conditions just right.
FOUR YEARS LATER — “ONE FARM WITH
MULTIPLE ENTERPRISES”
The hard work and investments in cash,
labour, and time to transition from urban to
rural is paying off. Today, Reclaim Organics
is “one farm with multiple enterprises.” Ryan
and his team produce over 80 different field
crops, including cabbages, kale, potatoes,
beets, carrots, tomatoes, peppers and herbs
on 11-acres of land. They supply to retailers,
markets, and restaurants in the Edmonton
and Leduc area.
An indoor operation allows Ryan to grow
micro-greens, year round, which he sells
primarily to restaurants and retailers,
although the COVID-19 pandemic — and
closure of restaurants — reduced their sales
by around 50 to 60 percent.
“On the other hand, demand for local food
went up as a result of COVID-19,” says Ryan,
“So our field crops sold more and everything
sort of balanced out.”
In addition, Reclaim sells cut flower
bouquets at farmer’s markets and retailers.
Five years ago, they also started
experimenting with canning. Recently, they
partnered with Mojo Jojo Pickles to co-pack
over a dozen different products, including
pickles, relish, ketchup and vineagrettes.
“We’ve almost doubled our products every
year,” says Ryan. “Last year we sold around
$10,000 worth of canned goods — which is
great.”
FARMING WITH THE CLIMATE IN MIND
Reclaim used to be focused on developing
under-utilized land in the city, but what
hasn’t changed is the desire to create
healthy farm ecosystems, relying on natural
and organic methods.
Everything starts with building and
maintaining healthy soil, says Ryan. Reclaim
Organics is a certified organic operation —
extending from the field crops to flowers to
indoor growing operation. “Being certified
organic has given us a greater sense of a
greater appreciation for the larger industry,”
says Ryan. “There is an accountability
component to what we’re doing.” After
experiencing his first extremely hot, dry
summer in 2019, Ryan decided to build
‘climate change’ into the way they plan,
plant, and produce food at Reclaim
Organics.
“No matter what, climate change will come
into play,” says Ryan. “The last years we’ve
faced intense flooding. It can also be
extremely hot — say, 20 days of 25 degree
Celsius weather. We need to plan ahead to
find ways to cope with [climate change].”
As a result, Ryan and his team are relying on
a mix of regenerative agriculture methods
combined with mechanical solutions. For
example, last year they invested in large
hoop houses for growing field vegetables,
measuring 240 feet long and 30 ft wide. The
houses help to mitigate the negative effects
of extreme weather. In addition, they’re
growing crops in raised beds to help with
drainage and to prevent flooding.
Ryan grows most of his field vegetables
relying on “plastic culture” — a growing
practice in Canada which involves the
application of a plastic cover over planting
rows. The plastic helps to reduce weed
competition. But it also has other
advantages. The plastic serves as a mulch,
helping to keep moisture in the soil, and
overall, reduces the amount of water
needed for irrigation.
“We want to benefit the environment
beyond our business. We’re trying to leave
the land better than we found it, but
because we’re farming from with natural
methods there are many environmental
challenges,” explains Ryan. “So this is where
I might differ from other sustainable, or
regenerative farmers. Everyone talks about
the importance of soil and fungal activity —
I don’t think anyone would disagree with
that. But I’ve found it’s challenging to
balance these aspirations of farming with
actually making a living off of the land.”
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VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 02
The use of plastic culture in organic
agriculture systems is somewhat contentious,
admits Ryan. But he sees it as a necessary
tool on his land to successfully grow food, and
beyond that, create a sustainable farm model.
“How can we create a system that both
improves the land and also ensures that we
can pay our staff fair wages? It’s not just the
sustainable ecology, but the sustainable
economic and society,” Ryan points out.
“We’re always trying to find that balance.”
ADVICE FOR FARMERS TRANSITIONING
FROM URBAN TO RURAL
For those urban farmers aspiring to follow in
the footsteps of Ryan and upscale and
expand their operations to a rural location,
Ryan urges them to go about it slowly. There
are many factors to consider, he says,
including access to markets and networking
opportunities.
One of the hurdles of farming in a rural
community, of course, is reduced access to
marketing, sales, and network building
opportunities. Now Ryan faces a 2 to 3 hour
round-trip to get his product to market. As a
result, he’s invested in a refrigerated cube
van to deliver their products from Leduc
County to various locations and markets in
Edmonton.
Marketing hasn’t been an issue for Ryan, but
he credits the foundational success of
starting out as an urban operation and
gaining customer support and strong
markets.
“In the city, what was unique was the
community surrounding us,” Ryan says. “The
homeowners and restaurants — it was all
more accessible. We could just pop into a
restaurant and chat with owners, or attend
networking events. As a business we quickly
created stronger markets.”
Whenever young farmers ask Ryan for advice,
he talks about the importance of marketing.
“We spent 50 percent of our time marketing
in the first year,” he admits. “Growing
vegetables is one thing, but creating a strong
brand and marketing plan is even more
important.”
Despite the challenging hurdles involved with
transitioning to rural, Ryan is proud of what
he and his team have accomplished at
Reclaim Organics over the past four years.
"It’s nice to be back on the land where I grew
up,” he says.
5
 SUMMER 2023
YOUNG AGRARIANS SUPPORTS NEW FARM
BUSINESSES TO GROW ON THE PRAIRIES
By Tori Ames, Young Agrarians
As this year transitions into summer, new
farmers across Alberta are working hard
to get their businesses off the ground. As
farm plans hatched in the winter become
reality, expectations can shift as the
season unfolds. For many first-generation
farmers, the dream of running their own
farm and the reality of it are worlds apart;
the slope of the learning process is
sometimes steeper than anticipated, and
precious time can evaporate while dealing
with unexpected challenges.
For those still wading through their first
few years of business, production systems
are still being developed, and modified.
Many new farmers are learning business
management skills for the first time and
can find it difficult to determine if their
budding businesses are profitable.
On top of the physical demands of
farming, new farmers can also become
emotionally drained, which can limit the
amount of energy they have to expend
wading through financial documents.
New farm business owners know that
working through how to use cash flow
projections to make management
decisions can be a tough and time-
consuming process.
New farmers need to establish the record-
keeping systems that will help to unravel
the financial truth about their business’
sustainability, but this takes both time
and confidence. The internet contains a
6 WWW.ORGANICALBERTA.ORG
wealth of knowledge about production
techniques, but where can you go to
work through business decision making?
Where can you go to find advice on using
cash flow projections to make
management decisions or to learn how
and when to submit for GST
reimbursement?
A BETTER BUSINESS BELLWETHER
This is where Young Agrarians steps in
with the Business Mentorship Network
(BMN). The BMN pairs new and seasoned
farmers together to cultivate the skills for
running ecologically sustainable and
financially viable businesses. Offering 30
hours of formalized mentorship over the
course of the year, the BMN fills the
business knowledge gap that many new
farm entrepreneurs experience when
moving from working on farms to owning
one, or during the transition into a new
career in agriculture.
VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 02
Having delivered the program in British
Columbia for the past nine years, the BMN
has expanded into the Prairie provinces in
2023. On top of offering one-on-one
educational mentorship, the program
provides webinars focused specifically on
business management, financial literacy
and marketing to help participants hone
their business skills. Participants also get
access to a wealth of business management
resources carefully compiled over the years,
such as templates for the chart of accounts
documents, guides to hiring employees,
and resources for new organic certification.
The BMN also offers coach-approach
training for the mentors.
A MATCH MADE IN ALBERTA
Maddie Hoffmann has been in business for
approximately five years, operating her
diversified farm business in rural Alberta:
Fisher’s Farm Natural Goods. After
developing a solid customer base interested
in her honey, beeswax, eggs, cattle and
chickens, she applied for the BMN to better
understand her farm’s resiliency position as
she adds market vegetables to her farm’s
offerings.
“I applied for business mentorship as I
struggle a lot with understanding money
and finances and want to see my farm be
profitable,” writes Maddie, a BMN mentee in
Alberta. “I want to be able to earn an
income on the farm full-time, but I need
some support to get there!”
Maddie was paired with Paulette Sparks of
Wild Country Gardens located outside
SUMMER 2023
Wildwood, Alberta, who farms with her
partner Rennie. Paulette operates a
similarly diversified farm that includes a
large market garden, orchard, garlic
stand, and a large selection of value-
added products created in her on-farm
commercial kitchen.
With Paulette’s experience growing
market vegetables and her knowledge
about the possible pitfalls around
creating value-added products, Maddie is
able to run ideas about her own newly-
established market garden by Paulette
and get immediate feedback and advice.
Early on in their mentorship relationship,
it became clear that there was an
opportunity for mutual learning with
Maddie’s experience as a seasoned
beekeeper. Paulette and Rennie are in the
early stages of their apicultural journey,
and Maddie is more than happy to share
her expertise. “She shares her
horticultural knowledge and I share my
beekeeping knowledge,” Maddie wrote of
her relationship with Paulette.
Early this season, Paulette and Rennie
visited Maddie’s farm in Sturgeon County
in order to meet in person, tour Maddie’s
farm, and help rehome hives with
Maddie’s beekeeping mentors.
“Rennie and I are so grateful to have
gotten to share in this day of creating a
new home for ten hives,” wrote Paulette
after spending a weekend at Maddie’s
farm. “Maddie’s mentors are true
beekeepers who have been doing this for
years, they are both in their 80’s and this
is a real passion for them, and they have
so much to share.”
LEVELING THE LEARNING CURVE
Passing down the knowledge and skills of
farming is a time-honoured tradition in
agricultural communities. The complexity
of operating a financially viable and
ecologically-minded farm business in
today’s context requires the development
of a wide range of skills. According to the
2021 census, the average age of a farmer
in Canada is 56 years old. As this existing
pool of farmers age out of active farming,
Young Agrarians is preparing the next
generation of farmers to weather the
challenges of farming and business start-
up, to ensure the health and continuity of
the farming community for the future.
The BMN serves to connect new, often
first-generation farmers, into a network of
support so they may develop necessary
business skills and build relationships
that will smooth their path to success.
The relationships that form between
mentors and mentees in the BMN often
continue beyond the timeline of the
program and serve to strengthen farmers’
network of support over the long-term.
“My favourite part of the job is to witness
the excitement and relief mentees often
feel when they meet a mentor that really
understands the challenges they are
facing and offers a path to a successful
future,” says Melanie Buffel, the BMN
Program Manager. “Mentors offer very
practical support as they share their
knowledge, experiences and networks
with the new farmer mentee.”
“The relationships that form in the BMN
benefit both mentors and mentees,” she
continues, “As the fresh perspective,
energy and ideas of new farmers can also
ignite new enthusiasm and developments
in the mentor’s business. The strength of
the network supports us all!”
To date, the BMN program has helped
over 160 farmers as mentees in BC,
Alberta, Manitoba and Saskatchewan and
engaged over 120 farmers as mentors over
WWW.ORGANICALBERTA.ORG
VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 02
the course of the program’s history. On
average, participants in the BMN program
have seen a 64% increase in annual farm
revenue, a 72% increase in the volume of
food produced, and a 48% increase in area
of land under production.
ABOUT YOUNG AGRARIANS
Young Agrarians is a farmer-to-farmer
educational resource network that supports
new and young ecological, organic and
regenerative farmers in Canada. YA has
been operating since 2012, offering courses,
seminars, workshops, apprenticeship
opportunities, business development, land
access support, and educational
opportunities to those passionate about
regenerative, environmentally and
economically sustainable agriculture.
How to Apply:
Mentee applications for the Business
Mentorship Network program open October
1st, 2023. Applications can be submitted
online through the Business Mentorship
Network page of the Young Agrarians
website. The program costs $100 to
participate.
Interested in being a mentor? Mentor
applications are ongoing and can be found
on the Business Mentorship Network page
of the Young Agrarians website.
Mentor roles are paid positions at $50/hour
for 30 hours of mentorship.
For More Information, Contact:
Melanie Buffel, BMN Manager, BMN BC
Coordinator
business@youngagrarians.org
Tori Ames, BMN AB/SK Coordinator
tori@youngagrarians.org
Lydia Carpenter, BMN MB/SK Coordinator
lydia@youngagrarians.org
7
 SUMMER 2023
2025 REVIEW OF THE ORGANIC STANDARDS - HAVE YOUR SAY!
Reprinted with permission from The
Organic Federation of Canada (OFC)
Did you know that the Canadian Organic
Standards (COS) are an evolving
document that is modernized every five
years? This allows the organic sector to
consider and integrate new ecological
practices that will enhance soil health
and facilitate pest control under certified
organic management. The next review
needs to be completed by fall of 2025 and
now is the time to have your say in the
process! The review of the COS provides a
8 WWW.ORGANICALBERTA.ORG
valuable opportunity for clarifying the
ecological practices and the use of
permitted substances defined in the
COS, and adding new practices or
substances to modernize Canadian
organic food production and processing.
The standards review is a transparent
process complying with the procedures
prescribed by the Canadian General
Standards Board. The first step of the
review is to invite proposals from all
stakeholders (operators, consumers,
traders, private and public agents
involved in the Canada Organic Regime).
VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 02
The Organic Federation of Canada (OFC) is
now inviting all organic stakeholders to
submit requests for modifications to the
Canadian Organic Standards.
As a reminder, the Canadian Organic
Standards are composed of two
documents:
General Principles and Management
Standards - CAN/CGSB-32.310
Permitted Substances Lists - CAN/CGSB-
32.311
If you do not have a copy of these
documents, you can find them online, by
Googling each document. The most recent
version is from 2020.
Your feedback and thoughts on the COS
from 2020 can be submitted directly to the
Organic Federation of Canada. They have
streamlined the process, and you can fill
out a form online. Go to:
www.organicfederation.ca/ and under
“Standards” click on “2025 Review of the
Organic Standards”. The deadline for
submitting proposals is July 28, 2023
Once compiled, the proposals will be
analyzed by the various Working Groups
responsible for recommending approval,
modification, or rejection of the proposals.
See the diagram below for the full process.
For updates on the 2025 Review, you can
visit the OFC website. If you have
questions, please reach out to Organic
Alberta: info@organicalberta.org or call
780-932-2534
SUMMER 2023 VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 02

WWW.ORGANICALBERTA.ORG 9
 SUMMER 2023
THE HIGHLIGHTS: KRIS NICHOLS AT THE SOUTH DAKOTA
2023 SOIL HEALTH CONFERENCE
Republished with permission from
Regenerative Alberta Living Lab
The South Dakota Soil Health Coalition, a
nonprofit organization led by farmers and
producers, held their annual Soil Health
Conference last January. The conference
invites students, business professionals,
producers, and community members to
learn about soil science and the
importance of healthy soils. As a keynote
speaker, Dr. Kris Nichols gave a
presentation about decision making tools
for soil health.
At the beginning of her talk, Kris alluded
to the audience experience at
conferences such as this one. When you
come home from a conference, she
explained, you might have some ideas you
want to implement or several plans that
keep changing. But this isn’t a bad thing:
plans should be flexible and iterative,
changing in response to the situation.
Regenerative agriculture can be like this
too. The weather and environment doesn’t
stick to rules or a firm schedule. Neither
does the science: it changes, it
reevaluates, it discovers new ideas.
Likewise, there are no rules in
regenerative agriculture that a producer
must follow to be certified or international
standards that miss out on local nuance.
10
“You have options and opportunities that
are almost limitless,” she said, which can
be both welcome and scary at the same
time. So where do you start?
Here are the highlights from her
presentation and practical tools for
making decisions.
NOTHING IS FREE
Soil is an economy of carbon: for a
healthy ecosystem, carbon needs to flow
through different elements and be
transformed by organisms and natural
processes. The core of regenerative
agriculture is to regenerate soil through
recarbonization. That is, restarting a
stalled economy by adding carbon back
into the system.
However, as Kris said, nothing is free.
Within the concept of “carbonomics,”
producers are essentially paying
microorganisms with carbon (through
the root exudates from the plant) for the
nutrients that they supply.
Carbon isn’t infinite – if you want to
allocate more carbon belowground,
that’s less carbon that can be used
aboveground. Many producers are
concerned that allocating carbon
belowground means they have to
sacrifice yield, Kris explained.
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VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 02
But if the soil is managed right, it doesn’t
have to be a sacrifice. We need to
maximize the photosynthetic capacity of
plants in order to balance the
underground and aboveground allocation
of carbon, maintaining yield and revenue.
“We focus a lot on short-term gains but
that gives us long-term losses,” she said,
referring to the practice of prioritizing
yield without considering soil health.
Her recommendation? To focus on short-
term balances and long-term gains.
EXCEPT FOR SUNLIGHT, THAT IS
Photosynthesis is the most efficient form
of solar to chemical energy conversion, Kris
explained. And if our goal of recarbonizing
the soil is only possible through
photosynthesis, then we want to maximize
the amount of time that plants are green
and growing.
Because, as Kris said, sunlight is free.
Unlike carbon, nutrients, seeds, fuel, or our
time.
She recommends a minimum of 280 days a
year of growing green, photosynthesizing
plants. Even in South Dakota, not so far
away from Alberta, this is possible.
Producers need to choose frost-tolerant
plants as cover crops to ensure that the
SUMMER 2023
plants remain productive when the cold
winter months arrive; making use of warm
chinooks can help keep plants such as
turnips, radishes, rye, and canola alive.
Some studies have even shown, said Kris,
that some plants are able to
photosynthesize beneath a cover of snow.
Stretching out the growing season is
critical for the survival of soil
microorganisms. “In a heaping teaspoon of
healthy soil, you can have more
microorganisms than the number of
people on planet earth,” Kris said. “And
they are all hungry.”
Microorganisms aren’t suited to feast and
famine periods; they require a consistent
supply of soil carbon throughout the year.
And the best way to keep them fed is to
have living roots depositing carbon into
the soil for as many days as possible.
BIRDS, BATS AND INSECTS
How do you optimize the capacity of your
farm ecosystem?
Producers might choose to plant flowers
that attract pollinators or set up bat and
bird houses. These animals are underrated
pollinators on a farm; Kris explains that
more pollen from grass species is found in
the digestive systems of pollinators than
that of flowers. Farmers can also set up
insectaries to attract beneficial insects.
Kris explained a study that involved
growing plants around the perimeter of a
crop field to attract plant pest insects,
drawing them away from the crops. The
researchers added a strip of plants within
that perimeter to attract insect predators;
these insects helped to reduce the pest
population. This study demonstrated a
unique way to use valuable space and
manage pests without pesticides.
This is what Kris means by “eco-function
intensification” – considering every square
foot of the farmscape and ensuring that it
is managed as a healthy, thriving
ecosystem.
HEALING WOUNDS
A moderate amount of stress to plants can
make the soil healthier. Referring to the
sixth soil health principle of integrating
livestock, Kris explained how the unique
grazing of cattle enhances ecosystem
health.
When an animal grazes, they are injuring
the plant’s tissues. To protect the wound,
the plant produces biomolecules like
antioxidants and polyphenolics, chemicals
that are already created normally to
guard against damage from solar
radiation. The plant requires extra
nutrients (she lists the elements of
nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, copper,
zinc, and molybdenum as examples) to
create these chemicals, so it sends down
carbon in the form of root exudates. The
soil microorganisms supply the plant with
the nutrients it needs.
Unlike sheep and horses, who cut and
tear leaves while grazing, cattle graze by
wrapping their tongue around the forage
and tugging on the plants. This motion
applies stress to the roots and causes
some root hairs to break off, leaking
carbon into the soil.
These two processes – injured plant
tissues and pulled roots – lead to more
carbon being stored underground,
improving soil health and providing food
for microorganisms.
LET’S GET THE AUDIENCE INVOLVED
Halfway through the talk, Kris invited four
audience members up to the stage. She
gave them two shallow plastic containers
with a sponge, representing porous and
compacted soil, and filled them with
water. The volunteers were invited to hold
each wet sponge over a cup and let the
water drip out without squeezing it. This
is gravitational water, Kris explained: soil
moisture that drains downwards, away
from the reach of plant roots. Soil with
larger pore spaces is prone to this
gravitational flow.
She invited the volunteers to squeeze the
sponges into a different cup. What comes
out is the water holding capacity, or the
maximum amount of water that is
available to plants. “What we have here is
illustrating the power of porosity,” Kris
said.
The results: the highly porous sponge
produced a fair amount of gravitational
water and filled the water holding
capacity cup by about a third to a half.
The low porosity sponge produced a small
amount of gravitational water and, with a
nearly empty cup, showed almost no
water holding capacity at all. In
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VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 02
porous soil, she explained, some water will
inevitably drain out. But with minimal
infiltration in compacted soil, there won’t be
any water available to the plants. You need
porosity in your soils to ensure that plants
have an adequate and consistent supply of
water.
CHOOSING YOUR TOOLS
The question, said Kris, isn’t whether you
should use a certain tool or practice, but
why – taking into account the positive and
negative consequences and how to use the
practice most effectively.
Sometimes that means you’ll have to till or
disturb the soil to control weeds, even if
you’d prefer not to. But what you can do is
reduce the damage as much as possible and
think about ways to help the soil recover.
You might alternatively choose to use
animals as a form of soil disturbance: their
hooves gently break up the soil and control
weeds without causing excess damage. And
anyways, she explained, the soil can tolerate
some disturbance; soils in natural
ecosystems deal with animals, flooding and
wind and remain functional and resilient.
Kris uses the FIST acronym to explain the
nuance of tool use: frequency, intensity,
scale, and timing. If you use a split
application of fertilizer, you will need to
apply it more frequently. But that isn’t
necessarily a bad thing, she adds. You might
choose to apply it as the plants are going
into their reproductive phase, which is when
they need the most amount of nutrients.
The intensity of a tool can make a difference.
Applying a large amount of readily available
nutrients might be appropriate in one
context, but other times you might want to
apply nutrients in an organic form so that
they are released gradually. As for scale,
producers might consider the volume of soil
that is disturbed by a certain tool, like a
plow, or the quantity of nutrients to apply.
Considering the timing of seeding,
producers may choose to plant seeds before
a soybean cover crop senesces and drops
their leaves (senescence occurs when a
plant’s cells stop growing and dividing due
to aging). The leaves will protect the seeds
and allow them to germinate without
experiencing damage from solar radiation.
And above all, “it’s not about bad or good,
it’s about looking at the consequences of
the tools that you’re using.”
11
 SUMMER 2023
KRIS NICHOLS AT THE 2023 SOUTH DAKOTA SOIL
HEALTH CONFERENCE: PANEL DISCUSSION
Reprinted with permission from
Regenerative Alberta Living Lab
Kris Nichols joined Rick Clark, Bryan
Jorgensen, Dan Forgey and Roy Thompson
on the panel discussion at the 2023 South
Dakota Soil Health Conference. Here are
some highlights from their panel.
SALINITY
Saline soils are a concern in South Dakota
and in many places in Alberta. An audience
member asked the panelists if they have any
advice for dealing with salty soils.
“We need to grow our way out of it,” Kris
responded. We need to utilize plants as a tool
to keep the land living and improve soil
health holistically. To address salinity, you
should grow salt-tolerant crops, especially
plants with deep roots that will help pull the
water back down and improve soil porosity
and aggregation.
She added that a technique like tile drainage,
intended to reduce excess salinity, is not
necessarily an effective solution. Often,
salinity issues occur in soils which are
naturally high in mineral salts in the parent
material and which have poor infiltration
rates due to compaction, high clay or silt
content, and/or are heavily tilled. Low
infiltration rates in these soils means that
water will sit on the surface and slowly
evaporate, leaving salts to diffuse up into the
sitting water behind. If water does not
infiltrate below the top 3-6 inches, then tile
drainage, which is placed about three feet or
a meter below the surface, will not remove
the water. In addition, relying on tile
drainage allows producers to continue the
practices that damage the soil and
12
increase compaction for a short period while
salinity issues increase; instead, we need to
restore balance in the soil ecosystem and
prevent salt seeps before they happen.
Dan asked an audience member to explain
how he’s tackled salinity on his own farm. A
big part of it, he explained, is your mindset.
You may need to treat each acre differently,
rather than farming the land uniformly. It
comes down to “time and progress and
patience,” he added.
CYCLING PHOSPHORUS
Dan presented a question for the other
panelists: what do you think about a mixed
sunflower and corn system to cycle
phosphorus?
Kris responded that legumes (with the
exception of soybeans, she explained earlier)
are excellent at cycling phosphorus if
they’re planted with grass species; farmers
can also plant buckwheat or legumes on
their own. Sunflowers can help to cycle
phosphorus, but only if they’re planted
alongside another crop, like corn.
“I really think that’s the future here is co-
mingling the cash crops,” Bryan said, listing
yellow peas and wheat, peas and barley, and
peas and rye as mixed systems that he’s
tried on his own farm. Some crops can be
harvested together, like milo and soybeans,
and sold as a mix or separated out before
being sold.
But it’s logistically difficult to harvest
certain crops together, like corn and beans,
making it hard to plant these two together
n rows that are close enough to see the
benefits. This is where engineering comes
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VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 02
in Kris said. If there are any young people who
are interested in agriculture but don’t want to
work on a farm, they might want to consider
agricultural engineering. Now more than ever,
innovative technologies are needed to keep up
with the transition towards regenerative
agriculture.
CONFLICTING VIEWS
“Our focus on the y-word [yield] has led us to
wish evil on our neighbours,” Kris said. The goal
of regenerative agriculture is not to demonize
conventional agriculture, but to open up a
space for growth, improvement, and support.
Later in the discussion, an audience member
recalled an encounter where someone had told
him that anyone in agriculture is the problem.
As long as you’re driving trucks over the fields,
you’re contributing to greenhouse gas
emissions, she said. “She wanted to change
what I did, and all I’m doing is providing food,”
he said. “I’m providing food for people that
really don’t like what I do.” He asked the
panelists, how do you respond to this mindset?
Kris commiserated. “It’s hard to engage when
the other person doesn’t want to engage back
with you.”
She recommended taking a soft approach and
avoiding argumentation. In a conversation like
the one he described, it’s best to explain where
you’re coming from and perhaps talk about the
nuances of farming if the person wants to
engage. A calm and gentle attitude is essential
to avoid arguing – even if that means leaving
things unsaid or in a mutual disagreement.
This article has been edited for length. Read
the full article and watch the video at
www.regenlivinglab.org.
SUMMER 2023 VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 02

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SUMMER 2023
SHOWCASING AND TRIALING REGIONAL SEED
FOR SEED SECURITY IN CANADA
This article first appeared in the Canada
Organic Trade Association’s June Buzz
Builder
Ten years ago, SeedChange (then USC
Canada), along with partners including
Seeds of Diversity Canada, completed a
Pilot Year Environmental Scan of organic
and ecological seed in Canada. The findings
of that report led to the 2013 launch of The
Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed
Security – a program to increase the
quantity, quality, and diversity of regionally
grown seed in Canada for organic farming
conditions.
The program was needed to fill critical seed
security gaps in Canada’s organic and
ecological farming sector. The report
identified several areas of concern,
including a lack of education opportunities
about seed crop production for farmers in
Canada, an absence of public plant
breeding for organic farms, a dwindling of
agricultural biodiversity, and a reliance on
imported seed, particularly in the organic
vegetable farming sector, which make our
farms and overall food security vulnerable
to systemic shocks. Most recently this
vulnerability was tested with the Covid-19
pandemic, which triggered international
seed shortages.
Over the last 10 years, The Bauta Family
Initiative has advanced programming to
address each of these critical challenges, by
providing resources to the sector,
facilitating education and engagement
opportunities with seed, and coordinating
on-farm variety trials and plant breeding
projects. The most recent of these
initiatives, started in 2021, is the
establishment of showcase gardens across
Canada to trial and bring awareness to
vegetable and grain varieties bred by
farmers, on-farm, and/or stewarded and
selected for regional, organic farms.
There are over a dozen sites established
across the country, each providing a
platform from which to evaluate the
performance of regionally bred varieties,
analyze their suitability for organic farm
settings, and celebrate their unique
flavours, colours, traits, and stories. For
example, Fertile Ground Farm, in Ontario,
is showcasing over 50 varieties of
vegetables, grains, and potatoes that have
been either regionally bred and adapted,
or are not currently available locally, but
may be well suited to regional organic
vegetable production and seed production
by local seed companies and seed
stewards. It is also home to okra and red
pepper trials, including evaluating the
Renegade Red bell pepper, a new variety
developed by Ontario-based SeedWorks
Plant Breeding Club.
In the prairies, there are two grain
demonstration sites implemented in
partnership with the University of
Manitoba, the University of Alberta, and
the MacKenzie Applied Research Station.
These sites will be evaluating dozens of
farmer-bred lines of wheat and oat that
have been developed through a
participatory plant breeding program led
by the University of Manitoba and The
Bauta Family Initiative for the last 10 years.
A third prairie site, at Peno Creek Farm, is
dedicated to evaluating and showcasing
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VOLUME 15 | ISSUE 02
regionally bred vegetable varieties from local
companies.
In Atlantic Canada, two vegetable-based
sites will be showcasing over 50 varieties
from 15 regional seed growers and plant
breeders. Among these are the Dandy Early
broccoli and Tancook Island cabbage, which
have been recently recovered from critical
endangerment by farm stewards; regionally
bred varieties Pink Peach tomato, Nomad
pepper, and Glorious kale; and regionally
historic varieties – Steeves Caseknife and
Baie Verte beans, that all persist because of
farmers’ seed saving efforts.
Through field tours, media, communication
of trial results, and other efforts, our hope is
that farmers will learn about varieties they
would never see in a mainstream
commercial catalogue, that have traits that
will benefit their organic production
systems, and that are available locally,
shortening the seed supply chain and
helping create community between seed
growers, sellers, and farmers. Some of these
varieties represent 10+ years of committed
work by farmers to develop, or select and
adapt these varieties. Seed work is slow work
and it’s so rewarding to be able to highlight
these efforts with this project.
Acknowledgements
This project is funded in part by the Government of
Canada through Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada’s
Canadian Agricultural Strategic Priorities Program
(CASPP), a $50.3 million, five-year investment to help the
agricultural sector adapt and remain competitive.
For more information about:
The Bauta Family Initiative on Canadian Seed
Security, go to: seedsecurity.ca
The Showcase Gardens project, go to:
seedsecurity.ca/engage
15
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