The Soil Network

Send us Fan Mail No-Till on Heavy Ground: What Actually Works at Hunco Farms | Crop Chats In this episode of Crop Chats, we head to Hunco Farms in Ontario to break down what it really takes to succeed with no-till planting on heavy, sometimes poorly drained ground. Jason, Kevin, and Phil walk us through their planter setup, the upgrades they’ve made, and what they’ve learned the hard way about pla...

Send us Fan Mail What happens when you mix three generations of farmers, waterfront clay soils, a serious focus on soil health, and a no-nonsense approach to no-till? You get the Kaiser family farm. In this first half of our two-part deep dive, we sit down with Eric, Max, and Rob Kaiser at their farm near Napanee, Ontario—right on the shores of Hay Bay. From their early days of acquiring fragmente...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Winning with No-Till , we visit Bill and Wes Honey on their multi-generational farm in Norham, Ontario. Nestled in the rolling hills near Warkworth, their operation tackles the challenges of steep slopes, irregular field shapes, and a mix of sandy loam and clay — all while staying committed to a no-till system. From Bill’s early involvement in Ontario’s conserva...

Send us Fan Mail What does it really take to scale a no-till system without piling on equipment costs? In this episode of Crop Chats , we’re in Cobourg, Ontario with seventh-generation farmer Mark Burnham of Burnham Farms. Mark shares how his farm transitioned into full no-till over two decades—without the need for flashy new iron or big tillage passes. Mark and his father have built a system that...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of Crop Chats , we visit Nick Stokman’s farm near Strathroy, Ontario, where he’s been fine-tuning his no-till system on heavy clay soils for over 30 years. With a practical mindset and deep curiosity, Nick shares lessons learned across decades of experimentation—from managing residue and customizing drills for bio strip-till to making cover crops work in narrow win...

Send us Fan Mail In this Crop Chats episode, Ian McDonald (Crop Innovation Specialist, OMAFRA) visits Swain Beef near Blackstock, Ontario, for a candid conversation with Scott Swain about making no-till systems work on a mixed farm with livestock, manure, and highly variable soils. Scott doesn’t claim to have it all figured out—but what he offers is an honest look at what’s worked, what hasn’t, an...

Send us Fan Mail Join host Ian McDonald, Crop Innovation Specialist with OMAFRA, as he kicks off the Crop Chats: Seeding Equipment Series by visiting Hunco Farms in Ontario. In this episode, we sit down with Kevin, Jason, and Phil to talk through their planter and drill setup, how they approach no-till planting, and what they’ve learned through years of refining their system. From hydraulic downfo...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of the Soil Network Podcast (formerly Combines & Coffee ), host Ian Virtue visits Brant County, Ontario, to chat with local farmers who work similar land, but manage it in very different ways. From organic and conventional operations to beef and dairy farms, each farmer brings their own unique approach—but what ties them together is a shared passion for learnin...

Send us Fan Mail Episode 5: Bridging Innovation and Sustainability in Agriculture with Shawn Catherwood, Dr. Joel Gruver, and Brandon Schlautman Join us for an engaging episode of the Soil Network podcast, recorded live from the Innovative Farmers Association of Ontario conference in Kitchener, Ontario. Host Ian Virtue brings together three outstanding guests: Shawn Catherwood, a leading voice in...

Send us Fan Mail Join us for an insightful episode of the Soil Network podcast, recorded live from the Innovative Farm Association of Ontario 2024 conference in Kitchener, Ontario. Host Ian Virtue sits down with three distinguished guests: Jeff Cook, a cash crop producer from London, Ontario; Murray McLaughlin, an expert in agricultural bioeconomy; and Guillaume Tant, a French agronomist focused o...

Send us Fan Mail  Innovations in Agricultural Technology and Microbiology In this enlightening episode of The Soil Network, we delve into the transformative world of agricultural technology and microbial ecology with three trailblazers in the field: Chuck Baresich, President of Haggerty Robotics; Dr. Lori Phillips, a Microbial Ecologist at Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada; and Xavier Hébert-Coutur...

Send us Fan Mail In this episode of "The Soil Network," Ian Virtue pulls up a chair with a trio of folks who are as deep into the soil and gears of farming as you can get. First up, we've got Alex Barrie, a fella who's part soil management guru with the Ministry of Agriculture and part hobbyist extraordinaire. Alex kicks us off with tales of tinkering and trial by fire—lessons...

Send us Fan Mail Join us in this enlightening episode of 'The Soil Network' as we ride along with Mark Richards, a visionary in the world of sustainable farming, in the scenic fields of Dresden, Ontario.  In today's conversation, Mark shares his insights on integrating advanced technologies like autonomous vehicles into agriculture, reshaping the way we think about farming. But ther...