SASKATCHEWAN

Water Security Agency

Adam Knutson Demonstration Project

Effective Soil Management

Cattle rancher Adam Knutson uses plants to repair soil.

“Each plant takes different things from the soil and makes them readily available to other plants, so you have to have a cocktail of different roots to make your soil start living again,” is how Knutson describes success with cover crop cocktails.

His 4,000-acre ranch is a mix of loamy and sandy loam soils on flat and rolling fields near Wapella. For Knutson, producing enough quality feed and maintaining healthy pastures for the 400-head commercial herd depends on the soil. 

For the past five years, Knutson has applied the cover crop cocktail concept using specific combinations of plants with different root systems to turn nutrient-starved dirt into healthy soil. The cover crops provide hay and silage and regrow for pasture later in the season, supporting the soil principle of “keep a living root in the ground for the longest period of time possible.” He collaborates with Kevin Elmy of Cover Crops Canada to determine the best blend of plants for specific fields. 

“The part that I’m interested in is the soil repairing end of it; so, we might plant anywhere from six to 20 additional species on the same field at the same time. Every plant has its own part to play in that soil healing process,” says Knutson.     

That process has extended the grazing season through winter and transformed how Knutson manages pastures. It has improved nutrient levels and the water-holding capacity of the soil. He spends less on supplements “because the plants bring minerals into the feed.”  

The crops also serve as a “big solar panel laying on the ground, taking up the sun’s energy,” Knutson notes and can change the characteristics of the soil to help with weed control.

“Going forward, we are not going to have so much trouble with foxtail barley.”

The positive changes cover crop cocktails have brought to the ranch are informing a project with the Water Security Agency and the Saskatchewan Stock Growers Association. The project involves several water filtration tests to measure how quickly moisture goes into the ground where combinations of cover crop blends are planted. A mix of oats, barley and other grains and grasses were seeded, along with strips of corn for fall grazing.

The crops absorbed moisture throughout the growing season and matured at varying heights, affecting how water reaches the soil and how much moisture goes into the ground before it begins to run off.

An integral part of the project measures feed quality. The demonstration sites on the ranch and other sites showed that cover crops vary in nutritional value. Jenay Werle, livestock and feed extension specialist at the Ministry of Agriculture Yorkton office, reports that crude protein ranged from 10 to 14 percent, while energy ranged from 53 to 66 percent.

“Feed testing is important to manage potential anti-nutritional factors such as nitrates and sulfur. The calcium to phosphorus ratio was balanced across all sites, but supplementation with a 1:1 mineral would still be recommended,” she advised.