In the summer of 2025, the Regenerative Organic Oats (ROO) program was in full swing across the fields of participating Prairie farmers, from south-central Manitoba to northwestern Alberta. Our program coordinators visited ROO farms and farmers, working together to conduct various field monitoring techniques and collect soil samples for laboratory analysis. This hands-on experience offered invaluable insights into the soils these farmers are regenerating, highlighting their efforts to optimize crop yields, store more water in the soil, and increase soil biology.
It was early August in Treherne when ROO Program Coordinator Alia arrived to visit Dan at Top of the Hill Farm.
Providing good, healthy food to their own family and others is at the heart of what Top of the Hill Farm is all about, so it was no surprise that Dan was accompanied by some family of his own during the visit. He brought along three of his grandkids for some extra help, and to show them the process of soil sampling.
True to its name, Dan’s farm is very hilly, so he is working hard to introduce practices that will improve water management and retention. Collecting soil health data is one way ROO farmers can see how much the regenerative organic practices they are introducing are helping to tackle challenges on the farm – and where there is room for further improvement!
Alia, Dan, and the kids headed out to his unmanaged site first. An “unmanaged” site is an area that is as close as possible to being a natural, undisturbed environment with similar soil conditions to a farm’s other fields. Dan’s was a tame pasture area on the side of a hill. Alia enjoyed showing Dan and his grandkids how to collect and do some of the tests in this first spot.
Next up, the group headed to some cropped fields to gather some results to compare to the unmanaged area. With so many hands to help out, Dan and a few of the grandkids worked on pounding water infiltration rings in to the soil, while another of the grandkids worked with Alia gathering soil core samples and penetrometer readings.
A lot of hands definitely help speed up monitoring and data collection. It was great to see Dan’s grandkids get so involved in the sampling. Brix measurement and water infiltration tests were particularly exciting because you can see the results right in the field!
We’re constantly inspired by the willingness of ROO farmers to try something new even if, like Dan, they have many years of farming experience. During Alia’s visit, Dan shared that he has been trialing some new amendments on his fields. He will do a side by side comparison of his crop with and without the application to see which performs best. Building and sharing knowledge like this is one of the ways that ROO farmers are creating huge potential for change – not just on the farm level, but in their community of practice and our food system!
To learn more about the ROO program, visit our Regenerative Organic Oats (ROO) page on our website.