Growing Resilience from the Ground Up
Alberta’s farmers know it: healthy soil is the foundation of a strong, resilient farm. But keeping soil productive in the face of drought, flooding and market pressures is no easy task. That’s why we’ve teamed up with a group of Alberta producers, extension organizations and researchers to try something rooted in good, old-fashioned common sense: working with nature instead of against it.
The Alberta Polyculture Trails is a producer-driven, science-backed project designed to help crop producers across Alberta find practical, profitable ways to build soil health, boost biodiversity and strengthen climate resilience – starting right in their own fields.
Why Trail Polycultures?
Simply put, nature loves diversity – and so does healthy soil. Polycultures (planting a variety of species together, through intercropping, cocktail crops, pollinator strips, and more) create powerful synergies underground and above. They:
- Protect the soil from erosion and drought with living “soil armor.”
- Improve water infiltration and retention, key for surviving Alberta’s dry spells.
- Boost nutrient cycling and soil organic matter, making your land more productive over time.
- Attract pollinators, pest predators and wildlife, helping create a self-supporting, resilient ecosystem.
- Support grazing systems by providing diverse forage options.
In short, polycultures are like an insurance policy for your land – root-deep and drought-smart. They provide resilience, adaptability, biodiversity and sustainability to your operation.
How the Alberta Polyculture Trails Works
Launched through our Regenerative Agriculture Lab in 2024, the Alberta Polyculture Trails are:
- Working with producers: 15 Alberta farmers are trialing diverse seed blends across the province. The trial producers will provide data and feedback on how the blends perform in their different soil types and under different management styles—from conventional to regenerative .
- Measuring what matters: Producers are documenting all types of changes they see from biodiversity to soil structures, crop production increases or decreases, soil temperatures, root depth, soil biology and more.
- Sharing the knowledge: Trials, successes, challenges and tips are all shared through our upcoming RR2CS Resource Hub—an online home for podcasts, videos, farmer profiles and data.
- Hosting field days and webinars: To connect farmers, researchers and extension organizations and keep the conversations—and innovations—growing.
What Farmers Are Already Seeing
The first season of Polyculture Trails is already turning heads. In 2024, 15 Alberta producers put diverse seed blends to the test on their own land—and the results are exciting:
- Strong germination and drought resilience: Even in tough conditions, the polyculture blends came up strong and held their ground.
- Outperforming monocultures in dry spells: Fields planted with polycultures fared better than single-crop fields during dry conditions, with healthier growth and less visible stress.
- More pollinators and wildlife: Producers noticed a buzz of life—more insects, more birds and more signs of healthy ecosystems returning to their fields.
- Canopy protection during heat waves: When temperatures spiked, polyculture plots held their cool. The lush, layered canopy shaded the soil and kept moisture locked in.
- Adaptability and diversity: Farmers appreciated how well the blends handled the unexpected—whether it was a dry snap or a midsummer downpour, the variety of root depths and species made the system more resilient.
- High enthusiasm for more trials: Producers are eager to keep experimenting, especially with more data, soil testing and support coming their way.
These first steps are just the beginning.
Join the Polyculture Movement!
Whether you’re experimenting with cover crops, intercropping or pollinator strips, we want to see your polycultures in action!
Snap a photo of your polyculture plots, show us the soil health improvements, or capture the buzz of pollinators at work. Share it on social media using #polyculturesrock and help us spread the word about the power of plant diversity.
By joining the conversation, you’re not just sharing your story—you’re inspiring others to rethink what’s possible in their own fields.
Together, We’re Growing Stronger
Every image, every story and every conversation helps build momentum for the kind of agriculture that protects our soil, strengthens our communities and boosts farm resilience.
So, grab your camera and show us why #polyculturesrock!
