Impacts of reduced tillage on soil health in Saskatchewan

On the Canadian Prairies, decades of high-disturbance land management practices, including summerfallow and conventional tillage, contributed to soil erosion and declines in soil quality indicators, including soil organic matter (SOM). However, shifts to zero tillage, minimum tillage and continuous cropping following the adoption of genetically modified crops, instead of summerfallow have helped restore lost organic matter. To assess changes in SOM as summerfallow practices and tillage have been reduced and removed from land management practices, an online survey of Saskatchewan farmers was conducted between October 2024 and March 2025, with farmers voluntarily reporting summerfallow and tillage practices along with SOM level data. Results show that, between 1990-2024, the average number of annual tillage passes decreased 76% and the average percentage of summerfallow fields decreased 91%. Correspondingly, average reported SOM levels increased 41% between the periods of 1990-1999 and 2015-2024. Shifts towards sustainable management practices were made possible by adoptions of innovative technologies, including both genetically modified and conventionally-bred herbicide tolerant cropping systems and more efficient herbicides. The relationship between increasing SOM levels and the shift towards low-disturbance farming systems shows how innovative changes in farmers’ land management practices are helping to regain SOM previously lost to intense cultivation across the province.

By Chelsea Sutherland, Savannah Gleim, Stuart J. Smyth Sep 2, 2026