Getting down in the dirt with soil

IF FARMERS DON’T MANAGE and conserve soil properly, we have a couple of big problems.

First, there’s erosion, the disappearance of soil into the air and water. That’s bad enough, given there is such a thin, thin layer of soil on which the earth depends.

But further, there’s soil health. The ground may not always be giving way beneath us or turning into dust and blowing away before us. But is the ground alive with the kind of microorganisms needed to help plants proliferate? Or is so tightly compacted from being driven over for decades that even water can hardly penetrate it?

These are huge questions. The answers add to the critical mass of knowledge we expect farmers to have, knowledge that is never acknowledged in the price we pay for groceries, or any consumables. We want agriculture to be sustainable. But seldom do we truly pay for it, or even recognize what sustainable means.

Fortunately, when it comes to soil health and conservation, the provincial government gets it. Those who have their minds made up about the

provincial government don’t want to hear this, but it’s on the verge of creating an excellent soil conservation and health strategy.

In fact, open houses started this week in rural Ontario to introduce the current strategy document, called New Horizons: Ontario’s Draft Agricultural Soil and Health Conservation Strategy, to producers and other stakeholders, and seek further input.

The five open houses – in St. Isadore, Woodstock, Dover Centre, Codrington and Flesherton – will be held between now and December 15. Those unable to attend can join a webinar on December 11 from 1-3 p.m. Comments on the strategy are also being sought through a variety of other channels, including email and surface mail.

The colourful 55-page draft strategy proposes ways that farmers, government, conservation organizations, researchers and others can join forces to “foster a fundamental shift in the way we take care of our soil,” says the province’s agriculture, food and rural affairs minister, Jeff Leal.

“In a rapidly changing climate, we must work together to protect our soil while both growing and sustaining Ontario’s capacity to produce food and generate benefits that extend beyond the farm gate, including better water quality and reduced greenhouse gas emissions,” he says.

The strategy began in 2015, the International Year of Soils, with the announcement by the province that it was creating a soil health strategy. That was followed last year with the discussion document Sustaining Ontario’s Agricultural Soils: Towards a Shared Vision.

The latest draft, developed in collaboration with the agricultural sector, reflects feedback from farmers, Indigenous participants and other interested groups and individuals.

The draft covers four overarching themes: soil management, soil mapping and data, soil evaluating and monitoring, and soil knowledge and innovation.

And it’s not all pretty pictures. The draft strategy is chock full of dozens of actions areas and best management practices (BMPs) within the themes, as well as feedback from producers in subsections called “what we heard,” and key principles.

For example, under soil management, key principles to improve soil health are diversify crops, minimize soil disturbance, keep soil covered, keep plants growing throughout the year (i.e. plant some perennial crops) and build soil organic matter. As an action, producers are urged to start their soil health management plan with a farm-level risk assessment, and an analysis of the appropriate BMPs to address site-specific issues.

“We all know that healthy soil is the basis for a strong, sustainable agrifood system,” says Leal. “Wise management can ensure that soil is fertile and full of the living organisms that are essential to grow food and other agricultural products.”