new summit on canadian soil health 2017 - the face and voice … · 2018. 12. 4. · “soil...

“Soil Degradation – Costs, Consequences and Opportunity for Change”

PROCEEDINGSSoil conServation council of canada

conSeil canadien de conServation deS SolS

SummIt ON CaNaDIaN SOIl HEaltH 2017

August 22-23, 2017Delta Guelph Hotel and Conference Centre

Guelph, Ontario

2 Summit on CAnAdiAn Soil HeAltH 2017 | @soilcouncil #soilsummit17

with Grateful Appreciation to our summit Proceedings sponsors

Soil conServation council of canada

conSeil canadien de conServation deS SolS

3Summit on CAnAdiAn Soil HeAltH 2017 | @soilcouncil #soilsummit17

GlASi is supported through Growing Forward 2, a federal-provincial-territorial initiative.

Heartland Region east Central Region

National Farmers Union E S T .

1 9 6 9

O n t a r i o

Golden Horseshoe Region

Perth County

Huron County

CHRISTIAN FARMERSFederation Of Ontario

thames Valley Region

eastern Valley Region

Quinte Region

with Grateful Appreciation to our summit sponsors


executive Summary ...................................................................................................................................... 5

Speakers, Wednesday August 22, 2017, Field tourDr. Claudia Wagner - Riddle- Soil Health and Soil Ecosystems Services ........................................... 9

Dr. Bill Deen - Opportunities for the use of long-term Rotation trial Results to alter Farmer Rotation Decisions ..................................................................................................... 11

Peter Johnson - tillage Options and Challenges ................................................................................12

adam Hayes - Soil Remediation and landscape Restoration ..........................................................13

andy Graham - OSCIa Projects that Enhance Soil Quality ...............................................................14

Bob mcIntosh - 27 Years of No-till-Farming: Overview/lessons learned .....................................15

Kevin mcKague - Soil management Impacts on Water Quality ........................................................16

Dr. Janina Plach - Soil management Impacts on Water Quality .......................................................17

Speakers, Wednesday August 22, 2017, evening Programlaura Rance - Our Changing Relationship with Soil ..........................................................................18

Don Reicosky - a looming Collision: Global Population and Food Security .....................................19

Speakers, thursday August 23, 2017Robert Sandford - What Price? the Ground Beneath us .................................................................21

David lobb - the Cost to agriculture and the Economy ...................................................................23

Dan Pennock - Sustainable Soil management ...................................................................................24

lori Phillips - Soil Biological Opportunities ........................................................................................25

Denis angers - aggregates as a Soil Health Indicator .......................................................................26

tim Nerbas - Soil Health Panel Front line Experience and technical Needs ................................27

Soil Health Panel - Front line experience and technical needsJocelyn michon, Crop and Vegetable Farmer, Quebec .....................................................................28

Doug Wray, Canadian Forage and Grassland association Beef Farmer, alberta ..........................29

Ken laing, Ecological Farmer, Ontario ................................................................................................31

Paul throroughgood, Grain Farmer, Saskatchewan .........................................................................32

Challenge Presentation Don lobb - Who is Responsible? ......................................................................................................... 33

Who was there? ............................................................................................................................................ 34

Pre and Post Summit Awareness Survey ...............................................................................................35

targeted Attendee Survey ......................................................................................................................... 41


the SCCC Summit on Canadian Soil Health 2017 (august 22-23, 2017) addressed the challenges to soil health; namely, the degradation to Canada’s soil resources, and sought solutions for returning to and/or maintaining healthy soils for sustainable food production, enhanced biodiversity, cleaner air and water for present and future generations.

this two day meeting included presentations by researchers and farmers, a tour of research facilities and on-farm technology applications. It outlined the breadth of the topic of soil degradation, its position globally within the range of concerns related to global environmental services and Canada’s role nationally and internationally. the Summit participants included members of the farm, agri-business, agricultural organization, environmental non-government organization, research/academia, government, student, consultant and press communities. they were surveyed to assess their soil health awareness before and after the Summit and solicit their opinions on the internal and external costs and the next steps needed to deal with the costs and consequences of soil degradation in Canada and particularly Ontario. the results of the survey showed that the Summit increased the participants’ knowledge and awareness of the costs of soil degradation. It identified an awareness of important best management practices (BmPs) and technologies shown to reduce soil degradation which are currently being used and recommended. In addition, a number of participants described new BmPs and technologies that they now feel confident trying or recommending post-Summit. this is evidence that participants are committed to taking the necessary actions to reduce soil degradation.

the Summit presenters were most aware and knowledgeable about the biophysical aspects of soil health and soil degradation. At the research level, their efforts were highly focused and specific; at the farm level, the perspective was broader, concentrating more on principles. the converse is true for the level of economic awareness and understanding in the decision making process. at the farmer level, the market forces are quite important whereas for researchers, the impact of economic forces was a minor consideration. the costs and consequences of soil degradation for soil health and agriculture were emphasized; however, the broader societal level impacts of soil degradation on the health of water and air resources were also recognized.

the Big Picture, a Global context for soil Degradation costs and consequences related to soil Health

state of Knowledge:

Soil degradation is a component of the cycle of land-system change, one of 9 planetary cycles (a part of Earth System Science as described by united Nations university in their studies of planetary limits and earth system boundaries). agriculture has internal impacts on the land systems cycle as well having impacts on other planetary cycles which can be considered as externalities (i.e. water and atmosphere).

the Global perspective and canada’s position as presented by Robert sanford and Dan Pennock concluded that:

�soil degradation problems and soil health solutions are intertwined with concerns with problems of air, water and biodiversity

soil degradation is a global problem; there is a great deal of effort both by individual nations and internationally to understand and manage soil degradation

from the standpoint of credibility and communication, it is important that definitions of sustainable soil management and associated soil health and soil degradation be consistent with or directly related to those used internationally (e.g. definition by the World Soil Charter of FaO)

the definition should be based on an ecosystem services model for soil functions with thresholds for significant impairment of functions or biodiversity and it recommends a balance between plant production and other service functions, and

within the overarching planetary systems and cycles there are local and regional differences and successful management practices that must be considered.

Knowledge Gaps and next steps:

While there was some discussion of soil degradation as it impacts water and air quality, the focus of most of the discussion at this Summit was on the biophysical aspects of soil degradation as it relates to soil health for agriculture. Some apparent gaps include:

tHe Soil Summit PRoCeedinGS | Executive Summary

Summit on Canadian Soil Health 2017: Soil Degradation – Costs, Consequences and Opportunities for Change – Executive Summary


Internationally accepted definitions of soil health and soil degradation

Thresholds identified and accepted for physical, chemical and biological characteristics of soil health

the linkages and in particular the costs of soil degradation as it impacts water and air quality need to be clearly delineated, and

the costs and consequences of soil degradation and the benefits of soil health for agriculture and society need to be much more clearly enunciated to all members of society.

It should be noted that while the soil, water and air cycles are linked and interacting, the thresholds of one cycle (e.g. tolerable rates of erosion loss) may not equate to sustainable levels of phosphorus and sediment in water.

Work is needed to define the boundary conditions of soil health and the consequences of soil degradation as part of the land-system cycle and to position these within the broader issues of planetary limits and boundaries. this requires:

Coordination with the international community

Coordination between resource cycles: soil, water, air, biodiversity

Comprehensive definition of ecosystem resources encompassed by soil health

Development of economic assessment procedures consistent at the international level, and

Development of economic policy framework that encompasses resource degradation costs and consequences.

Research and technology transfer – the Biophysical components of soil Health and management Practices to mitigate soil Degradation costs and consequences for ontario and canada Presenters at the Summit discussed and demonstrated highlights of current research and technology development and transfer of appropriate management solutions. these included: aspects of basic research to understand the problem and underlying processes followed by applied research to determine how to manage/modify phenomena; technology development; and tools for transfer to farmers, land owners and land managers.

state of knowledge:

the general consensus from research studies was that tillage intensity and soil carbon gains, losses and maintenance were the most important factors influencing soil health. Tillage type, depth and intensity determine the proportion of the rooting zone that is disturbed (cross-sectional area). the cross-sectional area of soil disturbed by tillage is directly proportional to the loss of carbon from the soil. this is true across the range of tillage types or with one type of tillage at various depths. the cross-sectional area disturbed is directly proportional to the fossil fuel usage. Both the loss of soil carbon with its resulting harmful impact on soil health and the increased usage of fossil fuel impose an economic penalty on the crop production operations.

One specific example of soil health research demonstrated the use of mass balance studies (carbon, nitrogen, water, etc.) to better understand soil degradation processes and effects. Facilities such as the newly installed soil lysimeter infrastructure at the Elora Research Station, Ontario can monitor soil ecosystem services (SES) such as greenhouse gas emission mitigation, support of microbial diversity, soil organic matter storage and water filtration under different management systems and rotations.

there are a variety of methods available to characterize the state of soil health. Denis angers reviewed his work on the use of biogenic aggregates (formed in conjunction with organic matter decomposition) as soil health indicators. New and emerging technologies using DNa sequencing will be used in the future to develop baseline maps of soil biodiversity to estimate which kinds management practice will be effective. The important roles of soil biodiversity for soil health and microbes as the controllers/regulators of ecosystem services are being recognized and understood.

Research on farm and in-field settings is an important component in the development of technologies that a farmer can understand and adapt to his own operations. the Summit tour included a demonstration of drainage and soil conservation options (subsurface drains and cover crops) for managing and minimizing surface (overland) run-off. This research deals directly with the external impact of agricultural activities on water quality. The specific example presented showed research using year-round, high-frequency monitoring of edge-of-field P losses (dissolved and particulate) from croplands in southern Ontario.

Other farm and field research examples demonstrated the soil health, agronomic and environmental benefits of rotation diversity, the use of soil remediation and landscape restoration as a way to mitigate soil degradation and restore soil health and the role of tillage (both as a practice that can degrade soil and also, when limited and used in conjunction with other conservation practices, as one that can promote crop growth, carbon accumulation and aggregation).



as research and farm level studies develop new understanding, the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement association (OSCIa) is instrumental in the delivery of education, funding and promoting adoption of programs focusing on soil health.


at a detailed level, knowledge gaps are a part of each area of study. Some areas of particular importance include:

the interactions between tillage equipment and practices, soil health and soil carbon preservation,

the importance of soil biodiversity for soil health and microbes as controllers/regulators of ecosystem services, and

the need for convenient measurements for the assessment of soil health which are easily understood and quantitative.

at a more general level, there is generally a good understanding of the biophysical processes that cause soil degradation and also of the management practices that can mitigate or reverse the effects and build and maintain healthy soil. There is an apparent gap in the effectiveness with which the current understanding of soil health and the consequences and costs of soil degradation are transferred to the farmers, land owners and land managers. aspects of this gap include:

The time and effort involved in evaluating and adapting technologies to the individual soil and site conditions of interest to the operator, and

Adequate information of the financial costs and consequences of soil degradation to justify the extra effort.

the importance of soil health and the need to mitigate soil degradation has been recognized at the policy level as shown by the inclusion of water, soil conservation and development issues in the priorities listed in the mandate letter of direction to the current federal minister of agriculture. the next steps are to ensure that these remain priorities until the need has been met and also to ensure that the results of basic and applied research are used to develop viable technologies that are successfully transferred to the farming community using education, incentives, and regulations as appropriate.

on the Farm - identifying, targeting and Adapting mitigation measures the success of research programs and the knowledge and understanding gained can be measured by how well it is accepted and used by farmers and land managers. as the problem is recognized and the education is successful, technologies are adapted and profitability is increased.

Highlights of the summit were presentations and demonstrations from farmers who are committed to improving the health of their soils. their farms were located across Canada from Quebec to alberta. While each described their unique situations, there were important similarities in their experiences. all of them had observed the problems of soil degradation on their farm and had taken a long-term approach to developing healthy soil using reduced tillage, no-till, cover crops to increase soil organic matter. Each of them described a gradual process of adaptation over decades and three of the five incorporated livestock manure as a source of organic carbon. they were very cognizant of the costs and economic benefits of their efforts and provided their estimates of benefits in dollar terms. Generally they found that their operation became more efficient and costs were reduced.

they had comments about the lack of advice without vested interests and the current somewhat biased emphasis on current returns rather than sustainability over the longer term and the need to move away from defending certain systems to a variety of systems adapted to soil health.


There is limited transfer of knowledge in an efficient, timely and cost-effective manner from the minority of farmers who have adopted healthy soil management to the general farm community. the farmers who provided examples of their experiences in adoption of management practices promoting soil health all expressed the long learning time to adapt the principles to their operations. they all owned most of the land they operated and were committed to building and maintaining the quality of their soil resources. there would appear to be a need to bridge the gap between the knowledge and technologies available to manage soil degradation and promote soil health and the availability of financial incentives to have these adopted by cash crop farmers operating primarily on rented land.



the Economic components of soil Health and soil Degradation:

state of Knowledge:

While research knowledge has been successfully developed into packages of technology which have been demonstrated on the farm, these biophysical benefits are not well accepted for general use because they have not been translated into terms of economic returns. In reality, there are too many competing demands generally expressed in terms of reduced costs or increased profits that override the benefits of soil health when expressed in biophysical terms. It is important to incorporate the cost benefit analysis so that the costs of soil degradation can be compared to other market based costs and benefits that the farmer must weigh in making best management decisions. according to the farmers on the program, the increased returns from crop production as a result of sustained or enhanced yields and increased efficiencies in terms of reduced labour and machinery costs exceeded the costs of mitigating soil degradation on their farms.

The cost of soil degradation and benefits of soil health can be dealt with within the overall economic analysis of agricultural operations; however, because the thresholds for promoting soil health may not be stringent enough to match the linked cycles of healthy water and air, it is important to determine the costs to society of these externalities from agricultural operations so that they can be evaluated against other cost and benefit demands.

the scale of economic analysis is also important. Governments and policy makers need economic analyses which are scaled up to regions or countries so that the very large numbers can be evaluated against the costs and benefits of other factors impacting the quality of life. However, at the farm level it is important to drill down through these large numbers which are not easy to understand at the level of the individual farm and develop an economic analysis which is specific to the individual farm and field.

Economic analysis is a way of recognizing everyone’s responsibility for soil health. at the broad societal level, this will be reflected in economic policies; at the farm/land owner level, direct tax incentives could be quite effective.

From the standpoint of soil degradation, there are three major economic considerations:

1. the cost of management practices to control and mitigate the depletion of the resource. Current research provides information on costs of soil degradation management practices but does not estimate the costs of degradation impacts on either soil or water resources.

2. The cost to society of both the in-field losses in current and future productivity and also the off-site externalities including impacts of losses resulting from soil degradation impacting water and air resources.

3. the impact on returns from crop production. according to the farmers on the program, the cost of mitigating soil degradation was exceeded by the increased returns from crop production as a result of sustained or enhanced yields and increased efficiencies in terms of reduced labour and machinery costs.

Preliminary estimates of the direct costs of erosion (water, wind and tillage) from a national perspective were presented at the Summit. the analysis of soil erosion costs showed that the biophysical understanding of the impacts of soil degradation by erosion is not fully characterized. However, the preliminary cost estimate of the impact on crop productivity does suggest that the magnitude of these costs is significant at both a broad regional and national level and also important in localized areas.

Knowledge gaps and next steps:

While the estimated costs of soil erosion are approximate, they are a useful first step. A similar analysis is needed for the other soil degradation processes; compaction, soil organic matter loss, acidification, salinization, and others.

Next steps include the development of procedures to estimate:

the biophysical extent and associated (internal) costs of other soil degradation processes including; organic matter loss, acidification, salinity and compaction

the external costs of soil degradation to air, water and biodiversity resources

Refinement of the procedures to estimate the biophysical aspects of soil degradation to identify and target the specific conditions of soil, landscape, crop and climate where appropriate management will have the greatest benefit

Crop budget line items expressing soil degradation costs and benefits accruing from soil health



Soil Health and Soil Ecosystems ServicesDr. claudia Wagner-RiddleSchool of Environmental Science university of Guelph

BioDr. Claudia Wagner-Riddle is a Professor in agrometeorology in the School of Environmental Sciences, University of Guelph. She is an expert in application of micrometeorological flux techniques to measure greenhouse gas emissions (GHG; methane, nitrous oxide and carbon dioxide) from agriculture. Her research aims at better understanding the processes that lead to GHG emissions and identifying management practices that can reduce GHG emissions, and hence, decrease the environmental impact of agricultural activities. She currently leads several projects focused on evaluating how soil health impacts soil ecosystem services, including a new infrastructure using large scale soil weighing lysimeter. Prof. Wagner-Riddle is an editor of the international journal agricultural and Forest meteorology since 2012 and associate editor of the Journal of Environmental Quality since 2011. She is a member of the Scientific Advisory Group to the 4R Quantification Module Strategy for The Fertilizer Institute and International Plant Nutrition Institute, united States; the technical Committee GHG Inventory: livestock, Environment and Climate Change Canada. Prof. Wagner-Riddle has published >100 papers, has had 2897 citations and has an h-index of 27 (Google Scholar).

AbstractNon-diversified crop rotations such as long-term monoculture of annual crops, frequent tillage and reduced organic matter inputs can result in the decline of soil health, threatening the sustainability of food production systems. the implications of poor soil health on long-term agricultural production are of local, national and global concern because of the increase in future food and water demands. Soil health, defined as “the capacity of soil to function” is important to sustain crop productivity, and the provision of soil ecosystem services (SES) such as greenhouse gas emission mitigation, support of microbial diversity, soil organic matter storage and water filtration. The ‘perennialization’ of annual cropping systems is the integration of cover crops or intercrops such that the soil is never left fallow, in addition to diversifying annual crop rotations, a strategy that mimics natural ecosystems and is postulated to increase agricultural resilience to climate change, soil health and provision of SES. The effects of ‘perennialization’ of annual cropping systems are being studied in a new long-term soil lysimeter infrastructure, fully-instrumented for mass balance studies (carbon, nitrogen, water, etc.) at the Elora Research Station, Ontario. this unique facility in North america features 18 weighing lysimeters (each ~1.5 m3; 9 of each soil type: silt loam, sandy loam) and provides a common field facility for researchers from multiple disciplines to collaborate. Results will allow for linkages of air and water quality indicators, water quantity and biological processes (plants and microbes) that control nutrient cycling in soils. the research outcomes from this soil lysimeter facility will provide estimates of the value of soil ecosystem services to guide policy and decisions on management practices for farmers to use.

link to 2017 Soil Summit Presentation

tHe Soil Summit PRoCeedinGS | Speakers


Key messages• We need long term research to get to the root of how farming practices are working at the soil level.

• Need more investment to do on farm trials to increase information and awareness so farmers accept and implement practices that work for them

most urgent issues/Gaps• Need more long-term research to clarify and specify the benefits of soil health promoting practices

• Relay research to unaware farmers so that they have a clear understanding of how management practices can have an effect on soil health

• Promote and encourage decision making for the long-term benefits and not short-term financial gains

• On the ground changes need to be supported by society not just the individual farmer.

link to Speaker interview



Opportunities for the Use of Long-Term Rotation Trial Results to Alter Farmer Rotation DecisionsDr. Bill DeenCrop Science Department, university of Guelph

BioDr. Bill Deen is an associate Professor in the Department of Plant agriculture, university of Guelph. Bill received a mSc (1991) in agricultural economics and a PhD (1999) in plant agriculture from the university of Guelph. Bill is an agroecologist involved in applied research who does extensive outreach to growers and industry. the objective of his research program is to develop agroecosystems that are both productive and sustainable. Bill has internationally recognized knowledge of crop rotation, cover crop, tillage and field-based research techniques and experience managing interdisciplinary research efforts based on long-term field trials. In his spare time Bill manages a broiler farm in North Wellington County.

Abstractthe Elora long-term crop rotation trial established in 1980 is an example of research that clearly demonstrates the soil health, agronomic and environmental benefits of rotation diversity. The long-term trial consists of a single treatment of continuous corn and 13 treatments of two years of corn, followed by two years of rotation crop(s) – soybeans, barley, winter wheat, oats, alfalfa, or red clover. all treatments are split into no-till and conventional till sub-plots. most recently, the trial has been used to demonstrate that rotation diversity results in greater yield stability and resiliency under moisture extremes, and increased nutrient use efficiency. In spite of growing evidence of rotation diversity benefit and the linkage of rotation diversity with effective cover crop use and reduced/no-till tillage, farmers across Ontario and the Northern Corn Belt are increasingly moving towards simple corn/soybean rotations, presumably because simple rotations are perceived as more profitable. Benefits associated with rotation diversity may not currently be sufficient or may not translate into economic incentives for altering producer behaviour. an overview of current research related to this economic impediment will be discussed.


Key message• Rotation diversity is the key pillar in the strategy to improve soil health. It allows for the benefits of

other soil health promoting practices like no-till and cover crops.

most urgent issues/Gaps• There are many acres that are in a corn- soybean rotation in Ontario. We need to move away from the

simple rotations because they are not suitable for including soil health promoting practices.

• Provide growers with economic incentives through agronomic or external means to move away from simple rotations.

• Currently we use historical data to determine the cost of soil degradation. How will those costs change in the future?

• Improving understanding of the magnitude of the on-farm and off-farm costs associated with soil degradation




Tillage Options and ChallengesPeter JohnsonFarmer/Consultant

BioPeter Johnson grew up farming near Guelph, Ontario and attended the university of Guelph at the same time as operating an 800-acre crop and beef farm, receiving his BSc agr degree (Crop Science) in 1982. In 1985, Peter joined the Ontario ministry of agriculture and Food, as a Soil Conservation advisor, and later became the Cereal Specialist, where he continued to work on and promote crop rotation, reduced tillage and cover crops. On retirement, he became the resident agronomist for Realagriculture.com. In this role, he continues to be an outspoken agvocate of better soil management, through research trials, demonstration, presentations, and social media. He produces a weekly update, “Wheat Pete’s Word” that is listened to by phone, podcast, and plays on Rural Radio, Sirius Satellite 147. Peter continues to farm, which is where “the rubber hits the road”.

AbstractThe complexity of tillage and soil interactions brings new challenges and different outcomes every year. Soil type is a critical factor. the key requirements to reducing tillage are good drainage, a good rotation and good organic matter. these are essential to soil health and soil aggregate stability. unfortunately, many farms have been tilled to the point that there is little natural aggregate stability left, and more tillage is the only way to loosen soils to support profitable crop yields. This becomes a downward spiral for which there is no easy solution. a perfect example of this is the heavy clay soils of the Niagara peninsula. an inherently tight soil, tillage and too many soybeans have reduced organic matter and aggregate stability. When growers leave these degraded soils untilled, surface runoff increases dramatically, resulting in gully erosion. tillage allows penetration of the surface water to tillage depth but sheet erosion becomes an insidious (although less visual) result, and soil organic matter and aggregate stability continue to decline. This is one example of a situation where growers need help to find a way to get off this tillage treadmill. Other options/issues/challenges around tillage choices include the use of strip-tillage, cover crops, pest management, compaction reduction and the need to reduce nutrient loss.


Key messages• We need to work towards less tillage but there are no simple answers.

• Soil moisture and temperature remain issues when trying to adopt no-till.

most urgent issues/Gaps• Maintaining and improving soil aggregate stability is critical. Water will be limiting down the road and we

need the soil to be able to better hold and store moisture.

• Loss of soil productivity is a concern. Need for more research.

• Need workable solutions for farmers.

• More extension is needed.




Soil Remediation and Landscape RestorationAdam HayesOmaFRa Soil management Specialist-Field Crops

BioAdam Hayes has a long history with the Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs beginning with soil conservation work and time as a soil and crop specialist. the second half of his career has been spent as a soil management specialist promoting best practices in soil management. He initiated the Southwest Crop Diagnostic Days at Ridgetown and has chaired the Southwest agricultural Conference for the last 7 years. His current focus is on promoting and measuring soil health. He continues to work to address climate change issues and to remediate degraded soils. He sat on the Soil Conservation Council of Canada Board for a many years. In 2014, adam was the inaugural recipient of the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement association’s Soil Champion award and received the l. B. thompson Conservation award from the Soil Conservation Council of Canada in 2016.

AbstractTillage erosion has been a significant problem on rolling agricultural land in Ontario for decades. The loss of soil from knolls and shoulder slopes has reduced crop yields in those areas of the field. In some cases the a horizon or topsoil layer has been completely lost. In others, partial loss has resulted in lower organic matter and nutrient levels. Precision agriculture has highlighted the impact these poorer producing areas are having on the bottom line. Where organic matter is low growers are utilizing a variety of organic amendments to increase organic matter levels and improve yields. On severely-eroded knolls landscape restoration is being used to improve the productivity of these soils. the process starts by mapping the extent of the eroded knolls, and then significant areas where soil has been deposited are identified. Soil is moved from the depositional areas using a small earth mover or other equipment, and deposited on the eroded areas adding a minimum of 10cm (4”) of soil. If it will be some time before a crop is to be planted in the field then a cover crop should be planted to keep the soil in place. Tillage practices should change, ideally to no-till, to keep the soil in place. Precision agriculture can be used to manage the field before and after improvements are made.


Key message• There are opportunities to restore/replace topsoil on knolls in fields or increase the organic matter of a

soil by moving soil or adding organic amendments.

most urgent issues/Gaps• Getting everyone to work together with the common goal of improving soil health.

• Farmer understanding and acceptance/implementation

• Farmers understand the soil issues on their farms but perhaps not the economics of improving soil health.




OSCIA Projects that Enhance Soil QualityAndrew GrahamExecutive Director, OSCIa

Bioandrew Graham was appointed Executive Director for the Ontario Soil and Crop Improvement association in 2014 where his responsibilities span a broad suite of management activities that encompass the strategic directions of the association, while tending to the day-to-day operations. He has been with the farm organization going on 27 years, engaged in all phases of project development, delivery and management, with an emphasis over that time on environmental programs. During the ten year period prior to his arrival at OSCIA, Andy worked on soil and water conservation initiatives first through the upper thames River Conservation authority, followed by the provincial agriculture ministry.

AbstractOSCIa facilitates responsible economic management of soil, water, air and crops through development and communication of innovative farming practices. Our membership of 4,100 farmers across Ontario are actively seeking, testing, and adopting optimal farm production and stewardship practices. Our commitment to long-term soil health is demonstrated in numerous OSCIa-supported activities including applied research trials, the Soil Health Scholarship at university of Guelph, Forage masters Competition and the Soil Champion award. OSCIa has 30 years of experience in the delivery of government-supported, educational and financial incentive programs to the farm community. These programs aim to educate, influence change and advance adoption of best management practices (BMPs). For example, we are proud to be the delivery agent for the Environmental Farm Plan (EFP) – one of Ontario’s flagship programs since 1993. We collaborate extensively with governments and other organizations to seek out new ways to optimize educational opportunities and target limited incentive dollars to projects that promise the highest returns on investment. the Farmland Health Check-up (FHCu) is new and complements the EFP by providing an opportunity for farmers to work alongside agrologists. together, they work to review land management practices and develop a multi-barrier approach for specific problems by identifying BmPs that reduce risks while improving resiliency to extreme weather events. Ontario is a national leader on agri-environmental education for producers, coupling the value realized through the FHCu with the whole-farm perspective that is gained through the EFP. these programs demonstrate responsible spending by using a merit-based design to allocate funding to the highest quality projects, thereby achieving measurable and sustainable change on the landscape. Great strides have been made with merit-based designs, but many challenges remain, such as the diversity in motivational triggers among producers, and providing opportunities to access government funding in a fair and equitable manner.


Key messages• Programming must be kept fresh and relevant to keep farmers interested. If a program plateaus, that

needs to be recognized and we must move forward.

• If we don’t have farmer acceptance, we are nowhere.

most urgent issues/Gaps• We need to influence desired practices and sustained change.

• In an environment of increasing land prices and volatile markets, it is a challenge to ask farmers to make changes that require investments. they are taking all the risk and that needs to change.




27 Years of No-Till-Farming: Overview/Lessons LearnedBob mcintoshNo-till Farmer

BioBob mcintosh farms in Perth County, Southern Ontario. His operation is predominantly a cash crop farm of approximately 900 acres where he grows corn, soybeans, wheat and dry edible beans. as Bob initially farmed using conventional tillage practices and the removal of fence rows and other obstructions, he saw serious erosion during intense rain events This convinced him to find solutions that included reduced tillage and building erosion control structures that today act to prevent much of the erosion that occurred earlier. Bob has been a long-time cooperator and host for research work on his farm. He was Founding President of the Innovative Farmers association of Ontario and participated in delivery of federal and provincial soil conservation programs and the Environmental Farm Plan. He was named Innovative Farmer of the Year in 2011.

AbstractWe moved to this farm in 1977. It is a 100-acre farm that had been a small dairy and cash crop operation prior to this. At that time the farm was divided into about six fenced fields. We removed the fences and began farming it as one large field. This made for much more efficient use of machinery, as well as being able to grow crop where fence lines used to be. Then we started to see torrents of water coming off the field during heavy rain events causing erosion and flooding in the area near our buildings. We constructed this water and sediment control basin to alleviate the problem and it has worked extremely well to do this. the water from approximately 45 acres is collected here and held until the drain can channel it safely underground. We have since adopted mostly no-till practices that have further helped to reduce the amount of water coming off the field. As well, cover crops help to hold back excess water and improve soil structure so that more water infiltrates into the soil rather than run-off the surface. Having worked with farms that have severely degraded soil, we have discovered that it is a life-long process with mediocre results to bring these soils back to even reasonable production. This is why I believe we need to find a way to further reduce tillage and incorporate cover crops into our farming systems.


Key message• Water leaving the farm must be clear. Water clarity is an indicator of how well we are doing on the farm.

muddy water means something is wrong and system changes are needed.

most urgent issue/Gap• Need more research so farmers can better make decisions




Soil Management Impacts on Water QualityKevin mcKagueOmaFRa Water Quality Engineer

BioKevin mckague has a Bachelor’s degree in agricultural Engineering and a masters degree in Water Resources Engineering – both from the university of Guelph. He has worked in the area of soil and water conservation for much of his career. He began his career as a soil and water conservation engineer as part of the Joint agricultural Soil and Water Conservation Program. In 1988 he joined Ecologistics limited where he contributed to many national and international soil and water conservation projects. Kevin joined OMAFRA in 1999 where he is now their Water Quality Engineer. He has been accredited as a Certified Professional in Erosion and Sediment Control (CPESC) since 1992. He is part of OmaFRa’s Soil team, assists with OmaFRa’s Erosion Control Structures design course and was instrumental in the development of OmaFRa’s agricultural erosion control structures design software (agErosion). He has recently completed the adaptation of the uSDa’s RuSlE2 model to Ontario. His work and related research interests currently includes reducing NPS pollution from agricultural tile drainage systems while maintaining crop productivity benefits of this farm practice.

AbstractSoils vary widely in their inherent ability to transmit and hold water. How we use and manage our soil, however, also plays a significant role in determining the fate of precipitation that lands on our fields. Farmland drainage is inevitable, particularly in the humid continental climate associated with southern Ontario. High intensity storms can deliver water at a rate that exceeds a soil’s ability to receive it. Wet soils, frozen soils and high water tables can further slow water infiltration rates, and generate run-off. How and how much drainage water leaves the field edge (overland vs. tiles), when it leaves (growing season vs. non-growing season), and what it interacts with along the way, all influence its erosive potential as well as downstream water quality. this presentation will discuss drainage and soil conservation options for managing and minimizing surface (overland) run-off, the costs of these options, and how long-term edge-of-field investigations can help inform how agronomic and engineered practices used within a farming system influence the quantity and quality of overland run-off leaving a drainage area. Can agronomic practices that improve soil health also reduce run-off, and improve drainage water quality today and under future climate conditions?


Key message• If we improve soil health and management we will see a decrease in the volume of overland runoff and

a decrease in pollutant loadings into surface water.

most urgent issues/Gaps• Research into how to keep or achieve more winter cover on fields without that cover having an adverse

effect on the following year’s crop production/yield. Will it require major changes to the current cropping practices and systems commonly used today in Ontario?

• Investigation into improved ways and the effectiveness of techniques that can reduce soil compaction – especially as we trend towards larger and larger fields and equipment




Soil Management Impacts on Water QualityDr. Janina PlachDepartment of Geography and Environmental management, university of Waterloo

BioDr. Janina Plach received her PhD from mcmaster university in aquatic biogeochemistry. Currently, she is working as a postdoctoral fellow at the university of Waterloo with Dr. merrin macrae investigating the mobility, transport and fate of phosphorus (P) in agricultural landscapes of the lower Great lakes Region. Her research includes examining linkages between soil biogeochemical properties, storage and availability of soil P, and dynamics of P export in surface runoff and subsurface (tile) drainage from farmlands. Janina’s work is part of collaborative efforts to improve predicating the availability of soil P to crops and establishing the risk of soil P loss to downstream aquatic ecosystems within agricultural watersheds.

AbstractPhosphorus (P) losses from croplands are a significant environmental and economic concern in the lower Great lakes region, impacting crop productivity and the degradation of water- quality in receiving aquatic ecosystems. An improved understanding of the magnitude, form and flow paths of agricultural P losses, and the climatic drivers of these processes, are needed to apply and evaluate appropriate beneficial soil management practices (BmPs) to protect soil- water quality now and under future changing climate. Our research examines year-round, high-frequency edge-of-field P losses (dissolved and particulate) from croplands in southern Ontario, Canada, under corn-soybean-winter wheat rotation, where multiple BmPs are used subsurface tile drainage, nutrient management, rotational conservation tillage, periodic use of cover crops). Spatial and temporal patterns in edge of field P losses at the St. Marys, Ontario site, and monitored croplands across southern Ontario will be discussed, emphasizing processes occurring in tile drains during the non-growing season, and highlighting the potential for individual and combined BmPs to influence P runoff. These results, challenges of field data collection and future research directions characterizing P losses linked to soil management, and the implications for mitigating risk of P movement from agricultural landscapes to surface waters will be discussed.


Key message• No-till and conservation practices are a good idea in Ontario. Research is not seeing any increases in

P concentrations in tiles when no-till, subsurface placement, or 4R strategies (right place, right source, right time, right rate) are used properly.

most urgent issues/Gaps• In the face of climate change, we need to maintain a healthy soil to protect the soil and crops from

extreme moisture conditions.

• Need to better understand losses Ontario landscapes with different soils, topography and cropping systems

• How does seasonality affect nutrient losses (winter losses)?

• We need to better identify and explain to farmers when certain BMPs work and won’t work.

• They are not one size fits all.

• Need peer educators




Our Changing Relationship with Soillaura RanceEditorial Director, Glacier Farmmedia

BioLaura Rance grew up on one of the first no-till farms in the Red River Valley of southern Manitoba at a time when many said it would never work on the heavy Osborne Clay soils of the region. She studied journalism and has spent the past 36 years writing about farm and rural issues. In her current role, she oversees editorial content development for the network of publications owned by Glacier Farmmedia, Canada’s largest agricultural publisher. She also writes a weekly business column on agriculture for the Winnipeg Free Press. laura has received multiple national and international awards for her work. In 2016, she was recognized by the uN-FaO and International Federation of agricultural Journalists for excellence in global food security reporting. Her work has taken her to many parts of the world, including a five-week-long stint in 2015 writing about conservation agriculture and development in africa.

Key messages• Cultural change is difficult in agriculture. Grass root movements are typically successful because they

have energy and provide peer support to the farmers participating.

• The words we use frame the conversation that will be had. We need to pick our words carefully.

• We need a broader concept of success in agriculture with less focus on yields.

• Move past either or scenarios to focus on a common goal of healthy soils.

most urgent issues/Gaps• Climate change is going to change how we look at the soil.

• Stop thinking of the soil as a collection of chemical properties and start treating it as a living, breathing, dynamic ecosystem so that we change how we manage it.




A Looming Collision: Global Population and Food SecurityDr. Don ReicoskySoil Scientist Emeritus, uSDa aRS

BioDr. Don Reicosky is a retired Soil Scientist from the uSDa-aRS, North Central Soil Conservation Research laboratory, morris, mN, and adjunct Professor in the Soil, Water and Climate Department, university of minnesota, St. Paul. He holds degrees from Ohio State university and the university of Illinois. He has conducted basic research in soil and water conservation for 42 years with the recent emphasis on carbon cycling, carbon management and tillage impacts on soil carbon. later Research focused on environmental quality issues related to tillage and residue management with emphasis on soil carbon management and losses of carbon dioxide following intensive tillage. His research has attracted international attention through requests for reprints and scientific presentations at farmer run No Till or Direct Seed Associations around the world. Don’s work helps to explain the relationship between tillage practices and carbon loss, short and long-term and the impact of biomass removal for bioenergy. this work brings focus to the value of conservation agriculture (no-till) and the use of diverse rotations and cover crops to minimize soil C loss.

Abstractas world population increases and food production demands rise, keeping our soil healthy and productive is of paramount importance for agriculture. the expanding global population is expected to reach 9.5 billion people by 2050, and is putting tremendous pressure on the finite land area and resources for agricultural production. traditional conventional agriculture, with an emphasis on intensive tillage and monoculture practices, has resulted in a slow, but severe environmental and soil degradation that will ultimately jeopardize our food security for future generations. Intensive tillage destroys soil structure and bio pores, increases soil organic matter loss, increases erosion, runoff and evaporation, decreases infiltration, increases compaction and crusting, buries protective crop residue, increases nutrient runoff and pollution, and stimulates the weed seed bank. In a word, intensive tillage is responsible for most soil degradation that can only be repaired by enhanced carbon management. Farmers can contribute to sustainable soil management by adopting conservation practices that enhance soil health without sacrificing profit. The solution lies in conservation agriculture which brings together innovation, new technology and systems concepts focused on carbon management. Conservation agriculture derives many of its natural multiple benefits from synergistic simplicity of minimum soil disturbance (minimizes C and soil loss), and the use of diverse rotations and cover crop mixes (maximizes soil coverage and C input) for soil diversity protection and regeneration. Conservation agriculture provides an opportunity to create a legacy of healthy farms and healthy living soils that will form the base for future food security. although the conviction towards healthy soils, healthy landscapes and healthy farms must come primarily from the farming community, this must be underpinned by the scientific, rural and urban sectors, consumers, and be supported by the broader society. there must be a strong partnership among these sectors to promote adoption and success of these sustainable approaches. Emphasis is on the scientific foundation of conservation agriculture and its value to our global society. We owe it to future generations.




Key messages• Tillage is the main cause of soil degradation.

• If we want to remediate degradation we need to manage soil carbon better.

• It is easier to prevent the problem (soil carbon loss and soil degradation) than try to fix it.

• Successful changes come from farmers making the changes themselves, not policy.

most urgent issues/Gaps• We need to change the operation mode from tillage to no tillage. This is difficult in an environment of

tillage tradition and machinery sales pressures.

• Get consumers aware of where food comes from and they will drive change. If they want quality food they have the power to change practices on the land.

• We need a program that puts a premium on food that has been grown sustainably to encourage change.




What Price? The Ground Beneath UsRobert sandfordEPCOR Water Security Research Chair, united Nations university Institute for Water, Environment and Health

BioRobert Sandford, “The Winston Churchill of Water,” holds the EPCOR Chair in Water and Climate Security at the united Nations university Institute for Water Environment and Health. In this capacity Bob was the co-author of the uN Water in the World We Want report on post-2015 global sustainable development goals relating to water. In his work, Bob is committed to translating scientific research outcomes into language decision-makers can use to craft timely and meaningful public policy and to bringing international example to bear on local water issues. to this end, Bob is also senior advisor on water issues for the Interaction Council, a global public policy forum composed of more than thirty former Heads of State including Canadian Prime minister Jean Chretien, u.S. President Bill Clinton and the former Prime minister of Norway, Gro Brundtland. Bob is also a Fellow of the Centre for Hydrology at the university of Saskatchewan and a Fellow of the Biogeoscience Institute at the university of Calgary. He is a senior policy advisor for the adaptation to Climate Change team at Simon Fraser university and is also a member of the Forum for leadership on Water (FlOW), a national water policy research group centred in toronto. In 2011, Bob was honoured with the Premier’s award for his collaboration on the Northwest Territories water stewardship strategy. Bob is the author or co-author of many high profile books and works on water.

Abstractair, water and soil are the properties that make life not just possible but worthwhile on Earth. these life-giving properties, however, are now being overwhelmed by human consumption, combustion and conception. at present, much of our research on water security and climate instability is focussed on easier-to-characterize changes, such as those associated with the threat of sea level rise on the physical fact of coastal cities; potential impacts of extreme weather events on expensive infrastructure; possible changes in crop yield or the effects of warming mean atmospheric temperatures on precipitation and water supply, but these are hardly our only concerns. It is one thing to ignore the elephant in the room, however, quite another to ignore an outright monster – and that monster is soil health. this presentation explores what the status quo will cost humanity in terms of water security, climate stability and soil health globally, and demonstrate how these costs will impact on fragile governments and political institutions, our vulnerable global economy, and already tense international relations in an ever more-crowded and rapidly warming world. the presentation will then answer this question: What is the price of sustainability?


Key messages• Soil care and soil health is of planetary concern. What happens in Canada affects the world.

• While there is no one agriculture, many of our current industrial agriculture practices in this country are not sustainable and may, in fact, be self-terminating especially as they relate to long-term soil health.

• We must raise the profile of soil health as an issue within Canada and globally if we are to be sustainable.

• We need another agriculture revolution to save us again not just from the unintended consequences of the first agricultural revolution but from the real threats of crossing invisible and irreversible planetary boundaries.



most urgent issues/Gaps• Recognize how important soil care is, the extent of which degradation is taking place, and its long

term affects.

• Recognize that pilot projects, voluntary best practices and as yet unrealized plans to alter the impacts of our agricultural practices especially on soil health and water in the future do not constitute an accurate picture of the current state of agriculture. there is a huge gap between promise and practice.

• Raising the profile of soil protection and care as a national issue

• We need to focus on soil health as a planetary issue not just a localized on farm issue. We need to imagine and measure the costs in terms of planetary health and climate change mitigation

• Increase farmers understanding of how appropriate practices benefit at the farm level and the larger level like earth systems globally




The Cost to Agriculture and the EconomyDr. David lobbDepartment of Soil Science, university of manitoba

BioDr. David lobb is a Professor of landscape Ecology in the Department of Soil Science, university of manitoba. David grew up on a farm in southern Ontario, earned degrees in toronto and Guelph and was engaged in soil conservation work in atlantic Canada before moving to manitoba. He is internationally recognized for his research in tillage translocation and tillage erosion, particularly for his advances in experimental methods and modelling. In addition to his teaching responsibilities and many professional commitments, David has published many scientific papers and book chapters on soil erosion and soil conservation and made over 400 presentations. His expertise in soil erosion and conservation has been sought by the u.N. International atomic Energy agency, the u.N. Food and agriculture Organization, the World Bank Institute and the Organization for Economic Cooperation and Development, in addition to provincial and federal government agencies in Canada. David’s investigations bring forth new evidence about soil erosion and sedimentation processes and their environmental impacts. this work is contributing to the integrated management of soil erosion by tillage, water and wind in a way that will increasingly benefit agriculture. His work on soil landscape restoration on eroded fields demonstrates that crop yield variability can be reduced and overall crop yield increased. David is a Past President and Fellow of the Canadian Society of the Canadian Society of Soil Science and was inducted into the Canadian Hall of Fame in 2015.

AbstractSoil degradation remains a significant concern in Canada. The most severe and widespread form of soil degradation across Canada is the loss of topsoil by soil erosion processes. Salinization and compaction continue to be problems in some regions of the country. Soil conservation programs have done much to remedy these agricultural and environmental problems. In this presentation, the direct, on-farm cost of soil erosion is assessed through the impact of soil loss on crop productivity. this assessment is based on the cumulative effects of wind, water and tillage erosion on the soil-landscapes and under the cropping and tillage systems distributed across the country. This assessment considers the effects of soil conservation practices over the past 30 years. Recommendations for future, more refined and more comprehensive economic analyses are provided.


Key messages• Soil degradation, in particular erosion, is a significant economic issue in Canada.

• Conservation tillage has slowed or stopped soil loss in many areas, but reduced yields associated with historical soil losses still exists. losses are now about $3 billion/year, which is three times as much as in the 1970s and 1980s.

most urgent issues/Gaps• We need to stop thinking that conservation tillage or no-till is the end of the story. We need to take a

broader approach to crop production and be more active in restoring the heath and productivity of soils.

• There are some cropping systems where some degree of tillage is necessary. We need to figure out how tillage systems can work with the least issues.




Sustainable Soil ManagementDr. Dan Pennock, Professor EmeritusDepartment of Soil Science, university of Saskatchewan

BioDr. Dan Pennock is a Professor Emeritus in the Department of Soil Science at the university of Saskatchewan in Canada and a Fellow of the Canadian Society of Soil Science. He has published in the areas of soil erosion, human-induced soil organic carbon change, precision farming, and the dynamics of greenhouse gas emissions from agricultural, forest and wetland soils. He has served on the Intergovernmental technical Panel on Soils (ItPS) of the Food and agriculture Organization of the uN since its inception in 2013. as part of his work for the ItPS and the FaO, Dan has authored the initial drafts of the World Soil Charter and of the Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil management. He was also the regional coordinating author for the chapter on North america in the 2015 Status of the World’s Soil Resources report. He is currently working on a report on the effect of plant protection products on soil functions and biodiversity for the ItPS. Dan is a Past President and Fellow of the Canadian Society of Soil Science.

AbstractThe Food and Agriculture Organization (FAO) of the United Nations has adopted a new definition of sustainable soil management (SSM). While “soil health” continues to be a more useful concept for extension and producer engagement, sustainable soil management is more readily adapted to scientific assessment. The new definition of SSM emphasizes the effect of management, both on soil functions, and on the air and water the soil interacts with. For example, soil erosion by water reduces the productivity of the soil but perhaps more importantly can contribute to unacceptably high nutrient concentrations in adjacent waterways. the threshold at which a particular management regime becomes unsustainable may be set by the nutrient concentration in the waterways rather than by productivity losses from the soil itself. a high-level summary of SSm was captured in the Voluntary Guidelines for Sustainable Soil management adopted by the FaO in 2017; as an FaO member, Canada has already agreed to these guidelines, and they could form the basis for developing more regionally focused programs in Canada.


Key message• Further work needs to be done on locally relevant techniques to minimize soil degradation in many

landscapes in Canada

most urgent issue/Gap• Erosion and water quality under a corn soybean rotation! We need research and technology before

adoption will occur especially in the corn soybean rotations. We need science to figure out how to make that system better and then the technologies to deliver to the producer.




Soil Biological OpportunitiesDr. lori PhillipsResearch Scientist, agriculture and agri-Food Canada, Ontario

BioDr. lori Phillips is a Research Scientist in microbial ecology with agriculture and agri-Food Canada (aaFC), in Harrow Ontario. lori obtained her Ph.D. from the Soil Science Department at the university of Saskatchewan and, after 5 years as a Research Scientist with the Victorian Department of Primary Industries in australia, she joined aaFC in September 2015. Her research program at aaFC investigates the soil biological processes that maintain and enhance agro-ecosystem productivity and sustainability. She uses molecular tools to understand how the ecosystem services provided by biological communities (bacteria, fungi, archaea) can be managed or optimized at different scales, from the level of the plant through to the level of the landscape. This research is governed by three strategic objectives within the context of soil health: 1) to generate new knowledge on the role of soil biota in supporting agricultural systems that are resilient to stress, 2) to provide information that enables farmers to sustainably intensify their production systems, and 3) to provide new quantitative measures on the role of soil biology in enhancing soil and ecosystem health. Dr. Phillips undertakes this research within a collaborative framework involving other soil scientists, agronomists, and farmers, to ensure that outcomes are relevant to current stakeholder needs as well as the national and international scientific community.

AbstractSoil biological communities provide critical ecosystem services, including nutrient cycling, disease suppression, pesticide and herbicide degradation, and carbon sequestration. Interactions between soil biological communities and their environment underpin long-term soil health and productivity. management practices that alter the soil environment also alter soil biodiversity and the relative abundance of different ecosystem service providers, impacting the ability of soils to resist or recover from different stress events. the sensitivity of biological communities to their environment provides scope for tactical management, but before this can occur we need to advance our fundamental understanding of what organisms are present and active in different systems. Historical knowledge of soil biodiversity was largely focused on culture-based methods. A single teaspoon of soil however, contains billions of different organisms, most of which cannot be cultured. to overcome this problem, soil biologists now routinely extract the DNa of the entire soil microbiome and analyse this DNa pool using molecular methods such as metagenomic sequencing and quantitative polymerase chain reaction (qPCR). this approach is generating unprecedented insight into previously unseen components of soil biodiversity and generating new knowledge around key ecosystem services. We are now able to determine how different management practices alter the soil microbiome and how these changes are likely to impact long-term soil health.


Key message• Soil microbes respond to management. We can tweak how we do certain agricultural practices and the

inherent microbial capital in the soil will respond.

most urgent issues/Gaps• Societal change is needed. Consumers want inexpensive food and have an unrealistic expectation

of what food should cost. make consumers realize there is a cost associated with cheap food. Sustainable food labels are an interesting concept to let consumers know that what they are buying is sustainably grown.

• Scientists need to make research findings and messages more clear to farmers.




Aggregates as a Soil Health IndicatorDr. Denis AngersSoil Health Researcher, agriculture and agri-Food Canada, Quebec

Bio Dr. Denis angers is a Principal Research Scientist with agriculture and agri-Food Canada in Quebec City. He has held adjunct or Visiting Professorships at université laval, mcGill university, the university of Brittany, the university of Sydney, and at the Chinese academy of agricultural Sciences. His research has focused on soil structure and organic C cycling, with the overall objective of understanding and developing practices to reduce soil degradation and net greenhouse gas emissions through C sequestration. Denis has been editorial advisor for several international soil science journals and an Editor of the Soil and Environmental Science Dictionary. He is a former President and Fellow of the Canadian Society of Soil Science, and a Fellow of the Soil Science Society of america. He was recently elected as a corresponding member of the French academy of agriculture.

Abstractaggregation is a fundamental property that contributes to the physical, chemical and biological aspects of soil health. Soil aggregates confer resistance to wind and water erosion, facilitate water infiltration, store and stabilize carbon and nutrients, and provide a proper physical environment for plant and root growth. The activity of soil organisms influences aggregation and, in return, aggregation affects soil biology. aggregates are a microhabitat for soil organisms. through these strong biophysical interactions, (micro) aggregation is a fundamental mechanism of long-term carbon sequestration in soils. By providing temporary storage for nutrients such as nitrogen, soil aggregates also contribute to sustaining soil fertility. Finally, soil aggregation responds quickly to changes in land use and management practices, and is therefore considered a relevant and sensitive soil health indicator.


Key messages• Soil aggregation is a fundamental process influencing soil physical, chemical and biological health.

• Soil carbon is most important for soil health and is driven by carbon inputs.

most urgent issues/Gaps• We need to develop cropping systems that have permanent/year round cover.

• Reduce the risk associated with changing farming practices so that we can see changes on the ground




Soil Health Panel Front Line Experience and Technical Needstim nerbasVice Chair, Soil Conservation Council of Canada

Biotim Nerbas manages NRG Farms ltd., a mixed farm operation, with his wife Diane. He is a director of the Saskatchewan Soil Conservation association and the Soil Conservation Council of Canada. He was employed for five years at the University of Saskatchewan with Soil Survey. While he completed his master of Science in soils from the u of S, he studied the impact of the boreal forest on climate change and carbon sequestration. Following this, he spent 10 years working as an agrologist with the SSCa promoting conservation agriculture in northwestern Saskatchewan.

Key messages• How do we make soil health matter to everyone?

• 95% of our food comes from the soil so we need to leave a future for the next generation.

most urgent issues/Gaps• Knowledge transfer is falling short. We need good examples of farmers making soil health promoting

systems work.

• We need to get the message of the importance of soil health and how management practices affect soil health to the next generation of farmers so that they can understand what we are doing now and how that affects the future.




Soil Health Panel Frontline Experience and Technical NeedsJocelyn michonCrop and Vegetable Farmer, Quebec

BioJocelyn michon started working in agriculture in 1974 and co-founded the dairy farm Ferme mibelson Inc. with his father and brother in 1978. In 1992, he founded Ferme Jocelyn michon Inc. to focus on grain production and his son joined the farm in 2006. In 1977, Jocelyn first tried minimum-till and replaced the mouldboard plow with offset disks in 1986. He started no-till with spring wheat and soybeans in 1994 and followed with corn in 1996. In 2002, Jocelyn tried double trash wheels mounted on a tool bar before planting corn. This equipment was subsequently modified to become a strip-till light in 2010. Cover crops were introduced in 2003 and are now used on all acres. Jocelyn achieved 100 percent continuous no-till farming in 2004. In 2008, serving as President of action Semi-Direct, he led the launch of the “Terre Vivante” certification, and his farm was certified in 2009. In 2004-2005, he served as a Québec representative on the SCCC and he was inducted into the Canadian Soil Conservation Hall of Fame in 2009. Jocelyn received the agri-Environment award of Excellence from the Order of agricultural merit in 2010. Since 2015, he has been a consultant for Socodevi in the ukraine.

AbstractDiscussions about soil conservation started some 40 years ago. Today, “soil conservation” is a rather vague expression and does not go far enough in practice. We must be more proactive: covering the ground permanently should be a common objective. agriculture is facing new challenges. Climate change is a rather serious one. as we are witnessing increasingly extreme climatic events, we must not only improve water infiltration, but also work on water conservation. Soil erosion and greenhouse gases are two other challenges that should be taken seriously. In addition, farmers should find a good balance between making money, protecting the environment and having a good life. I have 44 years of farming behind me and 24 years of no-till. I have crops on almost 600 acres and I try to have cover crops on every acre. there is no more tillage on my farm. I made a smooth and progressive transition towards no-till. In this manner, soil structure was improved before going to no-till, and no yield drag was observed. today, cover crops are becoming very important in the quest for soil quality and high yields. there are many good reasons to use cover crops: increased organic matter and biological activity, better soil structure, nutrient scavenging, mineral pumping, nitrogen production, weed control, reduced erosion and a better water-holding capacity. When we think about vegetable production, we normally imagine a clean ground without residue and a perfectly manicured soil in the spring. In recent years, however, there is a more opened mind to the practice of no-till for vegetable production: vegetables are in fact doing very well on long-term no-till fields. Soil health comes from good management: no-till and cover crops are the first steps. We should also be rewarding efforts rather than regulating.


Key messages• Put roots in the ground.

• Stop tillage now.

most urgent issue/Gap• Information, education, and assistance for farmers. Currently, farmers are trying to make changes with

little to no support.




Soil Health Panel Frontline Experience and Technical NeedsDoug WrayCanadian Forage & Grassland association Beef Farmer, alberta

BioDoug Wray and his wife Linda ranch west of Irricana on land first settled by his grandfather in 1910. the mixed farm was converted to a cow-calf and yearling ranch in 1999. Since then they have focused on optimizing their pasture and forage production, which they harvest and add value to with beef cattle. a healthy landscape, including soil, water, plants and animals, is their pathway to a profitable, sustainable business. the cattle rotate through legume-grass pastures in summer and graze stockpiled native range, green feed swaths and bale grazing in the winter. Every effort is made to optimize nutrient cycling and enable natural processes to build soil health and productivity. Doug has been involved with numerous organizations and conferences, including the CCa/aRECa National Grazing mentor Program; the Western Canadian Grazing Conference; the alberta Forage Variety Selection Committee; the Western Forage Beef Group Producer advisory Committee; the Expert Committee on Forages; the Canadian Forum on Forages and Rangelands; and the Canadian Beef Value Chain Roundtable. In addition to serving on the board of the Foothills Forage Co-op association and the alberta Forage Council, Doug was a driving force in the formation of the Canadian Forage and Grassland association and served as its chair from 2010 to 2015. In 2016, Doug received two awards – the alberta Forage Industry Network leadership award and the Canadian Forage and Grassland association’s leadership award.

AbstractOur family ranches on land where my grandfather first broke the prairie sod in 1910. He and my father were successful farmers by all measures of their day. However, 60 years of tillage agriculture took half the organic matter out of much of the soils of the Great Central Plains of North america. Something had to change. In 1990 we bought equipment allowing us to direct seed into stubble in one tillage pass. We eliminated summer fallow and began the journey to conserve our soils. For many reasons, the lesser being soil health, we converted our mixed farm to a forage focused ranching operation in the late 1990s. We intensively manage high legume pastures rotating cow-calf pairs and yearlings with a focus on optimizing pasture productivity and health. We developed skills to graze year round, thus we have a livestock impact on all our land and the resulting nutrient cycling that flows from it. Initially our focus was on forage production harvested with well-adapted beef livestock. more recently we have come to realize the importance of soil health on our productivity and profitability. We are learning about the biological dynamics at play in our soils and their impact on improving our soil over the long term. We are in the process of bench-marking some key parameters and testing some products to understand their potential to move us forward. We have successfully eliminated wind and water erosion, have begun to build organic matter, and developed a business plan that is financially profitable and socially rewarding. We believe we can be more than sustainable and make improvements on all three fronts as the next generation takes over.




Key messages• There is a place for livestock agriculture on the landscape to improve soil health.

• Grain farming has a gap that could be filled by incorporating livestock to recycle what is on the land and enhance biodiversity.

• Focusing on the bottom line and how to make the most money is short sited.

most urgent issues/Gaps• Social licensing- make people aware of how important soil health is and how much we depend on soil.

• We need to have the conversation to earn trust and merit of society that we as producers can manage the soil appropriately so that we don’t get told how to operate.




Soil Health Panel Frontline Experience and Technical Needs Ken laingEcological Farmers, Ontario

BioKen laing grew up on a mixed farm near Stratford, Ontario. He graduated from the university of Guelph in 1979 with a degree in horticulture. the same year he started a farming operation with his wife martha. they had a pick-your-own fruit farm for 17 years and transitioned to organic production in 1989. the farm operation changed to focus more on vegetable crop production in 1997 and in 2016 had a CSa (Community supported agriculture) for 250 families. Ken is passionate about soil health. For many years he has served as an educator and advisor for the Ecological Farmer’s association of Ontario, primarily in the soils area. He is part of OmaFRa’S agricultural Soil Health and Conservation Working Group, working on developing a soil health policy for Ontario agriculture. He has recently been working to develop organic no-till/cover crop strategies for spring and fall planted cereals and some vegetables.

AbstractWe have two serious problems in Canada and the world. On the one hand we have serious soil degradation which is largely caused by too little carbon in the soil. On the other hand we have a very serious problem of climate change caused by too much carbon in the atmosphere. two problems – one solution: manage the terrestrial biosphere to grow that carbon back into the soil where much of it came from. Farmers are the managers of a large chunk of the terrestrial biosphere in Canada, and are already experts at using solar energy via photosynthesis to fix carbon and create crops for food, feed and fibre. With an increased understanding of the carbon cycle and our new knowledge of how carbon can be transferred and stored in the soil perhaps we return more carbon to the soil than we lose. my panel presentation will look at the challenges, gaps and bumps in the road, and some of the successes on my small organic farm.


Key messages• Farmers need to make a paradigm shift to include cover crops, no till or reduced till, and livestock into

their systems.

• No bare soil over the winter

most urgent issues/Gaps• Keep the soil covered in the winter.

• Educate average farmers on soil biology and the impact it has on productivity and profitability and the off farm consequences.

• Need to help farmers with dollars. If fixing carbon in the soil we need to measure and monitor that and give the farmers dollars for ecological services.




Soil Health Panel Frontline Experience and Technical NeedsPaul thoroughgoodGrain Farmer, Saskatchewan

BioPaul thoroughgood, P.ag, completed his undergraduate degree in agriculture from the university of Saskatchewan with a major in agronomy. He is currently the Regional agrologist for the Western Region of Canada. In this role Paul works with the agriculture industry to develop and promote agricultural production systems that are economically viable and provide improved waterfowl habitat. Prior to joining Ducks unlimited Canada in 1997 Paul managed farmland for non-resident landowners and operated a small agricultural consulting business in southeast Saskatchewan. Paul and his wife leanne also own and operate a grain farm near moose Jaw. their crop rotation includes lentil, canola, winter wheat and durum. Paul has served as a Board member of Winter Cereals Canada, founding Director for Saskatchewan Winter Cereals Development Commission and is currently the Western Representative for the Soil Conservation Council of Canada. In addition to farming and working for DuC, Paul coaches high school and club volleyball and is a basketball official.

AbstractCrop production is at a challenging juncture in our relatively short history in Canada. Never in our time as farmers and stewards of the land have we had so much information available to us but comparatively know so little. the presentation will explore factors which contribute to this growing gap between knowledge and understanding. these include: 1) loss of extension capacity and capability to inform sound decision making; 2) Shift in perception of agronomy from a long-term process and investment to that of instant gratification; 3) Alienation of those who would and should be our partners; 4) Changing crop rotations and accompanying production practices; 5) Decreasing openness to alternate and outside opinions on farming practices; and, 6) Internet expertise doled out 140 characters at a time. the no-till movement carries with it many solutions to problems being placed in front of agriculture. Slowing and potentially reversing some soil degradation, reducing the environmental impact of crop production and meeting growing demands for “sustainably produced” agricultural products all can be facilitated through no-till. As proponents we need to ensure we are constructive and not “no-till zealots”.


Key message• Historically farmers had non-vested extension assistance, now advice is on a yearly bases and rarely

considers the long term consequences of the management decisions made this year.

most urgent issues/Gaps• Apathy in the industry about the importance of our soils. Most conservation agricultural organizations

struggle from lack of funding and participation.

• Farmers are not well positioned to know the costs associated with stabilizing soil degradation.




Who is Responsible?Don lobbSummit Chair

BioDon lobb, P.ag.(Hon) owned a successful farming operation in Huron County, Ontario, from 1962-1997. the farm became a model for sustainable management of soil, water and the natural environment. It was the site of more than 50 major research projects, many of which focused on soil and water management. Several were mSc and PhD research projects. He also participated in the development and delivery of the Environmental Farm Plan and has been an author for Best management Practices manuals and soil management columns. Don has developed, applied and promoted soil care practices and the soil care ethic. His dedication, example and leadership has been recognized provincially, nationally and internationally, including the university of Guelph (Distinguished Service award); Ontario Institute of Professional agrologists (Honorary life membership); Soil Conservation Council of Canada (Hall of Fame as well as Honourary Life Member); the Caledon Walk of Fame – the first agriculturist among this group of distinguished Canadians; and the Ontario agricultural Hall of Fame. Don continues to be passionate about the need for evidence-based science and responsible actions in our management of soil and water.

AbstractNo civilization has ever survived the consequences of exploitive agriculture. as soil was degraded, they slowly moved on to “new frontiers”. Today, we have the technology to feed 10 billion people. However, the world’s most productive land is in use – most in some state of degradation. We are on a familiar path. the only remaining “new frontier” is intensive, scientifically sound, responsible soil management. There must be an agronomic shift in focus from crop production to soil care. this is essential for reliable, sustainable, environmentally- friendly food production. Responsibility for soil care lies on every front: cropland owners and operators, crop advisors, agri-industry and suppliers, the science community, government – politicians and policy makers, and society. are we prepared to demonstrate openness to change, vision, discipline, courage and commitment? Do we have the right to ignore history? the only truly valuable legacy we can leave for future generations is healthy, productive soil. this is not just an agricultural issue. This is everyone’s responsibility!


Key messages• When people degrade the soil in this day and age that is a choice. We need to take responsibility for

the choices we make and be concerned with what we leave the next generation.

• We know how to manage the soil in a way that doesn’t lead to degradation and will leave the food system just as healthy as we inherited it.

most urgent issues/Gaps• Farmer’s attitudes and ethics. Everyone should take responsibility for how the soil is managed.

We all need to be serious about how we support better soil management.

• We need to develop crop management systems that work and are not necessarily comparable to current systems.


tHe Soil Summit PRoCeedinGS | Challenge Presentation


Summit AttendeesWhile many of the attendees ‘wear multiple hats’, attendees were separated firstly by whether or not they directly farm and/or own farmland, and then if not by their primary role or position. On that basis, farmers/landowners represented 23% of attendees. Overall farmers/landowners, agricultural organizations (e.g. OFa, OSCIa, etc) and agricultural businesses (e.g. suppliers, consultants etc) represented 49% of attendees. Federal and provincial government and conservation authority employees represented 30%, academia 14%, and media 5%.Abstract

Summit on Canadian Soil Health 2017: Who was there...

media 5%

Academia 14%

other 2%

Agriculture canada

4%

omAFRA/ provincial

governments 17%

Ag organizations

10%

Ag business 16%

conservation Authorities

9%

Farmers/land owners

23%

tHe Soil Summit PRoCeedinGS | Who was there?


the Soil Conservation Council of Canada’s (SCCC) Summit on Canadian Soil Health 2017 (the Summit) in Guelph, Ontario attracted over 150 participants with a variety of backgrounds including; Farmers, agri-businesses, agricultural organizations, Environmental non-government organizations (ENGO), Conservation authorities, Research/academia, Government, Students, Consultants and Press. Over the course of two days participants visited soil health projects in the Guelph area and heard from leading experts in the field of soil health. To help determine the impact of the event on their knowledge, awareness and actions related to soil health, participants were asked to complete a single Pre- and Post-Summit awareness Evaluation. the Evaluation form can be found at the end of this section.

Key findings from the evaluation show that the Summit:

• increased participant knowledge and awareness of the numerous costs and consequences of soil degradation.

• identified the perceived key areas where there are gaps/barriers impeding increased adoption of soil health BmPs

• confirmed that important best management practices (BMPs) and technologies shown to reduce soil degradation are currently being used and recommended.

• increased the confidence in some participants in adopting or recommending new BmPs and technologies

• strengthened the overall commitment of participants to take the necessary actions to reduce soil degradation

On a scale of 1 to 10, participants were asked to describe their Pre- and Post- Summit knowledge of the on-farm, off-farm, short-term and long-term costs and consequences of soil degradation. these results were organized into a summary table (table 1) outlining Pre- and Post- Summit knowledge numerically. the evaluations were categorized according to the previously mentioned groups (farmers, agri-business, research/academia, etc). For all numerical questions, the average Pre- and Post-Summit answer was reported for each group. the overall average for all participants was also calculated for every numerical question. It is significant to mention that many participants identified with multiple groups. Consider farmers as an example; it is evident that this group is very multi-disciplinary. Farmers self-identified with almost every other group provided. For analysis purposes, if a participant identified under multiple groups, the evaluation results were included in all.

Analysis of Pre- and Post-Summit Awareness

Group (Number of participants)

Knowledge of the costs and consequences of soil degradation (scale of 1 out of 10)

On-farm Off-farm (e.g. air and water)

Short-term (1-5 years)

long-term (20-30 years)

Pre Post Pre Post Pre Post Pre Post

Farmers (25) 7 8 6 8 6 7 6 8

agri-Business (14) 5 8 6 7 6 7 6 8

ag Organizations (11) 6 8 7 8 6 7 6 8

Environmental NGO (9) 6 8 8 8 6 7 7 7

Research/academia (13) 6 8 7 8 6 7 7 8

Government (25) 6 8 7 8 6 7 6 8

Student (8) 5 7 6 7 6 7 6 7

Other (8) 6 8 6 8 6 7 5 8

Participant average (88) 6 8 7 8 6 7 6 8

table 1: summarized average numerical answers indicating participants Pre- and Post- summit knowledge of the on—farm, off-farm, short-term and long-term costs and consequences of soil degradation

tHe Soil Summit PRoCeedinGS | Pre and Post Summit awareness


First, participants were asked to describe their Pre- and Post- Summit knowledge of the on-farm costs and consequences which resulted in an overall average increase of 6 to 8. Second, participants rated their Pre- and Post- Summit knowledge of off-farm costs and consequences of soil degradation such as impacts on air and water quality. the overall average increase in knowledge of off-farm costs and consequences of soil degradation was 6 to 7. For the third question, the scale represents Pre- and Post- Summit knowledge of the short-term costs and consequences of soil degradation such as nutrient loss and management. From Pre- to Post- Summit, there was an increase of 6 to 7 for participant’s knowledge of the short-term costs and consequences of soil degradation. Finally, the last question asked participants to identify their knowledge of the long-term costs and consequences of soil degradation. Resource depletion and impacts on climate change are two examples that were provided to describe the long-term costs and consequences of soil degradation. an average increase of 6 to 7 indicates and overall increase in knowledge of the long-term costs and consequences of soil degradation.

By dividing the evaluations into specific categories, it is possible to assess how the Summit impacted each group individually. Farmers displayed the least change in their knowledge rating of on-farm costs and consequences (average increase of 1) in comparison to the other groups which had an average increase of 2 out of 10 which can be at least partially explained by their higher than average Pre-Summit knowledge. although the average increase in knowledge rating of short-term costs and consequences of soil degradation was from 6 to 7, government reported a higher average increase from 6 to 8. this implies that government participants were more impacted by information focused on the short-term consequences of soil degradation. the results indicate that government participants may be more focused on the off-farm consequences which is evident in a higher than average rating Pre-Summit knowledge of the off-farm costs and consequences of soil degradation. In terms of long-term costs and consequences

of soil degradation, ENGOs and Research/academic participants had a higher average Pre-Summit knowledge rankings compared to other groups (7 compared to 5/6). accordingly, ENGOs are likely more aware of both the off-farm and long-term costs and consequences of soil degradation. In addition, resource depletion and climate change are often the foci of academic research which explains why this group was less impacted in comparison.

Participants were also asked to indicate, with a numerical value (1-10), in what areas they believe the major barriers/gaps exist that prevent on-farm adoption of BmPs. these results are summarized in table 2.

‘Scientific knowledge gaps’ and ‘Technical gaps and barriers’ both ranked at an average of 6 out of 10. In comparison, the average significance for ‘Knowledge and technology delivery to the farmer’ was 7 out of 10 and ‘Economic barriers to on-farm implementation’ was ranked at 8 out of 10. It is interesting to note that students and researchers involved in academia graded scientific barriers lower in comparison to their other answers and other groups. Farmers, agri-business and agricultural organizations and ENGOs placed the highest significance on economic barriers for the lack of on-farm adoption of BmPs.

In point-form answers, participants were asked to list technologies and BmPs they currently use or recommend for reducing soil degradation (Pre-Summit), and which additional practices they would feel confident in implementing or recommending in the future (Post-Summit). Unless specifically listed, it is assumed that participants will continue to practices BmPs that were listed Pre-Summit. these BmPs were compiled according to their frequency of listing and grouped into similar categories. after the total was calculated, we compared the frequency of each BmP to the total number of participants who answered question 7. table 3 displays the most recurrent BmPs and their frequency as a percentage of total answered evaluations.

table 2: summarized numerical answers representing the level at which participants feel each category of barriers or gaps impedes taking action on soil health and sustainability

Group (Number of participants)

Gap category (scale of 1 out of 10)

Scientific knowledge gaps

technical gaps or barriers

Gaps in knowledge and technology delivery mechanisms to the

farmer

Economic barriers to on-farm

implementation

Farmers (25) 7 6 7 8

agri-Business (14) 6 6 7 8

ag Organizations(11) 6 6 7 9

Environmental NGOs (9) 8 7 8 9

Research/academia (13) 6 6 7 7

Government (25) 5 6 8 8

Student (8) 5 5 6 7

Other (8) 6 7 8 8

Participant average (88) 6 6 7 8



Question #7 BmPs used or recommended Pre-Summit Post-Summit% Increase

(Post-Pre)/Post x 100

% Response (#/57) x 100

Cover crops/Perennial crops/ residue management 34 40 15% 70%

Reduced tillage 47 53 11% 93%No-till 27 28 4% 49%

Reduced tillage 20 25 25% 44%

Crop rotation 14 19 26% 33%Crop rotation 9 12 25% 21%

Rotation diversity 5 7 29% 12%

nutrient management 13 17 24% 30%4R (Right source, Right rate, Right timing, Right place) 9 9 0% 16%

Fertilizer placement 2 5 60% 9%

Fertilizer timing 1 1 0% 2%

Reduce nutrients leaving farm 1 2 50% 4%

organic amendments/microbial diversity/ increased SoC /livestock 9 12 33% 21%

Organic amendments 5 6 2% 11%

livestock manure 4 5 2% 9%

Compost usage 0 1 100% 2%

Soil remediation 5 10 50% 18%Soil remediation 4 9 56% 16%

marginal land retirement and restoration 1 1 0% 2%

Water & Wind erosion management 5 13 62% 23%

Water control/drainage 5 12 21% 21%

Wind breaks 0 1 100% 2%

extension/ Knowledge translation & transfer 8 15 47% 26%

Improved messaging and extension 8 15 47% 26%



Reduced tillage and cover-crops were the most commonly listed BmPs. Of the 57 participants who answered this question, 96.5% mentioned reduced tillage and 70.1% mentioned cover crops. This was followed by crop rotation (33.3%), nutrient management (29.8%), organic amendments (21.1%) and soil remediation (17.5%). From this question, it is apparent that many participants already implement or recommend these important BmPs. although these practices are currently being used, it is evident that the Summit was an important step in providing the additional knowledge to expand and adapt current practices to specific Canadian soil and weather conditions. In addition, the interest of participants in obtaining new knowledge demonstrates a desire among stakeholders to learn and apply new practices and technology on their farms and professional activities. an important distinction was made between participants’ BMP definitions. For cover crops, all participants used the same terms. However, for reduced tillage, participants provided a variety of secondary terms (i.e.: smart tillage, vertical tillage, strip tillage, etc),indicating that there is general awareness of the importance of reduced tillage but it should be recognized that all forms of reduced tillage are not equally effective in mitigating soil degradation. However, despite a variety of definitions, reduced tillage (96.5%) was mentioned more often than cover crops (70.1%). Furthermore, this evaluation provides a list of BmPs that are presently being practiced or recommended.. It is exciting to see that there were many BmPs/technologies listed Post- Summit that do not appear Pre- Summit. this indicates that participants feel confident implementing or recommending additional BMPs or technologies as a result of the 2017 Summit. Some examples of these BmPs include strip tillage, remediation strategies, addition of carbon, soil ecology and crop residue management.

the next question on the Pre- and Post- Summit evaluation prompted participants to voice their “take away” message from the Summit. In this section, participants voiced the urgency of soil degradation, key priorities and a number of solutions that can be used to reduce soil degradation. many participants stated the importance of soil health and that more needs to be done to reduce soil degradation. More specifically, participants said that soil health needs to be promoted to society as a whole and that soil needs to be recognized as a key non-renewable resource in Canada. Some key priorities for that emerged as a result of the Pre- and Post- Summit Evaluation include the importance of soil organic carbon and soil microbiology for soil health, and the significance of placing a dollar amount on the cost of soil degradation. there were also many responses that mentioned the importance of available solutions (e.g. no-till, cover crops, crop rotation, etc.) and how we must continue to promote, implement and enhance these practices to reduce soil degradation. One participant stated, “We are headed for disaster

if we don’t change our practices”; which is complemented by one inspirational take-away message that said, “We can make a difference in our lifetime”.

Participants were also given space to express their recommendation for future Summits on Canadian Soil Health. Common recommendations for future events include; incorporating more innovative farmer participation and increasing farmer attendance, lengthening the Summit to 3 days, increasing advertisement and audience diversity, and offering more information on soil health assessments. Quite a few participants commented on the impact of having a farmer panel present, and that it is important to further increase farmer attendance. Other comments noted that there should be more notice and advertisement for future events and online programs should be adjusted throughout the Summit accordingly. many participants took the time to express that they enjoyed the Summit and would be pleased to attend similar events in the future.

In conclusion, the Pre- and Post- Summit Evaluation garnered a large amount of information and helped us to assess the impact of the Summit. the survey clearly demonstrates that the Summit had a positive impact on the knowledge of the costs and consequences of soil degradation on the participants. analyzing numerical answers provided the general level of knowledge of the on-farm, off-farm, short-term and long term effects of soil degradation. Participants, on average, were equally aware of each cost prior to the Summit. However, it is noted that there was a larger overall increase in knowledge of the on-farm and long-term costs and consequences of soil degradation as a result of the Summit. In general, participants reported that they believe the main gaps in implementing on-farm BmPs to reduce soil degradation are economically based. this barrier was ranked slightly higher (7) than the other options (6) which included scientific barriers, technology gaps and gaps in knowledge and technology delivery mechanisms to the farmer. almost all survey respondents mentioned reduced tillage as a BmP they use or recommend to reduce soil degradation. Similarly, many participants (68.4%) cited cover crops in this section as an important BmP. However, it was noted that many terms are applied to reduced tillage (e.g. strip-tillage, conservation tillage, vertical tillage etc) but not all are equally effective in mitigating soil degradation.

lastly, there were a number of valuable take-away messages from the Summit. mainly, participants conveyed a sense of urgency and voiced the importance of key priorities and solutions with respect to reducing soil degradation. We must all make soil health a priority in Canada and encourage the implementation and development of BmPs that have been shown to reduce soil degradation. We are all responsible.



1. Please circle the primary group(s) that best describes your involvement and intrest in soil conservation.

2. When soil health suffers, on-farm production and management costs escalate. Please please an X on each scale below to indicate how your knowledge has changed about the on-FARm costs and consequesces of soil degradation in Canada (1 being uninformed, 5 being somewhat informed and 10 being very informed).

3. When soil health suffers, there are off-farm impacts on water and air quality. Please please an X on each scale below to indicate how your knowledge has changed about the on-FARm costs and consequesces of soil degradation in Canada (1 being uninformed, 5 being somewhat informed and 10 being very informed).

4. When soil health suffers, there are immediate costs (e.g. nutrient replacement and management). Please please an X on each scale below to indicate how your knowledge has changed about the SHoRt teRm (1-5 years) costs and consequesces of soil degradation in Canada (1 being uninformed, 5 being somewhat informed and 10 being very informed).

5. When soil health suffers, there are long-term consequences (e.g. resource depletion and impacts on climate change). Please please an X on each scale below to indicate how your knowledge has changed about the lonG teRm(20-30 years) costs and consequesces of soil degradation in Canada (1 being uninformed, 5 being somewhat informed and 10 being very informed).

Farmers

agri-business

agricultural organizations

Enviromental non-goverment organizations

Research/academia

Goverment

Student

Other (specify)

Pre- and Post Summit Awareness Evaluation

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Pre-summit Knowledge




Post-summit Knowledge






6. What is your top take away message from the 2017 Summit on Canadian Soil Health?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

7. What technologies/BmPS are you currently using(Pre-Summit) on your farm or recommending in your business or professional interation to reduce soil degradation? What additional technologies/BmPs do you think you will be confident in trying/recommending Post-Summit?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

8. Based on knowledge and experience, where would you place the major barriers/gaps to adoption of BmPs on-farm (disregarding and professinal bias)? (0-1 being very low and 9-10 being very high)

9. What recommendations would you make to improve a future Summit on Canadian Soil Health?

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

_______________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________

10. (Optional) Do you have expertise you would like to share with the Soil Conservation Council of Canada about soil degradation and soil health and may be contact you about this? YES NO

11. (Optional) Please provide the following contact information before:

Name: __________________________________________ Oranzization or Company: __________________________________________________

Phone Number: ________________________________ Email: _______________________________________________________________________

Pre- and Post Summit Awareness Evaluation

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10 1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8 9 10

Scientific knowledge gaps

Gaps in knowledge and technology delivery mechanisms to farm

technical gaps or barriers

Economic barriers to on-farm implementation



Summit on Canadian Soil Health 2017: Results of the post-Summit surveya post-Summit survey was conducted to obtain responses to a number of key questions regarding perceptions of the overall costs of soil degradation, gaps and barriers to adoption of BmPs, key take-away messages, urgent issues to tackle, targets to aim for, next-steps, and how best to move the messages of the Summit to the broader agricultural, environmental, political and social contexts. Summit speakers and a selected group of attendees were surveyed in person or by email; in total 44 sets of answers were obtained. the survey itself can be found at the end of this section.

the following is a summary of the results of each question in the survey.

1. in terms of the overall cost of soil degradation, how would you rank the following?

on-farm soil resource depletion on-farm replacement costs Off-farm water quality Off-farm air quality and greenhouse gasses

Highest overall Cost of Soil degradation Ranking

Second Highest Cost of Soil degradation Ranking

on-farm soil resource depletion

on-farm replacement costs

off-farm water quality

off-farm air quality and GHGs

on-farm soil resource depletion

on-farm replacement costs

off-farm water quality

off-farm air quality and GHGs

63%

15%

9%

16%

23%

11%

3%

58%

tHe Soil Summit PRoCeedinGS | targeted attendee Survey

On-farm soil depletion was predominantly ranked as the highest cost and off-farm water quality costs as second. On-farm replacement costs and off-farm air quality costs were ranked very similarly as 3rd or 4th in overall costs (not shown). (Six respondents felt unable to rank them.)


The gaps in farmer understanding and implementation were predominantly ranked as the most significant area of gaps/barriers, and the gaps in extension (delivery of the science/tools and assistance) were generally ranked second. Gaps in science based knowledge and technological developments and approaches were ranked as 3rd or 4th in importance (not shown). this is generally consistent with responses expressed in the following sections indicating that, though there are still research and technical gaps, we have sufficient science to act now; however, there are still barriers to implementing that science at the farm level. (ten respondents felt unable to rank the areas of gaps/barriers.)

2. Rank the areas where you see the major gaps/barriers to adoption of soil conservation BmPs on farm:

science based knowledge Development of technical approaches and tools

Ktt and delivery of the science and tools and

assistance

Farmer understanding and acceptance/implementation

Highest Ranked Area of Gaps/Barriers to Adopting Soil Conservation BmPS

Second Highest Ranked Area of Gaps/Barriers to Adopting Soil Conservation BmPS

Science based knowledge

Development of technical approaches and tools

Ktt and delivery of the science and tools and assistance

Farmer understanding and acceptance/implemenation

Science based knowledge

Development of technical approaches and tools

Ktt and delivery of the science and tools and assistance

Farmer understanding and acceptance/implemenation

27%

25%

10%

11%

10%

14%

53%

50%



3. Cost of Stabilizing Soil over Current Cost of Production

<25% increase

50% increase

>100% increase

Don’t know or ‘It’s complicated”

15%

62%

23%

4. Short term increased Cost of Production to Achieve Same Yield

<25% increase

50% increase

>100% increase


53%

18%29%

5. long term increased Cost of Production to Achieve Same Yield

<25% increase

50% increase

>100% increase


18%

16%

42%24%

3. From a production perspective, if it is done now, what do you think the cost of stabilizing soil degradation will be over and above the current cost of crop production?

4. if nothing is done to control or mitigate soil degradation, what is the increase in the cost of production in the short term (1-5 years) in order to achieve the same crop yields?

5. if nothing is done to control or mitigate soil degradation, what is the increase in the cost of production in the long term (20-30 years) in order to achieve the same crop yields?

Around 25% or less Around 50% Around 100% or more Don’t know or ‘it’s complicated”


The rankings of the ‘cost of stabilizing the soil’ (Q3) and the ‘cost of increased production costs’ (Q4) were very similar and generally considered to be 25% or less of current crop production costs. On the other hand, the ‘long term increase in the cost of production’ (Q5) was generally ranked much higher, from 50 to 100% or more, AND the level of uncertainty (“Don’t know” or “It’s complicated” much greater. Some related comments included “at some point, it will not be possible [to achieve the same yield]”.


the following section summarizes the answers to the individual opinion questions that were asked in the survey. Similar comments have been combined and condensed, but in several cases the comments have been quoted verbatim.

6. Why should We care About soil Health?

Soil is a decreasing resource that is the keystone for sustaining food production, environmental health, and life in general for current and future generations. It has been ignored in the past to the detriment of civilizations and will continue to be ignored unless we focus on it. We need to focus on long-term sustainability (and that will influence long-term economic profitability).

7. What Are Your Key take Home message(s) From the summit?

Soil degradation has a tremendous cumulative economic and environmental impact. “Any degradation of soil is a step down a path we shouldn’t be going; however, appropriate solutions are not always black and white.” We need the practical application of good science.

Effective BMPs can be implemented now: reducing tillage, increasing soil cover/cover crops and improved rotations. the farmers who spoke at the Summit showed that it can be done but takes dedication and time.

On the other hand, “finger pointing” and “defensive arrogance” are not helpful; extension and outreach and getting the message clear and right are very important. Specifically, one specialist said “I need to come up with clear messaging for the farmers I work with on how to make them understand how much soil they are losing every year.”

8. What Do You see As the most urgent issue(s) to tackle to improve soil Health?

Economics, education/extension, and science!

“We need to move from crop management to soil management.” Soil health BmPs need to be promoted and demonstrated on farm (extension), and fine tuned for specific circumstances (research): crop rotations (keep wheat), cover crops, keep the soil covered (residue); controlling erosion from extreme events; reduced compaction; improved attention/management of rented land. and education at the farm level is key: farmer to farmer with science to back it up.

Good extension also needs to address the economics and logistics/barriers to implementation at the farm gate.

two economic mechanisms were suggested: a system that rewards good behaviour (e.g. tax based) and enhanced cost-share programs.

9. What Are the next steps to Fill in the Gaps?

Extension/education:

• Support renewed efforts in demonstration and extension, for example workshops that increase the researcher to farmer interface, and farmer to farmer knowledge transfer.

• Educate farmers on long term costs: “Monetizing degradation and getting people to make decisions based on the long-term (easier said than done)”. “We cannot continue to expect technology/innovation to compensate for poor soil health”. the industry needs to recognize risk of damaging soil health, and make soil [biome] a partner and not an input to production.

Science:

• Provide research and advice on issues such as no-till on clay soils, or potato scab with cover crops. In other words, we need the right science for site-specific problems.

• Determine the external costs of soil degradation to provide a context that goes beyond the field boundary, in order to inform the broader social and government perspectives.

• Integration of social and physical disciplines: “Focus on the social issues which are the root of decision making and why people plow or do not change their ways, or why they have tried and failed.”

Social/government support:

• Social and government support for good practices, e.g. taxes based on achieving optimum levels of soil organic matter for a given soil

• Educate the [government department] managers, and develop federal and provincial programs; policies that promote soil health

• Promote collaboration and cooperation among all groups


Photo Credit: Zoran Zeremski/iStock/GettyImages


10. What should our target(s) Be For sustainable Production systems/ soil Health?

1. at a minimum a suggested target is stability, i.e. no further reduction in soil health, with baseline measurements to assess where the systems are at now, measuring SOm for each soil type.

2. most targets were based on increases in SOm:

a. a continuous increase in organic matter for most Class 1 & 2 soils

b. A significant decrease of carbon loss on Class 1 & 2 soils

The existing specific target of 3-4% SOM the target in PEI with monitoring sites every 3 years was mentioned.

3. a tax based on SOm levels above or below a target based on soil texture with monitoring every 5 years was suggested.

4. Additional specific bases for setting targets included: mycorrhizal mass, organic phosphorus, year-round soil-cover, increasing productivity, and protecting water sources.

11. How Do We Best move From the messages of the Summit To Influencing The Wider Agricultural Industry, the Wider Public Perception, And Policy?

this question generated a broad range of insights and opinions, but comments generally fell into the following categories:

1. Quantifying the issue, both on-farm and more broadly by assessing the long-term off-farm consequences,

2. Extension and on-farm research,

3. Education and communications,

4. Supportive government policies and programs.

For this question, many of the answers have not been combined and/or summarized, but simply paraphrased or quoted verbatim because some things are simply worth repeating!

1. Quantifying the issue:

• Focus on quantifying the problem to ‘make it real’.

• Monetize soil degradation, then mobilize extension agents and facilitate experimentation on-farm (rather than regulation).

2. Extension & On-farm research

• “Recognize the value in research and demonstration projects that work collectively with multiple groups and organizations to increase communication, knowledge and create synergy.”

• “Monetize soil degradation, then mobilize extension agents and facilitate experimentation on-farm (rather than regulation).”

• “EXTENSION!!!!! Get people to try practices and ease them into it. Have farmers who are no-tillers and cover crop users to become more vocal”.

• Focus on agronomists and crop advisors; “train the trainers”; they have a much larger footprint vis-à-vis farmer influence.

• Encourage CCA groups to participate at the Summits.

• “There is a lot of pressure on producers to produce. The goal posts keep moving. Recognize that technology cannot solve/mask soil problems indefinitely. We need to stop mitigating negatives in the current systems and aim towards building a system with positive components.”


Photo Credit: iStock/Getty Images


3. Education & Communication

• “Get rid of ‘defensive arrogance’ i.e. the ‘farmers feed cities’ slogan”.

• Keep informing each group (agriculture, public and policy persons) about the consequences of not acting to maintain or improve soil quality.

• “Point to effects of climate change – carbon cycling and importance of soil in the process – reference recent hurricanes (people understand the devastation when they see it on TV)”. It is about the “ability to feed ourselves in the future – get them through the stomach.”

• It’s all about effective communications. Developing consistent wording, graphics, and videos to communicate the message. “Soil your undies” is a different spin on the discussion and got attention.

• I believe social pressure will have the greatest impact. Sharing the messages learned at the Summit through social media to non-ag people and having them get engaged will have the biggest impact on driving change. Right or wrong, the a&W branding has shifted thoughts towards farming. the consumer ends up driving practices.

4. Policy development and execution

• Governments must realize the importance of farm practices that increase the productivity of and prevent the loss of soil.

• They [government] need to use every opportunity to promote and require conservation practices. Practices that are not conservation based should not be allowed to be backed by government (strip tillage etc). Stop promoting tillage practices that harm the soil in the long term.

• Look at options for farmers to be paid to increase SOM and thus remove CO2 from the air.

• The provincial soil strategy is a good first step.

one participant summed it up as follows:

tillage and soil degradation are the result of social issues, but they have environmental consequences. We have known for a long time that tillage causes soil degradation. the more pressing issues are understanding why people plow, what are the barriers to adopting better practices, and how to support farmers making those changes. We need to revolutionize research and extension in order for them to become relevant to farmers’ day-to-day lives. Instead of focusing only on the environmental consequences of the problem, we need to focus on the social issues which are at the root of it.

We could be looking at:

• the global food system and why we are planting so much corn and soy in the first place, instead of blaming farmers for not having longer rotations

• farmer’s economics, risk and decision making related to various management systems

• farmers who tried no-till and then reverted back to the plow, understanding their experiences and hesitations

• the confusing messaging coming out of research related to tillage

• the consequences of de-funding of public extension

• the potential role of CCAs and retailers


Photo Credit: fotokostic/iStock/Getty Images


Summit on Canadian Soil Health 2017 – post-Summit survey(Author note: the numbering here is different from in the preceding summary.)

1. Why should we care about soil health?

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2. What is/are your key take home message(s) from the Summit?

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3. In terms of the overall costs of soil degradation, how would you rank the following?

___ On-farm soil resource depletion

___ On-farm replacement costs (fertilizer inputs etc)

___ Off-farm water quality

___ Off-farm air quality and greenhouse gasses

4. Where do you see the major gaps/barriers to adoption of soil conservation BmPs on farm:

___ Science-based knowledge?

___ Development of technical approaches and tools (e.g. equipment & practices)?

___ Knowledge and technology transfer (Ktt) and delivery of the science and technical tools and assistance ( i.e. extension/CCa mechanisms)

___ Farmer understanding and acceptance?



5. From a production perspective, if it is done now, what do you think the cost of stabilizing soil degradation will be over and above the current cost of crop production?

i. Less than 25% more? 50% more? 100% or more?

6. if nothing is done to control or mitigate soil degradation, what is the increase in the cost of production in the short term (1-5 years) in order to achieve the same crop yields?


7. if nothing is done to control or mitigate soil degradation, what is the increase in the cost of production in the long term (20-30 years) in order to achieve the same crop yields?


8. What do you see as the most urgent issue(s) to tackle to improve soil health?

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9. What are the next steps to fill in gaps in knowledge?

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10. How do we best move from the messages in the Summit to influencing the wider ag industry, the wider public perception, and policy?

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new summit on canadian soil health 2017 - the face and voice … · 2018. 12. 4. · “soil...

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