Change is slow but the results are inevitable.
The 2016 Ontario and Soil Crop Improvement Association's meeting focused on a number of speakers who have been at the forefront of promoting soil health.
Cash crop farmers and seed representative Mike Pasztor highlighted farms like Heritage Lanes Produce which spent the year experimenting with cover crops in a variety of vegetable fields.
Cover crop expert Blake Vince spoke to the assembly about where the roots of the movement came from and where it's likely going.
“The soil biology quest or the awareness has just been leaps and bounds, it's incredible," says Vince. "They're realizing that we can no longer rely solely on tillage so the physical property or physical way to manage the soil or the chemical way with fertilizer and herbicide. We gotta start looking at the biology so that there's actually living breathing organisms that exist within the soil.”
Vince created the hashtag #rootsnotiron back in 2013 in an effort to create awareness for no-till strategies on the farm.
As researchers and farmers continue to push the envelope in pursuit of improved soil quality, Vince expects the movement to become pervasive across the industry.
For more information on the speakers in attendance and the conference highlights check out www.ontariosoilcrop.org.
