Ag industry can learn about recent initiatives through the Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority’s ABCs of Soil Health
Staff Writer
Farms.com
The Ausable Bayfield Conservation Authority’s (ABCA)
ABCs of Soil Health social media campaign is recognizing the importance of soil conservation for agriculture and the general public.
By using the hashtag #WorldSoilDay on social media today, Twitter users can spread awareness of the importance of soil health.
World Soil Day emphasizes the importance of soil, not only to farmers, but also to the public in general, Ross Wilson, ABCA’s water and soils resource coordinator, told Farms.com yesterday.
“The public, in general, doesn’t see any part of soil on a regular basis, so it’s important that it’s brought to their attention,” he said.
“It’s (also) important that it’s brought to the attention of farmers because, even though they work with soil on a yearly basis, they have a lot of concerns. So, it’s good to be able to sit down for one day, across the planet, to think about food security.”
Soil conservation is of great importance to growers as it serves as the base in producing crops, Lillian Drummond, a dairy farmer in Lanark County, told Farms.com yesterday.
“If you’re a farmer in agriculture, you want to make sure your soil is (well) kept, because that is part of your livelihood and you want to make it sustainable,” she said.
“We know, as farmers, the soil has to be in good shape in order to produce the crops we need.”
Soil health is a priority for farmers, Blake Alton, a cash crop and beef farmer from Bruce County, told Farms.com yesterday.
“It’s pretty noticeable, on certain farms, if they’ve been managed well or if they haven’t … When you take new farms over, you can definitely tell which ones have been managed properly and which ones haven’t, so soil health is key.”
Soil health is intrinsically linked to food security, Wilson explained.
“Without healthy soil, you don’t have food, period. … And we all like to eat every day.”
The following are examples of some of the ABCs of Soil Health tweets:
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