Soil Management Day 2024

Agenda

8:30 AM – Arrival & Registration

9:00 AM – Field History & Soil Challenges

• Presenter: Ashley Garland, Sunderland Coop Agronomy Sales Consultant
• Description: Learn about the site location and farm field history, including crop rotation, soil analysis, yield patterns, cropping challenges, and soil challenges.

9:30 AM – In-Field Assessments Attendees will split into small groups and rotate through 5 interactive stations:

Station 1: Measuring Soil Health

• Presenters:
  • Ryan Carlow, Soil Health Specialist, Greenbelt Foundation
  • Lorraine Vandermyden, Research and Demonstration Coordinator, Ontario Soil Network
• Description: Discover what soil health testing reveals about your farm, ways to improve scores, and see sample results. Discuss opportunities to get a free test done on your property.

Station 2: Knowing Your Land (Soil, Water, and Topography)

• Presenters:
  • Dan Saurette, Land Resource Specialist, OMAFA
  • Kevin McKague, Agricultural Engineer, OMAFA
• Description: Discuss how topography and existing farm features affect water flow, soil erosion potential, and soil variability. Explore the soil profile and learn best practices to protect and improve soil resources.

Station 3: Seeing Blue

• Presenters:
  • Stephanie Vickers, Horticulture Sustainability Specialist, OMAFA
  • Alex Barrie, Soil Management Engineer, OMAFA
  • Danny Jefferies, Soil Management Specialist, OMAFA
• Description: Visualize soil water movement using a blue dye water infiltration demonstration. Understand water flow pathways, impacts of soil compaction, causes, and mitigation strategies.

Station 4: Fertile Grounds: Soil & Tissue Fertility

• Presenters:
  • Colin Elgie, Soil Fertility Specialist for Field Crops, OMAFA
  • Tejendra Chapagain, Soil Fertility Specialist in Horticulture, OMAFA
• Description: Identify and manage plant essential nutrients. Understand how field variability affects fertilizer planning and crop nutrient use efficiency.

Station 5: Cover Crop Root Pit

• Presenters:
  • Christine Brown, Field Crop Sustainability Specialist, OMAFA
  • Jake Munroe, Soil Management Specialist, OMAFA
• Description: Discuss the benefits of integrating cover crops into field crop rotations, including erosion control, weed control, and improved soil health. Learn about different cover crop species and their establishment logistics.

12:35 PM – Lunch

1:35 PM – Soil Health Management Planning

• Presenters:

  • Tori Waugh
  • Danny Jefferies, Soil Management Specialist, OMAFA

• Description: Engage in a facilitated discussion on improving soil health in the Sunderland Coop Field Case Study. Collaborate to develop a soil management plan using results and observations from the morning’s diagnostic stations.

  Brainstorming Sessions:

  • Causes and Contributing Factors of soil health issues (30 min)
  • Solutions and Strategies to address soil health issues (30 min)
  • Action Plan for implementing selected solutions (45 min)
  • Conclusion and Next Steps: Share solutions, next steps, and monitoring plans (25 min)