Field Day: Digging Deep into Soil Knowledge
Rock Creek: October 5, 2020
Soil Scientist Wayne Blashill lead us through a soil identification exercise by looking at deep soils pits. Wayne described soil physical properties and introduced participants to the Canadian soil classification system. We also discussed new land mapping tools that are available free to producers. Ranch maps and tools can be viewed here.
Field Day Summary
At the field day we saw “Chernozem soils“ which are classified as grassland soils that are high in organic matter (greater than 10 cm depth). These are rich agricultural soils that should be managed to minimize erosion and to conserve the soil organic matter. Forest soils are also common in the Kootenay and Boundary region are often classified as “Brunisol soils” and have different properties. Maps of the ranch & soil survey description
Resources:
Field Day Summary: View HERE
What kind of soils do I have?
BC Soil Information Finder Tool: this tool contains all the Canadian soil mapping information electronically. If you need help using the platform, ask us (the program is not very intuitive if you haven’t used it before).
What is soil classification?
Soil descriptions (videos) of the different soil types including Chernozem Soils
Video: Geological Overview of Chernozem soils by Soil Orders of Canada (website)
Description: Chernozem Soil – Soil Order of Canada
Detailed Soil Report
Detailed Soil Survey Report from 1964: Soil Survey of the Kettle River Valley
Archived Event Details:
Monday, October 5, 2020, 1:00 pm – 3:00 pm
Location: Wilf Lindquist’s Ranch – 4649 Hwy 3
