Zoom Workshop: Indicators of Soil Health & On-Farm Measurements
January 26, 2022
Most farms have a goal for improving soil health whether that is physical, chemical or biological improvements and it can be challenging to know what to measure to realize if those goals are being met. At this online interactive session, participants heard from soil researchers about why soil water infiltration is a good indicator of an agricultural soil’s physical properties and how to measure progress over time. Watch the full event recording below.
This event is PART ONE of our series to foster and promote farmer led on-farm research. The next events in the series include: PART TWO: Seeding Rates and On-Farm Measurements | PART THREE: How to Design Your Own On-Farm Research Project (workshop)
Resources:
- Grab & Go Research Templates for Your Farm
- Blog: Getting to Know Kootenay Soils
- Event recording: Soils in the East & West Kootenays
- SIFT: Soil Information Finder Tool (British Columbia)
- Soil Testing & Nutrients
Presenters:
Jamie Haynes, forage producer and rancher in Rock Creek, will share his experience from his soil health project where he seeded tillage radish with his annual forage crops to decrease compaction and increase water infiltration. Read about Jamie’s project here.
Dr. Tom Pypker, soil scientist, hydrologist and Associate Professor at Thomson Rivers’ University (TRU) and member of the TRU Soil Health Team, will discuss fundamentals of soil health.
Dr. Catherine Tarasoff of AgroWest Consulting will introduce producers to new research templates so that producers can plan and conduct their own on-farm research. The goal of the research templates is to inspire producers to experiment with methods to optimize farm production goals and think about practical methods to keep records and measure success. View the Grab & Go Research Templates here.
Funding for this event is provided by the Agriculture & Climate Initiative BC.
