Features Agronomy Soil
Ontario report details importance of investing in soil

April 24, 2013, Guelph, Ont. – A roundtable discussion on the topic of investing in soils for a sustainable future has resulted in a report from Gord Miller, the environmental commissioner of Ontario, outlining opportunities and challenges involved in increasing carbon content in soil.

The roundtable, entitled Investing in Soils for a Sustainable Future, was held in Guelph, Ont., in 2012. The report summarizes the presentations made at the roundtable by a group of international experts; the discussions, prompted by these presentations, of a mix of Ontario stakeholders, including farmers, academics, and government; and Miller's take on the proceedings.

"Farmers are vulnerable to climate change," Miller said in a press release, "but they are not helpless. As one roundtable participant put it: agriculture is 10 per cent of the problem, but 20 per cent of the solution. These numbers may be rough approximations, but they convey an important truth: there is much that farmers can do to both mitigate climate change and to adapt to it."

"Our roundtable revealed a high level of agreement that society should share these new costs and risks with farmers," Miller added. "The important question that remains is how to go about doing that fairly and cost-effectively."

Download the report or watch the presentations here.

April 24, 2013  By Top Crop Manager