Senator Black on the Importance of Soil Health

Oct 07, 2020

Ottawa – The Honourable Rob Black, Senator for Ontario, wants to draw attention to the critical state of soil in Canada. As one of Canada’s most precious natural resources, soil conservation is a top-of-mind matter for the agriculture and agri-food sectors.

Senator Black would like to highlight that the last federal report on soil health, entitled “Soil at Risk: Canada’s Eroding Future,” was published 35 years ago by the Standing Senate Committee on Agriculture, Fisheries, and Forestry. The study provided the government with several recommendations in an attempt to reverse the trend of degradation and erosion of Canadian soils

“In the decades that have passed since that report came out, the agricultural industry has changed and grown,” said Black. “Some farmers have transitioned to more soil-friendly practices, such as no-till farming, planting cover crops, and crop rotations. However, a concerning amount of Canadian soil has already been eroded and continues to lose its organic matter.”

While the global community continues to face the COVID-19 pandemic, it is imperative that the Canadian government continue to support domestic workers across the agricultural and agri-food sectors. The future of this country is intrinsically linked to the health of its ecosystem, which in itself hinges on soil health. Senator Black is looking to continue advocating for a new study on soil health in the 2nd session of the 43rd Parliament.

Source : SenateOfCanada

Video: A chain harrow is a game changer

Utilizing a rotational grazing method on our farmstead with our sheep helps to let the pasture/paddocks rest. We also just invested in a chain harrow to allow us to drag the paddocks our sheep just left to break up and spread their manure around, dethatch thicker grass areas, and to rough up bare dirt areas to all for a better seed to soil contact if we overseed that paddock. This was our first time really using the chain harrow besides initially testing it out. We are very impressed with the work it did and how and area that was majority dirt, could be roughed up before reseeding.

Did you know we also operate a small business on the homestead. We make homemade, handcrafted soaps, shampoo bars, hair and beard products in addition to offering our pasture raised pork, lamb, and 100% raw honey. You can find out more about our products and ingredients by visiting our website at www.mimiandpoppysplace.com. There you can shop our products and sign up for our monthly newsletter that highlights a soap or ingredient, gives monthly updates about the homestead, and also lists the markets, festivals, and events we’ll be attending that month.