Clifford Welsh
Local Journalism Initiative
CLARENDON – Farmers from all over the Pontiac gathered at Willow Hollow Farm, September 21, to take part in four workshops on the various aspects of soil health. Presented by the Caravane Santé des Sols team from Quebec’s Ministry of Agriculture and Food (MAPAQ), the event was an initiative of the Pontiac Soil Management Club (PSMC) in collaboration with Groupe Pleine Terre (GPT).
Isabelle Dubé, Groupe Pleine Terre agronomist, explained GPT works closely with its partner clubs like PSMC to provide support and education services about farm development to club members.
The full day of workshops began at 9 am and continued until 3 pm with a break for lunch. Rick Younge of Willow Hollow Farms welcomed participants while Marie-Eve Bernard, MAPAQ agronomist, explained that Caravane Santé des Sols team, based in St. Hyacinth, QC, does about 25 events per year across Quebec talking about soil health. “Visual displays have the best impact as opposed to just giving lectures, thereby helping farmers better assess and address soil health issues,” Bernard told the Journal.
Odette Menard, agronomist and engineer with MAPAQ for 35 years, gave two demonstrations; the first on analyzing the effect different types of soil cover have on rainwater soil penetration and runoff and the second on “characteristics of living soil” with emphasis on the importance of the “porosity of the soil for water access combined with healthy crop root systems since roots only access 50% of available water in healthy soil.”
An overlapping concern emphasized in all the workshops was the effect of soil compaction on overall soil health. Bruno Garon, MAPAQ engineer, directly addressed the topic by demonstrating the effect of heavy machinery operating in fields and how simply changing tire pressure can make a huge difference in soil compaction.
Bernard, in her workshop on understanding and reading the soil, explained how farmers can be involved in soil assessment using simply a shovel and a knife. She also showed how to look for iron and other issues in the soil.
Agrologist Marie-Eve Bernard explains how to observe and analyse soil health issues.