Ottawa-Soil health is fundamental to Canada’s societal, agricultural and environmental well-being and needs a comprehensive approach to managing it, says Derek MacKenzie, Associate Professor of Renewable Resources at the University of Alberta.

In addition to agricultural productivity, soil health is intrinsically linked to the country’s financial health, he told the Senate agriculture committee.

“As we navigate the challenges posed by a changing climate and the ethical responsibility to sustainably feed a growing population, the significance of soil health cannot be overstated.”

Although soil data has been collected for nearly a century in Canada, the information “is not available for use by the larger researcher community. Instead, it sits in drawers and filing cabinets or on computer hard drives in isolated research labs across the country, including academic, government and industrial labs.”

Also, there is no consensus on how to measure many of the critical soil health parameters, he said. “We need to bring soil science and soil health data into the 21st Century with big data and model this after human health databases.”

There should be a national soil health database that can be combined with machine learning “to help us generate best management practices or, in other words, soil medicine.”

MacKenzie urged the committee to recommend the establishment of a national soil health institute in its report to Parliament. The institute would serve as a centralized hub for the collection, analysis and dissemination of soil health data.

“By working closely with research institutes across the country to collate diverse data sets and employ cutting-edge technologies, such as machine learning, this institute would facilitate a deeper understanding of soil function, enabling informed decision-making for producers, land managers, researchers and policymakers. It would also allow Canada to calculate accurate inventories of soil health parameters nationally for global reporting.”

In addition to providing a robust framework for monitoring and evaluating soil health, the institute “would also foster innovation, collaborative research and the development of best management practices.”

The institute would generate data-driven insights to optimize agricultural practices, enhance sustainability, mitigate soil degradation and promote long-term environmental stewardship, he said.

“As much of the data generation is and has been publicly funded, the database would provide soil health report cards and suggest best management for producers for free based on their soil testing. The front end of the database could also allow them to track carbon sequestration in order to tap into carbon credit markets.”

MacKenzie has developed a proposal for establishing an institute as an endowed organization operated by an executive committee that works in conjunction with a board of governors made up of senior representatives from agriculture producers, industry, government and academics. The establishment of such an institute would signify Canada’s commitment to safeguarding the very foundation upon which human health, food security and environmental sustainability depend.

This news report was prepared for National Newswatch.