Soil health ‘an opportunity for unifying stakeholders’
The best solutions for soil health are individual, place-based and market dependent, and Tori Waugh believes innovation can be unlocked through collaboration. supplied
For farmers, it is a source of income. For the rest of us, it is simply sustenance for living. One way or another, we all depend on food.
The complex ecosystem that connects food producers and consumers is subject to myriad influences, including economic, environmental and social pressures.
Making food systems more resilient requires a “whole supply chain approach,” says Tori Waugh, principal consultant at Conservation Ag Consulting. “We need everyone collaborating. The challenge is huge – and the timeline is aggressive.
“Our national targets for reducing emissions by 2030 are just six growing seasons away for farmers, and there are many limitations and things that are out of our control, so we really need an all-hands-on-deck approach.”
Faced with the task of shifting agriculture towards more sustainable practices, Ms. Waugh landed on a powerful catalyst: soil. “It is something everyone can get behind,” she explains. “Soil is at the heart of agriculture and represents a huge opportunity for unifying stakeholders.”
The nature of soil also illustrates the complexity of agricultural systems, where “there is no perfect generic solution,” says Ms. Waugh. “Instead, the best solutions are individual, place-based and market dependent.”
With the goal to advance soil health, Conservation Ag Consulting has created and delivered essential soil innovation programs for six Ontario ENGOs and a variety of conservation authorities. It also connects 600 members of the Innovative Farmers Association of Ontario and the Ontario Soil Network and has influenced an estimated 2,500 agricultural businesses in the way they treat soil across some 180,000 acres.
“Knowledge mobilization and innovation adoption are not build-it-and-they-will-come scenarios. Great solutions are created all the time, and the best way to achieve an impact is through collaboration. ”
“We have been so successful, in part, because we stepped onto the scene at the right time – when there was a slow burn of interest in soil innovation and frustration in how this innovation had been supported,” notes Ms. Waugh, who saw the “need to invest in farmers as leaders as much as investing in outcomes.”
Developing strategies that everyone could get behind – and prioritizing relationships – have led to a “snowball effect of scale,” she says. “Knowledge mobilization and innovation adoption are not build-it-and-they-will-come scenarios. Great solutions are created all the time, and the best way to achieve an impact is through collaboration.”
Programs supporting research and innovation are too valuable to fall by the wayside, and this inspires Ms. Waugh to “continue testing strategies and programs to understand what makes information usable and innovations adoptable.”
Bringing diverse perspectives together – from the farming community and researchers to advocacy groups and policymakers – helps to “bridge the relevance gap and promote soil leadership skills in farmers,” she says. Through peer learning, farmers can fast-track adoption, sort and filter best ideas, avoid mistakes and improve their confidence levels.
“If there is one skill that is most useful, it’s to stay present in difficult conversations – and to treat differences with celebratory curiosity rather than judgment. The more we ask, ‘why,’ the sooner we get to a common objective,” Ms. Waugh says. “By working together and by acknowledging the current state of Canadian soil – along with the risks of maintaining the status quo and the opportunities to innovate – we can make a difference.”
To view this report on The Globe's website, visit globeandmail.com
To view the full report as it appeared in The Globe's print edition: Celebrating food and farming