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This document is a collaborative response to the potential for a National Agricultural Soil Health Strategy from Direct Farm Manitoba, Holistic Management Canada, Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association, Manitoba Organic Alliance, Regeneration Canada, and Young Agrarians.
Each of the six groups have a long history of supporting farmer-led soil health practices, programming, research, and advocacy in Manitoba and have joined together to ensure that Manitoba grassroots groups and voices are represented and unified within the strategy and framework opportunities being provided by Agriculture and Agri-Food Canada and the Soil Conservation Council of Canada. Each group’s mission and vision can be found at their respective websites linked above.
1. How could a national agricultural soil health strategy add value by strengthening and better coordinating soil health research in Canada?
A national strategy should:
● Ensure research priorities are producer-driven and informed by grassroots farmers and ranchers, so research addresses real-world management challenges and opportunities
● The research and, importantly, the accompanying knowledge mobilization work are better coordinated, to ensure there is no duplication in a region and that results, insights and learnings are shared widely and there is support translating these into practices and changes at the farm-level.
● Strengthen research on perennial forage systems, managed grasslands, and biodiversity, recognizing their contributions to soil health, water management, carbon storage, ecosystem function, and resilient agricultural landscapes.
● Improve collaboration between governments, universities, producer organizations, farmers, and communities reducing duplication while encouraging knowledge sharing and diverse perspectives.
● Measure broader ecosystem outcomes that come from improving soil, including healthier water systems and biodiversity.
● Recognize the connection between healthy soils, healthy food, and healthy communities.
A national strategy should avoid:
● Measuring success primarily through yield or carbon metrics.
● One-size-fits-all approaches that overlook regional differences.
● Being prescriptive, allowing producers with the best understanding of their soils to guide the research
In Manitoba, we would like to see:
● Support for existing programs and frameworks for soil and ecosystem health measurement being used in the province.
ex: Holistic Management Canada’s Ecological Outcome Verification
● Inclusive of Indigenous knowledge in Manitoba’s context.
● Manitoba producers at the table from the start, leading and informing research, ensuring their inclusion and capturing their realities and needs.
2. What role could a national agricultural soil health strategy play in strengthening soil health data, measurement, and research infrastructure in a way that is useful to you?
A national strategy should:
● Provide increased support and funding for soil health, enabling this to be included in programming and support to producers in a meaningful way, rather than having to think of cost effective ways to ensure producers are getting access to soil health data.
● Generate data that supports and informs producer-led innovation in forage, grazing, and grassland management.
● Encourage measurement of biodiversity, water infiltration, soil biology, and ecosystem function alongside traditional production indicators.
A national strategy should avoid:
● Developing measurement systems that are too complex or costly for practical on-farm use.
● Collecting data primarily for reporting rather than improving management decisions. ● Creating unnecessary administrative burden or compromising producer privacy.
In Manitoba, we would like to see:
● Prioritize measuring direct soil health outcomes, not just predictive modelling from BMP implementation.
● Soil health indicators that are consistent enough for comparison across Canada while remaining flexible for regional application.
3. How could a national strategy improve the connection between research, extension, and adoption of soil health practices?
A national strategy should:
● Support and strengthen extension services that translate research into practical, farm ready tools and recommendations.
● Connect researchers with innovative farmers for on farm trials in order to bridge the gap between research and on farm innovation.
● Support diverse knowledge transfer approaches, including farmer-to-farmer peer learning, digital platforms, social media, videos.
A national strategy should avoid:
● Assuming research publication alone will lead to adoption. Avoid academic paralysis.
● Prioritizing individual organizations over collaborative networks.
In Manitoba, we would like to see:
● Awareness campaigns that support the strategy to inform producers about accessible, practical and inexpensive ways to understand soil health.
ex: water infiltrations tests
4. Where could a national agricultural soil health strategy add value by improving access to resources or innovative financing to support soil health outcomes?
A national strategy should:
● Encourage innovative financing models that reward multiple ecosystem services and recognize that soil health improvements deliver multiple outcomes including biodiversity, water management, ecosystem function, and financial resilience.
● Ensure funding programs are practical, flexible, and accessible to farms of different sizes, production systems, and include early adopters.
● Support insurance programs that incentivize soil health practices.
A national strategy should avoid:
● Funding models that prioritize a single outcome, such as carbon, over the multiple benefits of healthy agricultural ecosystems.
● Application and reporting requirements that create unnecessary barriers to participation by producers.
In Manitoba, we would like to see:
● MASC engaged and understanding the resilience of soil health.
● “Marginal” soil is not viewed as marginal but recognized for their role in supporting landscape resilience after extreme weather events. They are nature-based solutions infrastructure.
● Manitoba continued to be recognized as a leader on soil health due largely to the work of grassroots producer-led groups.
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