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Agriculture Roundup for Friday April 16, 2021

Apr 16, 2021 | 9:55 AM

MELFORT, Sask. — Provincial forage associations have joined forces to create the Regional Soil Health Network.

Western Canada Conference on Soil Health and Grazing (Alberta), Saskatchewan Forage Council (SFC) and Manitoba Forage and Grassland Association (MFGA) have connected their annual events and organizational activities through a Memorandum of Understanding.

MFGA executive director Duncan Morrison said the Covid-19 pandemic impacted producer-focused events across North America.

“Our agriculture conferences are critical lifelines for each of our smaller-sized groups. We need them for the attendance gate and financial reasons, but most of all, we need them as a place and opportunity for producers to network and learn and share knowledge among each other,” he said.

Morrison said the pandemic has forced everyone to rethink how to go forward as a regional-focused network that works for prairie producers with conferences and project collaborations aimed specifically around soil health, regenerative agriculture, and grazing systems.

National Soil Conservation Week kicks off on Sunday.

Soil Conservation Council of Canada (SCCC) chair Kier Miller said groups and individuals across the country share a passion for protecting Canada’s soils.

“Together, we can improve soil health, we can bring the benefits of soil to all Canadians and we can strengthen our country’s role as a world leader in soil conservation,” Miller said in a news release.

SCCC will focus on key initiatives during the week including with the Soil Your Undies campaign. Participants bury a pair of white, cotton undies and after a few months, they can dig them up and share their soil experiment online using #SoilYourUndies.

alice.mcfarlane@pattisonmedia.com

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