Manitoba Agriculture, in partnership with the Parkland Crop Diversification Foundation, will be hosting an event titled Rooted: A Deep-Dive into Soil, Water and Management in Roblin, on August 11th.
James Frey, Applied Research Specialist with Manitoba Agriculture, said more often than not, when people find information on soil health online, it's very generalized. These local events, in partnership with local groups, helps to get producers information that works for their area.
"Over the years we've heard a lot about soil health, and understand that to be something that is really quite important on an agricultural level, but we also see that it is something that really goes from the ground literally under our feet, right out into the bigger landscape that we all live on...our goal is to bring in some people, some of them are going to be staff that is working with the Parkland Crop Diversification Foundation, other from U of M, or Manitoba Agriculture, and also the Soil Health Network here in the province, to talk in ways that are specific to our region," said Frey.
Some of the planned guest speakers include Ehsan Zarrinabadi from U of M, Megan Westphal from Manitoba Agriculture, and Jessica Frey with the Parkland Crop Diversification Foundation. Frey said the partnerships Manitoba Agriculture has with various local groups, like the Parkland Crop Diversification Foundation, are essential.
"What is important to emphasize about PCDF's work is that it provides growers in the region with a very good resource, kind of a neutral or third party resource for understanding these things," said Frey.
One key part of the event is that a lot of it will be producer led. Frey said many of the presentations will be very free-form, allowing Parkland area producers to share their own experiences with soil health and water management. The event will take place about 3 miles south of Roblin, on August 11th.
