This consultation was open from:
November 1, 2017
to December 31, 2017
Decision summary
The Ministry has developed a final strategy – New Horizons: Ontario’s Agricultural Soil Health and Conservation Strategy. Feedback received through consultation on the draft strategy, as well as collaboration with the soil health working group have informed the development of the final strategy.
Decision details
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs has developed an Agricultural Soil Health and Conservation Strategy, guided by consultations on New Horizons: A Draft Agricultural Soil Health and Conservation Strategy for Ontario.
Healthy agricultural soils are essential to ensure ongoing productivity and competitiveness in Ontario’s farm and agri-food sector as well as food security for the province and the world. Both security of food supply and nutritional quality of foods can, in part, be influenced by soil health.
Soil health, climate change, water quality and food security are all linked together. These issues all reflect our need to evolve toward a sustainable and low-carbon economy. The soil strategy will support agricultural soil management practices that provide economic, environmental and social benefits to Ontario.
Effects of consultation
Throughout the development of this strategy, there was extensive input from farm and soil care partner organizations, other stakeholders and the public. Their contributions of time and insight are greatly appreciated, and this document is a testament to their efforts and commitment to healthy agricultural soil in Ontario.
The draft strategy was generally well received and comments were supportive of the concepts and actions presented, including establishing a collaborative group to oversee implementation. As such, the actions are similar to what was proposed in the draft strategy, but have been fine-tuned to reflect the collective feedback.
In addition to some important improvements and additions to the actions, key revisions that have been made to this document based on feedback include:
- reflecting the diversity of farms and commodities within agriculture;
- emphasizing the systems approach to soil management;
- additional information about tracking progress;
- additional information about implementation and partners; and
- increased emphasis on the importance of soil life and soil health principles, as well as the link between soil health and economic viability.
Some key issues that were raised are addressed by other complementary policies and programs. For example, water management including drainage, and its link with soil health and soil care practices was frequently mentioned. Subsurface agricultural drainage has been critical to improving crop productivity in Ontario. Appropriately implemented, drainage promotes plant uptake of nutrients, minimizes compaction, reduces surface runoff and erosion, and improves soil health. The Canada-Ontario Lake Erie Action Plan identifies several actions directly related to drainage, including a commitment to review the province’s approach to rural stormwater and agricultural drainage management using an integrated watershed approach.
Other key issues raised require further analysis during implementation and this is reflected in revisions, for example:
- The challenge of improving soil care on rented farmland, where farmers may not be motivated to invest in soil health on land they do not own and landowners may not appreciate the importance of soil health practices for long term productivity.
- Support for establishment of a governance approach to guide collaborative implementation and enable continuous improvement.
- Incentives to adopt soil care practices within broader agriculture policies and programs.
- The need to establish meaningful targets or measures of success to drive and track progress.
There was a diversity of perspectives on the degree of ambition, including targets as well as voluntary vs. more directive measures for change. Incorporating a regular, periodic review in this strategy will provide an opportunity to assess whether the actions are moving us toward our objectives, and if not, what if any alternative approaches should be considered. Those alternative perspectives are noted in the appropriate sections.
A significant portion of what we heard pertains to program details. Highlights include:
- Stewardship programs should be easier to access in terms of geographical coverage and application processes,
- Early adopters should be recognized, rewarded and supported,
- Farmers unfamiliar with soil health should be encouraged to participate, and
- Support should be provided for the ‘transition risk’ of trying new practices, to address potential temporary yield losses and additional expenses.
Program-related feedback will help inform the implementation of the strategy, including program design.
Supporting materials
View materials in person
Some supporting materials may not be available online. If this is the case, you can request to view the materials in person.
Get in touch with the office listed below to find out if materials are available.
1 Stone Road West
Ontario Government Building, 2nd floor, Southwest
Guelph,
ON
N1G 4Y2
Canada
Connect with us
Contact
Paul Smith
1 Stone Road West
Ontario Government Building, 2nd floor, Southwest
Guelph,
ON
N1G 4Y2
Canada
Original proposal
Proposal details
Description of policy
The Ontario Ministry of Agriculture, Food and Rural Affairs (OMAFRA) is developing an Agricultural Soil Health and Conservation Strategy, and is seeking feedback on a draft strategy.
Purpose of policy
Healthy agricultural soils are essential to the ongoing productivity and competitiveness in Ontario’s agri-food sector as well as food security for the province and the world. Both security of food supply and nutritional quality of foods can, in part, be influenced by soil health.
Soil health, climate change, water quality and food security are all linked. These issues all reflect our need to evolve toward a sustainable and low-carbon economy. The soil strategy will support agricultural soil management practices that provide economic, environmental and social benefits to Ontario.
The purpose of the proposal is to solicit input on the draft Agricultural Soil Health and Conservation Strategy for Ontario, and identify opportunities and challenges to achieving the proposed objectives and implementing the proposed actions.
Healthy soil is fundamental to the success of Ontario’s agricultural sector and to a healthy environment. Maintaining and enhancing the health of our agricultural soil will help:
- Sustain and enhance the productive capacity of Ontario’s farmland;
- Contribute to the economic growth of the agri-food sector and food security;
- Improve water quality and biodiversity; and
- Increase the sector’s resilience through mitigating and adapting to climate change.
This proposal is a follow-up to and builds on the discussion document ‘Sustaining Ontario’s Agricultural Soils: Towards a Shared Vision’, which was released for a 90 day public consultation from August 29 to November 27, 2016 (Environmental Registry posting number 012-8468).
Shared commitment
OMAFRA and the agricultural industry have long shared a commitment to the sustainable management of Ontario’s agricultural soils. A new strategy will build on the extensive soils work by both OMAFRA and stakeholder organizations, and ensure that both government and industry are doing the right things to address soil issues.
Strategy development framework
The draft strategy includes a vision ‘Healthy agricultural soils contribute to a productive economy, sustainable environment and thriving society’ and several goals and objectives in four areas.
Soil management
Goal:
- Soil management practices sustain and enhance soil health and productivity for economic, environmental, and societal needs.
Objectives:
- Soil health is sustained and improved to keep farmland fertile, productive, and resilient.
- Soil is conserved to support production of, and access to, food and other products.
- Soil is protected from degradation including erosion, compaction, loss of organic matter and breakdown in structure.
- Soil health is enhanced to improve water quality, reduce greenhouse gas emissions and address other environmental issues.
Soil data and mapping
Goal:
- Reliable soil data and tools are available to allow for informed decision-making and analysis by producers, industry, government and the public.
Objectives:
- Soil inventory data are well documented, replicable and defensible.
- Soil data are comprehensive, accessible, flexible and where possible, publically available.
- Accessible soil data provide for a wide range of analysis and decision-making.
Soil evaluation and monitoring
Goal:
- The health and status of Ontario’s agricultural soils are tracked over time.
Objectives:
- Capacity is developed to track changes in agricultural soil health, erosion and soil organic matter.
- Soil health and erosion monitoring is used to inform and evaluate policies and programs.
Soil knowledge and innovation
Goal:
- Soil knowledge and skills are optimized to meet societal and economic needs and drive innovation.
Objectives:
- Sustain human resource capacity in soils knowledge to meet priorities.
- The education sector supports programs for appropriate soils knowledge and skills.
- Ongoing research supports innovation in soil knowledge and management.
- Agricultural sector engages and has access to people with soil-related knowledge and skills to meet client needs effectively and economically.
- Producers have access to the knowledge and support needed to maintain and enhance soil health.
The draft strategy proposes actions for the government, the agricultural sector, and others, to deliver on these goals and objectives. It also proposes a collaborative implementation approach and measures to assess progress. The Ministry is seeking input on the draft Strategy and considerations of the following questions:
- What soil health and conservation issues matter most to you?
- Which issues or actions should be the highest priority in the next few years?
- Do you have any suggestions for improving the proposed actions and the strategy?
- Which of the strategy’s actions do you see yourself or your organization contributing to and how?
- Do you support establishing a collaborative group (made up of government, farm organizations and other partners) to oversee the implementation and adaptive management of the strategy? What should its role be and what key needs could it serve?
Public consultation
This proposal was posted for a 60 day public review and comment period starting November 01, 2017. Comments were to be received by December 31, 2017.
All comments received during the comment period are being considered as part of the decision-making process by the Ministry.
Please Note: All comments and submissions received have become part of the public record.
Other public consultation opportunities
Interested parties are encouraged to provide input into the development the Strategy and respond to the questions posed for feedback by participating in the survey.
Comments are also welcome via:
Email to soilhealth@ontario.ca
Fax: (519) 826-3492
Mail/courier to:
1 Stone Road West
3rd Floor NE
Guelph, Ontario
Supporting materials
View materials in person
Some supporting materials may not be available online. If this is the case, you can request to view the materials in person.
Get in touch with the office listed below to find out if materials are available.
1 Stone Road West
Ontario Government Building, 2nd floor, Southwest
Guelph,
ON
N1G 4Y2
Canada
Comment
Commenting is now closed.
This consultation was open from November 1, 2017
to December 31, 2017
Connect with us
Contact
Paul Smith
1 Stone Road West
Ontario Government Building, 2nd floor, Southwest
Guelph,
ON
N1G 4Y2
Canada
Comments received
Through the registry
8By email
207By mail
0